Shopping guide for Digital
Cameras
Anyone who
enjoys taking pictures knows that seeing your work instantly is often an
advantage so you can make sure that you get the photo that you want. The
advent of digital photography was a definite advantage over the Polaroid
instant photos in that with digital photos and the right software you
can get really creative with your work. For those that want to get into
digital photography the number of cameras to choose from is rather large
with prices ranging from under $100 to thousands of dollars. Here are
some of the features of these cameras and things to consider when making
that first or subsequent purchase.
Resolution
This is expressed in megapixels. For example if the picture
resolution is 1200 X 1600 pixels (the pixel is the smallest unit in a
digital picture your computer screen is also expressed in pixel
resolution many screens are set to 800 X 600 pixels) then 1200 X 1600
= 1,920,00 pixels which would be expressed as 2 megapixel resolution.
Most cameras allow different resolution settings but when the specs on
the camera say 3 megapixels then that will be the maximum resolution
that you will get. When you are taking pictures for sending in email or
posting to the web you will want to go with a lower resolution such as
640 X 480. The pictures with the smaller resolution will create a
smaller size file. If you are going to take pictures to print or work
with enlargements then you will want to use the largest resolution
available on your camera.
Optical
Zoom vs Digital Zoom Generally the optical zoom is superior to digital
zoom. The optical zoom actually works on the whole picture whereas the
digital zoom takes the center of the picture and lowers the resolution
to make the picture look closer. Cameras with higher optical zoom will
cost more then cameras with the same digital zoom.
Memory
The memory of the digital camera is the film on which the pictures are
stored. Different brands of cameras have different types of memory such
as CompactFlash, Smartmedia and Sony Memory Sticks to name a few. These
can range in size from 4MB to 128MB and the larger the size the more
pictures that can be stored before the need to transfer your pictures to
a computer or printer. The real point here is to pick a camera with a
type of memory that gives you a choice of enough memory to store the
number of pictures that you want.
Shutter
Speed This is something that you dont hear much about but it is
something worth considering. The lower priced digitals usually have a
time lag between the time you press the button and when the shutter
actually takes the picture. This is usually not a problem when taking
landscape, still-life or posed pictures but if you are going for an
action picture it can be a problem so it is worth thinking about.
Dell
Digital Cameras
Find Digital Cameras and More at JandR.com!
Digital Cameras at Ritz Camera
Sony Cyber-shot
at TechDepot
Check out the Photo Pro Shop at BestBuy
goodguys.com Cameras
Digital Cameras at TigerDirect.com
Digital Cameras at Circuit City
