| Buying a digital camera |
| Written by NEWSBOT3 | |
| Tuesday, 10 October 2006 | |
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Ok, so you are looking to buy a digital camera.
SLR SLR is short for Single Lens Reflex. In camera terms it’s something like this: Most digital cameras have a sensor that records the image, and then they output that image onto a little LCD screen or two for you to see. SLRs allow you to look directly through the lenses; the main advantage of this is that you can see how the image is focused precisely, whereas you really can’t with a flat LCD screen. Because of this, SLR cameras have to be larger than your average digital, since they need space to reflect the image up to the viewfinder etc. SLR cameras also tend to come with a lot more features that average, and much better quality in terms of lenses, how fast you can take shots, exposure times on so on. If you want to know more, read the wiki page for SLRs. All you really need to know is that they are the best type of digital camera, though considerably more expensive, and way way too much for the average user. Most people reading this won’t be buying one. Megapixels This is a measurement of how large the final image a camera produces is. More pixels mean more detail, and so on. You’ll see it quoted as the MP , ie, 12MP and so on. Shops love to play on megapixel numbers. What you need to know is this: Unless you are going to be printing images, 3 megapixels is fine for the average user. Since it’s very hard to buy a camera with less than this these days, you can effectively IGNORE megapixel ratings when buying a camera. Also, lense and sensor quality affect the final image FAR MORE than the megapixel rating ever will. There is one thing to be aware of here, Interpolation. Using the magic of computer chips you can make an image of greater pixel size than the sensor can record. One of my cameras for example is 3MP naturally, but can interpolate up to 6MP. Interpolation isn’t perfect though, and if its not done well can create poor images. Also it rarely actually achieves more than 50% of what it claims to, so my camera really makes 4.5MP images at best. Be aware of this, but don’t worry too much about it, go on the normal megapixel value. Zoom This is another area where retailers try and fudge the issue a bit. There are two types of zoom on a camera.
However, you will see a Zoom number quoted which may be these two types of zoom multiplied together. Therefore, make sure the zoom number being quoted is only the OPTICAL ZOOM, not anything else. Flash/Night shots Most digital cameras come with a basic flash. In most conditions you should never need to use this outside, but for night and indoor shots it becomes handy. You are better considering how well the camera can take shots in poor light. The best way to find this out is using a review site such as http://www.dpreview.com/ , or finding what other users of the camera say about it. Memory Cards There are many types of memory card around, but thankfully, it’s pretty easy to explain them. The only expensive ones anymore are the Sony ones, which ALL Sony brand cameras use. The rest are all pretty cheap these days, so the only real factors affecting this are if you have memory cards of a certain type already. Memory Card size Most cameras come with a TERRIBLE capacity memory card. The one that came with my last camera could take about 16 shots. So you’ll pretty much have to buy one of these with or soon after getting the camera. The best way to work out what size you need is this: Each photo will take up HALF of the megapixel rating in size (this depends on the camera slightly, but its fine as a rough guide) I’d personally aim for at LEAST 50 shots on a memory card, ideally more like 200 or so, but again this depends when and where you are going to use it. For holidays etc, take as much as possible. You can of course use multiple cards and swap them when one is full. Batteries This tends to be a matter of personal choice, but I happen to think I’m right, and since I’m the one writing this, here’s my view. Digital cameras will either have a custom rechargeable battery pack (of which you have to charge up every so often), or take standard batteries. In my opinion the latter is far better, because batteries are incredibly easy to buy, whatever country you are in, whereas getting a power socket to recharge things isn’t always, and takes a few hours to recharge. Summary Things you should look for in a camera then
This table of Useage vs Features might be useful; it’s a basic guide to what kind of things you should look for.  *assuming you might want to print these out later etc. 6MP is the minimum if you want to print things up to 30x20” posters, 4MP would be find for most other sizes. **SLR zoom depends on the lenses used. There is one final thing I want to mention: Looks You can and will pay a lot of money for a camera that is small, but does the same thing as any other, just looks nicer. If you are willing to do this, fine, but be aware that you can easily pay twice the price for a more compact and nicer looking camera, than one that looks less pretty but still does the job. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 October 2006 ) |
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