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| by Ed Krimen - Updated October 2005, Published December 2003 |
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For most people, choosing which digital camera to buy can be like exercising: You know it's the right thing to do, but the process can be so painful!
I hope that this article will help improve your understanding of the technical terms and jargon associated with digital cameras. My goal is to help you understand the most important criteria so that you can find the right digital camera for you.
No digital camera is perfect for everyone, but considering the variety of choices available today, you should be able to find a digital camera that's close to perfect for you -- and you should be extremely happy with your choice.
Be sure you assess your digital camera needs carefully and conduct plenty of research by perusing the Photobird Digital Camera Buyer's Guide and the reviews that are available for each camera. This article is intended to provide you with guidelines and suggestions when shopping for your digital camera.
Below is a list of the top 10 important points you should consider when looking to buy a digital camera, whether the digital camera you buy is from an online merchant, from a large electronics chain, or from your friendly neighborhood camera store.
1. Type of digital camera
The first criteria you should consider is the type of digital camera you want to buy. That will help narrow things down quite a bit.
If you want a digital camera that's easy to use, one you can put in your purse or pocket, a digital camera you can feel comfortable with taking on vacation, a digital camera to quickly take pictures of friends and family, then you want a point-and-shoot digital camera -- or what may be more commonly called compact or ultra-compact digital cameras. In the Photobird Digital Camera Buyer's Guide, they are referred to as compact and tiny digital cameras, respectively.
If you want to learn more about photography, to practice your skills, and to spend large amounts of time getting settings just right to take the best photos possible, then you want an SLR, or "single lens reflex" camera.
Usually, you can easily tell the difference between the two types of digital cameras because SLR cameras are larger than point-and-shoot digital cameras and SLR cameras are often sold without lenses. SLRs are sold without lenses because professional photographers prefer to choose their own lenses for various photographic situations, such as wide-angle lenses for landscapes, or zoom lenses for close-ups. If all of this sounds complicated, it can be. Conversely, the point-and-shoot digital cameras are smaller, more consumer-oriented, easier to use, and less complicated.
For most people, a point-and-shoot digital camera is going to fit the bill for your photography needs.
2. Price
Price is usually very important to most people, whether your budget is in the $300 ballpark or in the $3000 range. Luckily, most of the point-and-shoot digital cameras are in the $200-$400 range. You should be able to get a digital camera that takes excellent photos at that price -- photos that are at least as good as consumer film-based cameras.
If you're looking in the $3000 range for your digital camera, you'll be able to get a sophisticated SLR digital camera with enough lenses, filters, and other accessories to keep you very busy for a while. Nonetheless, the higher price comes with increased complexity, but your pictures won't look "$3000 better", unless you really know what you're doing. Unless you're looking to take on photography as a serious hobby, or looking to sell your work commercially, save your money and go with the point-and-shoot digital camera.
When shopping for your digital camera, you may be able to get the lowest price from an online retailer, but you should consider visiting a local, reputable camera store, where you can see, hold, and use the digital camera you are considering. Knowledgeable store employees might also be able to help answer some of the questions you have about the digital camera. Remember, service is key: If the digital camera you buy is defective, which can sometimes happen with all electronic devices, exchanging the digital camera at a local store can sometimes be much easier than with an online retailer, and without the shipping costs.
3. Size
The size of the digital camera is very important, because you want it to feel comfortable in your hands when you're taking pictures. You want the buttons to be easily accessible to your fingers, and especially for point-and-shoot digital cameras, you want to be able to easily carry the digital camera with you.
Many people who have SLR or large-size digital cameras have or wish they had a smaller point-and-shoot digital camera to take with them wherever they go. Point-and-shoot digital cameras are easy to take with you and are handy when you want to take that unexpected shot. If you had an SLR, you might not get the shot because you probably wouldn't be carrying the camera around with you everywhere you go. With SLR digital cameras, you usually need a large camera bag and other gear to take with you, which can be inconvenient.
In the Photobird Digital Camera Buyer's Guide, I've classified each digital camera into one of five categories: Tiny, Compact, Medium, Large, and SLR. The classification of each camera is based on the physical dimensions of the camera as indicated by the camera manufacturer. Tiny digital cameras, which are also generally known as "ultra-compact" cameras, are 170 cubic centimeters (cm3) or smaller. Compact cameras are 250 cubic centimeters or smaller, while medium-sized cameras are 750 cubic centimeters or smaller. Large cameras are larger than 750 cubic centimeters.
In the legend at the bottom of the Buyer's Guide, I've briefly described each of the digital camera sizes and how you'll most likely need to take the camera with you: either put it in your pocket or purse, or transport it in its own bag if you plan to protect it from wear and tear. SLR (or "single-lens reflex" cameras) can vary in size, but there's fewer SLR cameras on the market than point-and-shoot digital cameras, so I didn't need to break them out by size.
To calculate cubic centimeters, I simply multiplied the height, width, and depth of each camera. If I was lucky, the manufacturer listed the measurements in millimeters (mm); if not, I converted inches to centimeters using the Volume Conversion tool at Onlineconversion.com.
Checking the actual, real-life size of the digital camera you are interested in and even "test driving" the digital camera in person is extremely important. Be sure to visit a physical store that sells the digital cameras you are interested in, or, if you like your friend's digital camera, ask to borrow it for a while to see if it fits you.
4. Easy to use
Finding an easy-to-use digital camera is important because you won't use it if it's too hard to take pictures. For the most part, point-and-shoot digital cameras are easy to use: Turn it on, and start clicking the shutter button to take pictures.
There might be a few settings on your digital camera you should keep in mind and change if necessary, such as turning the flash on or off, or zooming in to adjust the composition of your shot. Generally, point-and-shoot digital cameras are very similar and just as easy to use, if not easier to use than their film-based ancestors.
One of the biggest differences in digital cameras from film cameras is that photos are stored on memory cards instead of film. After you take a picture with the digital camera, the photo is stored on a memory card; then, later, you transfer the photos to your computer. (I write more about memory cards later in this article.)
Nevertheless, using a digital camera is easier, more convenient, more flexible, and even less wasteful than film cameras once you understand the fundamental concept of transferring photos to your computer and you have successfully completed the process a few times.
(I'm planning to write an article that will try to help improve your understanding of how to transfer photos from your camera to your computer. Let me know if you're interested in reading such an article, and what specifically you have questions about.)
5. Popularity
You don't want to spend a lot of time looking for accessories for your digital camera, or trying to find help to answer a question or resolve a problem with your digital camera. Therefore, it's a good idea to purchase a digital camera that is relatively popular.
For example, if your digital camera stops working properly, you'll want to find a service center nearby. If you have a question about your digital camera, you should visit the Photobird discussion forums, or one of the many digital photography websites and discussion forums. There you'll find other people who have your digital camera, who had the same question about your digital camera, and who might have already found the answer, saving you a lot of time.
Another very important reason to choose a popular digital camera is that it will generally have a solid camera body construction. Although I haven't heard of any digital cameras spontaneously disintegrating in someone's hands, you'll be carrying this digital camera around with you, and you might be tossing it into your purse, bag, and car, and you won't want to think twice about whether it's going to hold up. You want a digital camera that's going to last a few years.
Even so, if you typically like to rough-up your stuff, you might want to look for a digital camera that seems more durable than others. Fewer moving parts might also help because there's fewer things to break. In early 2001, I somehow put a huge dent in the metal part of my 2-week old Canon G1 digital camera (which cost $900 at the time). Many years later, my G1 is still working perfectly, taking beautiful photos, and the dent is still there.
6. Features you want and need
Of course, be sure to get the features you want and need. This area is where digital cameras offer the most differences between manufacturers and even different models by the same manufacturer. You won't be able to find a digital camera with every feature you want however, so you'll need to prioritize your needs and make some trade-offs.
Most if not all point-and-shoot digital cameras will have a very capable "Auto" feature that will adjust all of the digital camera's settings for you automatically. Digital cameras will vary, however, in how much manual control they give the photographer to set the aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and other photographic, light-capturing settings.
Consider other digital camera features that you'll use a lot, such as optical zoom. Or consider a remote control for the shutter, which can be useful when taking family portraits, so that you can take pictures without being behind the camera.
You might want a digital camera that can also record small movies or videos, like a video camera can. The quality of the movie may not be top notch, but the movies can be fun.
You might want a digital camera that can store small audio recordings, so you can make annotations and easily record the location or specific characteristics of the shot by talking directly into the camera.
Finally, you may want to consider a digital camera that has a tilt-and-swivel LCD screen, so you can take a picture at a 90-degree or 180-degree angle while looking at the LCD screen to compose the shot. This can be useful when you're trying to position the camera on the ground to get an artistic shot, or when taking an extreme close-up shot of you and your sweetheart.
These are just some examples of additional features available on digital cameras.
One popular feature that you should ignore is digital zoom. It's useless. Many cameras have it, and it's okay to buy a camera that has digital zoom; in fact, it may be unavoidable. Just be sure you understand that the camera that claims to have 15x zoom, for example, might actually have 3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom -- which means that the camera really only has 3x zoom. Digital zoom is an extremely sneaky marketing trick that some camera manufacturers (who should be ashamed of themselves!) use to try to make it seem like their cameras have more zoom than they really do.
Optical zoom is the "good zoom" and the only zoom you really should focus on when shopping for a camera. In the Photobird Digital Camera Buyer's Guide, "Zoom" refers to the optical zoom on each camera; we ignore the digital zoom capabilities.
Digital zoom is a cheap, simple-to-engineer gimmick that electronically enlarges the subject you're focussing on with your camera. Digital zoom doesn't get you or your camera's lens any closer to your photo subject. Digital zoom actually degrades the photo and loses important photo data. Digital zoom is the same concept as "zooming in" and cropping the photo when using your computer and an image processing application, such as Adobe Photoshop. You can expect better results when using your computer to zoom into or crop your photo, instead of using digital zoom.
7. Battery type
Regardless of the digital camera you get, you need to make sure you have enough battery power at all times. It's always best to have fully-charged, extra batteries with you in case you need them. You don't want to miss any shots.
But what you should consider, however, is the type of battery you will be comfortable using in your digital camera. Are you going to remember to charge the battery every night of your vacation, so that you have enough power for the following day? Or do you think you might forget to charge the battery and you'd prefer to just pick up a set of batteries at the convenience store?
If you're afraid that you might forget to recharge your batteries, then consider a digital camera that uses standard AA or AAA batteries. Ideally though, whenever possible, use rechargeable batteries which have a lower overall cost and are better for the environment. And then recycle the batteries when you are done with them.
A website called Steve's Digicams has a good overview of rechargeable AA batteries.
Otherwise, digital cameras often use their own proprietary batteries which you can recharge directly in the digital camera or in a separate battery charger. With these proprietary batteries, it's usually a good idea to buy an extra one if you expect to be taking a lot of pictures and if your digital camera is known for using a lot of power. I've learned my lesson the hard way, when I've run out of battery power in the middle of the day.
8. Memory card storage -- your "electronic film"
Digital cameras store photographs on memory cards, which is different than traditional film cameras storing photos on film. The type of memory card storage, or "electronic film", you use in your digital camera can be confusing at first, but not more confusing than choosing film for a film-based camera. With film cameras, you need to choose 35mm or APS film, and then ISO 400, 200, or 100 film.
With digital cameras, you pick the type of memory card you need, depending upon the memory card your digital camera uses, and then you pick the size of the card. Several memory card options are available today including CompactFlash, xD-Picture Card, Sony Memory Stick, and Secure Digital. Next, you will choose the size of the memory card, such as 128 megabytes, 256 megabytes, 512 megabytes, or even up to 1 gigabyte (1000 megabytes) or more.
The size of memory card you buy will be determined by two things: how much money you want to spend, and how many pictures you want to take at one time, before you transfer the photos to your computer. A 3-megapixel digital camera at its best quality and highest resolution, for example, will take pictures that are about 1 megabyte in size. Therefore, you can fit about 200 1-megabyte photos on a 256 megabyte memory card. There are many variables involved, so it's difficult to give exact amounts, but this should serve as a good estimate.
You should buy at least a 128-megabyte card for your digital camera, and then expect to buy more later as you need them. When you need more memory cards, you can either buy more 128-megabyte cards, or buy higher capacity cards which can be more cost-efficient and more convenient than just buying more 128-megabyte cards. Higher capacity cards, such as cards storing 256 megabytes or more, can store more photos on each card, so you don't need to carry around a lot of little memory cards with you, and you don't need to swap them in and out of your digital camera a lot.
One of the beauties of digital cameras is that the "electronic film" can be used over and over again. You don't need to buy new memory cards when you've filled up your existing ones. You simply transfer the photos to your computer, erase (or "delete") the photos from your memory card, and start taking more pictures.
(As a precaution, it's important to transfer your photos to your computer as soon as you can. Your photos will normally be okay when stored on your memory cards for months, if not years, but you don't want to accidentally lose your memory cards or your digital camera with your photographic memories. You should also make multiple copies, or "backups" of your photos so you don't accidentally lose or delete them.)
So, with all of those details in mind, which memory card should you invest in? If you're buying a new digital camera, it really shouldn't matter. Focus more on which digital camera features you want, as listed above in item #6. That said, keep in mind that Sony Memory Sticks only work in Sony digital cameras and Sony devices. Otherwise, any memory card type will be around long enough with enough popularity and support to give you what you need. For more information about the various memory cards, check out Steve's Digicams for a good explanation of memory cards.
Similar to Betamax and even VHS VCRs these days, SmartMedia memory cards have become obsolete. The highest capacity SmartMedia cards you'll find is 128 megabytes, and the two manufacturers who used SmartMedia cards in their digital cameras, Fuji and Olympus, are now using xD-Picture Card media in their new digital cameras, according to Steve's Digicams.
Obviously, the various memory cards are not interchangeable. For example, you cannot use a Sony Memory Stick in a digital camera that uses CompactFlash, and you cannot use CompactFlash cards in a Secure Digital device. When you see the cards in person, you'll see that they're physically different sizes.
9. Megapixels
The number of megapixels your digital camera has doesn't necessarily mean that you will get better pictures. Michael Reichmann, a professional photographer for over 35 years, testifies that the quality of your pictures usually has more to do with your location and timing than with the quality of your equipment.
These days, most new point-and-shoot digital cameras have at least 3 or 4 megapixels. When using the highest resolution settings on a 3-megapixel digital camera, you will get very good prints at the smallest print sizes all the way up to 8"x10", and sometimes larger. The photos at the top of this page were taken with a 3-megapixel digital camera and were printed at 11"x14" by an online photo print service. When printed at their highest resolution, most people can't tell if the photos were taken with a digital camera or a film camera.
Digital camera phones still have a low number of pixels and lower image quality, although they are improving. SLR digital cameras can go up over 10 megapixels.
Generally, the number of megapixels your digital camera has isn't going to make a difference if you just want a digital camera for snapshots, taking on vacation, and taking pictures of friends and family.
10. Picture quality
Picture quality is last on the list because it's one of the few things you need to worry about when purchasing a point-and-shoot digital camera. Sure, each digital camera has its aberrations and slight differences in color, sharpness, and tone, but most of those "imperfections" are only apparent to the professional photographer; the average consumer who is looking at photos on a website or on a set of prints isn't going to notice the picture quality variations. Most, if not all, of the digital cameras available today meet a minimum level of picture quality that is suitable for the average consumer.
With that in mind, for any digital camera that you're considering, I highly recommend that you check out the Photobird Digital Camera Buyer's Guide and the reviews for each camera. These reviews will be able to tell you if there are any significant issues with the picture quality and other characteristics of the digital cameras you're interested in. And, you'll be able to determine, along with the list of 9 other criteria in this article, which digital camera is right for you.
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Ed Krimen is an accomplished photographer who has taken thousands of digital photos. As co-founder and CEO of Photobird.com, Ed wants to make it truly easy for you to create attractive online photo albums to share your photos with your friends and family.
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