Buying Guide for Digital Cameras

With all the various resolutions and price levels, buying a digital camera can be downright confusing. Whether you're planning on making prints for framing or just emailing photos to friends, you'll have many features to consider when making your purchase. As a general rule of thumb, if you want to take higher quality shots, you'll need more resolution and a decent lens. If quantity of shots is most important, you'll need plenty of memory. Read on for more help?

What are the basic features I should consider when picking a digital camera?

Resolution: Probably the most important feature to consider in your camera purchase. Resolution is represented in two ways; either as pixels in millions (megapixels), or as the number of pixels displayed as Width x Height, as in 1600 x 1200 pixels. If you're only a casual photographer, and you just want to take some occasional pictures to print out in small sizes, load up to the web, or email to friends or family, then a lower resolution (around 1152 x 864, or 1 megapixel) will probably fulfill your needs. If you plan on making photos of different sizes, or want to get a little creative with close-ups or color, you'll want to work with a more mid-range resolution, somewhere between 1152 x 864 (1 megapixel) and 1600 x 1200 (2.1 megapixels). If you're very serious about your photography, look for a model with 3 megapixels or more (at or above 2048 x 1536).

Memory: Most cameras come with a relatively small amount, but you can purchase additional cards to give you more memory and, therefore, the ability to take more pictures without needing to go back to your computer to download. Some cameras utilize other forms of digital camera "film," including floppy disks, Memory Stick, internal memory chips, and even compact discs. Be sure to pay attention to what format you'll be using. Most cameras will come with enough memory for you to take roughly the equivalent of a roll of film, depending on the resolution you use.

LCD Screen: Allows you to see how a picture will look before you take it, and even view the picture you just took. Many LCDs also allow you to view all the pictures you've taken so far, sometimes even all at once. This is a very handy feature considering you only have so much room in your camera's memory, so getting rid of poor/unwanted photos frees up more room.

Lens: Be careful when shopping around. Some cheaper cameras have great resolution, but feature lower quality lenses that sacrifice image quality. An optical zoom lens is a nice feature for digital photography, but don't confuse that with a digital zoom, which closely simulates a traditional zoom, but loses some resolution in the process.

I'll be taking a lot of close ups and pictures of distant and small objects. What kind of camera do I need?

First off, consider a camera with higher resolution, because as you close in on objects, they generally lose clarity. Also consider a camera with a zoom lens. A traditional zoom will help you close in, and a digital zoom feature does pretty much the same with the help of software, although it "cheats" and crops away the unintended periphery of the image without raising the resolution on the featured object, thereby sacrificing some clarity. To help in clearly capturing small objects, look for a camera with macro capability—this feature will help tremendously and lessen the impact on resolution.

What do I need to know about camera resolution?

Resolution is probably the most important feature to consider in your camera purchase. It will greatly influence the quality of the images you capture, and it will also determine limitations on the size of images you can create without overly sacrificing quality. Resolution is determined by the number of pixels, or tiny light-sensitive dots, that your camera's image sensor offers. Resolution is represented in two ways: first as Width x Height, as in 1600 x 1200 pixels. If you multiply 1600 x 1200, you come up with close to 2 megapixels (two million pixels), which is the other way resolution if often stated. To better understand how resolution impacts your digital photography, imagine a pencil sketch of a scene, and then filling it in with dots of color. Obviously, the more dots you fill in, the more detailed and color-rich your image will get. Same is true of pixels.

How much resolution do you need? That depends on how and why you will reproduce the images, and the amount of money you are willing to spend. If you're only a casual photographer, and you just want to take some occasional pictures to print out in small sizes, load up to the web, or email to friends or family, then a camera with a lower resolution (such as 640 x 480, or .3 megapixels) will probably fulfill your needs. If you plan on making more photos of different sizes, or want to get a little creative with close-ups or color, you'll want to work with a more mid-range resolution, somewhere between 1152 x 864 (1 megapixel) and 1600 x 1200 (2.1 megapixels). If you're very serious about your photography, look for a model with 3 megapixels or more (at or above 2048 x 1536). One important thing to remember: when you take pictures on higher resolution settings, you will be able to fit fewer images in your camera's memory. If you need to take a lot of pictures, you need to set your camera to a lower resolution or buy additional memory cards.

What size prints can I make with my camera?

You can print just about any size, but whether that print will be of any quality depends on the resolution you use. If your camera has a maximum 640 x 480 resolution, don't expect to print out high quality 8 x 10 prints. To get a rough idea of how much you need for various picture sizes, refer to the chart below:

The camera I'm looking at uses a CompactFlash card as "film." What is that, and what other kinds are available?

A flash card, sometimes called a CompactFlash or SmartMedia card, is an external form of memory and most often functions as your camera's film. It's available in various sizes (in megabytes), from as little as 4MB to 128MB and beyond. Most cameras come with a relatively small amount, but you can purchase additional cards to give you more memory and, therefore, the ability to take more pictures without needing to go back to your computer to download. Some cameras utilize other forms of memory, including Memory Stick, floppy disks, internal memory chips, and even compact discs. Be sure to pay attention to what format you'll be using. How much memory you need depends on how many shots you want to take before you need to go back to your computer to "clear out" your memory card. Most cameras will come with enough memory for you to take roughly the equivalent of a roll of film, depending on the resolution you use.

Why are the advantages/disadvantages of an LCD screen?

An LCD screen allows you to see how a picture will look before you take it, and even view the picture you just took. Many LCDs also allow you to view all the pictures you've taken so far, sometimes even all at once. This is a very handy feature considering you only have so much room in your camera's memory, so getting rid of poor/unwanted photos frees up more room. The disadvantage of an LCD is battery drainage. If you use the LCD a lot, expect to burn through you batteries quickly. If you have it on all the time, there's a good chance you'll need a recharge or new batteries before you fill up your memory! The good news: you don't need to use it when taking pictures. Almost all cameras come with a traditional viewfinder.

What does JPEG mean?

JPEG is a type of file that is compressed to make it easier to store and transmit, and most digital cameras store images as JPEG. The amount of compression depends on the camera and settings available, and the more compressed a file or picture is, the less room it takes up in memory. The problem with compressed images is that some data is lost upon compression, and therefore the more an item is compressed, the lower the image quality. If you want to take the highest quality images, make sure your camera has a setting for lower compression, or no compression at all. Also make sure you have enough storage; you may need to buy more.

How do I get the images from my camera to my computer? Do I need to buy anything special?

All cameras come with a cable and software to download images to your computer, and most are compatible with the MAC and PC computers presently on the market. However, if you have an older computer, make sure you have a port that is compatible with the camera's cable interface. To possibly save time and some camera battery power, you can buy a memory card reader that attaches to your computer. Instead of hooking the camera up the computer, you just take out the card, insert it in the reader, and download the photos without using your camera. If your computer doesn't use a USB connection, this will probably save you some downloading time.

How important is the lens quality?

Just like in a regular camera, the lens plays a big role in image quality. You can have a high-resolution camera, but if the lens is poor quality, you images will pay the price. One thing to remember about digital camera lenses: they are not as big as regular 35MM cameras. If you want to know the approximate 35MM equivalent of your lens, look in the camera's description for wording about the camera's "35MM equivalent."

What is white balance?

When a camera performs white balance, it determines what parts of an image are supposed to be white, and then it ensures they appear correctly. Advanced cameras have settings, such as daylight or cloudy, that aid the camera in making the determination, and many have automatic settings.

What's a webcam?

A webcam is simply a digital camera that captures motion and sometime still images. You can use these to make short video clips to transmit via email or put on the Web, or to even make video phone calls (although image quality over normal phone lines leaves something to be desired). If the camera has a snapshot feature, it can also function as a regular digital camera, although lens quality and resolution tend be more entry level.