Digital Cameras

Today people are switching over from film cameras to digital models. The obvious reasons are the ease with which objects are framed and shot, pictures are stored, recorded, and displayed. To top it all you can download at the comfort of your home and print the pictures. However if you are buying one for the first time, there are chances that you will be literally lost reviewing the specifications and features offered by the numerous brands out there in the market. Do you go by mega pixels or do you go by manufacturers or by price range or by....well, there are many more classifications possible. The following guide is prepared with the intention to help you arrive at a practical model of your choice.
Various Features
Weight
This factor depends a lot on the usage of the digital camera. You want one to carry around in your pocket or purse, go for the light weight ones. No doubt they are convenient, but the have tiny buttons, controls and dials which may make the handling a little difficult. The bigger ones weigh more and have more features too.
Resolution
Cameras are categorized as mega pixels of resolution. It narrows down the range of cameras and helps you sort out beginners, intermediate and advanced groupings from these. The range is 0.1 mega pixel to 18 mega pixel and some even more. The key to choosing the right pixel camera depends on how close you wish to get to target.
2 mega pixels and less- you get reasonably sharp images and enough details for prints of 8x10s and smaller. Prints are not of very high quality but suitable enough to be posted on emails and web sites. These cameras are inexpensive.
2 to 6 mega pixels- As the resolution keeps increasing in this range, the picture quality keeps getting better. You get sharper images all at an escalated price.Eg Canon PowerShot S3, Fuji FinePix V10 etc.
6 mega pixels and more- More aren't always good. Keep in mind higher mega pixels mean larger image sizes, expensive memory cards, and take more space of your computer's hard drive.Eg. Canon PowerShot Pro1, Canon PowerShot S80 etc.
Zoom
Optical zoom lens- Image gets magnified by lens-3x, 4x, 10x and more, however keep in mind that very long zooms are prone to camera shake. Use a tripod to cover up for this problem. A 3x optical zoom means it can make a subject appear thrice as close. An optical zoom produces the best quality images. You can't get too close to the object, but then a photo editing software can help you crop the image. It gives better result than using the digital zoom.
Digital zoom is a simulated optical zoom; it enlarges only the central portion of the image. The lens is not used in this case. The digital zooming effect is given by software inside. The result is most often a blurry and digitized picture. You can use both zooming effects in cameras that offer both these features.
Lens
A lousy lens can spoil all that extra resolution and image processing controls. So, before you buy one assess the final image on a computer based on these criteria:
check the lens for overall focus and sharpness, whether corners are as sharp as in the middle
check for flaring, i.e. colored circles and reflections when shooting towards light source
check if the lens offer attachments, you can add wide angle or telephoto attachments to extend the focal length range
whether manual or electronic zoom control, manual zoom offers more speed and flexibility
Memory
Unlike the film cameras the digital cameras store images in memory. Thus each time the memory is full, you can download them and the camera is ready to shoot again. Memory is of two main types: built-in and removable. Most low end cameras have the built-in memory. Removable memory cards have the advantage of upgrading the memory, particularly useful when you are taking lot of pictures in one trip.
Flash Types
It all started with photographers igniting a tray filled with gunpowder to illuminate a scene. Today digital cameras come with built in automatic flash unit combined with a sophisticated light measuring and exposure control system. They are so convenient and easy to use that we often fail to notice it. Digital cameras are specified by a guide number which basically gives the flash power. Higher the guide number, greater the flash's useful range. With changes in sensor speed and /or lens focal length, the guide number changes. So manufacturers instead specify the flash's maximum range with the assumption that flashes is fully charged and the lens aperture is wide open.

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