Shopping Tips
What to Consider When Selecting a Digital Camera
When it comes to buying a camera, go digital, even though it might be confusing when confronting all sort of selections ranging from small to large in size, compact to bulky, and all kind of jargons listed in the spec. Consider these:
Resolution (Megapixels, MP)
Resolution is measured in megapixels, the number of dots in millions. Don't bother 5MP or less these days, but don't over spend on resolution either. More megapixels usually translate into more details in the picture. Higher resolution also take up more storage space per photo. Beyond 5 MP, you're not likely to see the difference in 4x6, or even 5x7 prints. If you expect to crop images heavily, go with 8MP or more to get yourself more room for cropping or for poster images. With a higher resolution camera, you can always set the MP lower before you take the shots.
Zoom
There are two kinds of zoom: digital zoom and optical zoom. Forget about the digital zoom that is useless for taking a good photo and don't be fooled by a high digital zoom that is trying to steal the spotlight of real zooming capability. Only the optical zoom will let you take photos at a distance. Optical zoom matters, a 3x (equivalent to 25-mm to 105-mm lens) is typical and common in ultra compact size cameras. 5x and above optical zoon usually takes a bit more size so you can't expect the camera to be ultra compact. Advanced compacts usually offer 4x to 7x. If you need more, focus on super-zooms (10x or more) and SLRs (Single Lens Reflex) that accepts any lense, though they are much heavier.
Size Dimension
It would be convenient to carry a digital everywhere with you, in your purse, or in your jacket pocket. A tiny compact model will be your companion to capture your sweet memories. But, the smaller it gets, the more functionality it may have to let out or sacrifice - battery life, zoom capability, LCD Size, flash range, etc. Pay extra attention to the dimensional spec online that usually reveals the size dimension. Compare one model to another, especially if you're looking for a small one.
Aperture and Shutter Control
Like most others, if you'd rather not control aperture and shutter yourself, opt for most compacts models that don't offer such control. If you're rather professional and know what you're doing, consider digital SLRs (Single Lens Reflex) that allow you to control aperture and shutter yourselves whenever you like to.
ISO Sensitivity
ISO is the standard used to denote film speed, which has been carried over to digital imaging. Digital camara manufacturers now provide the ISO equivalent for the sensors employed in digital cameras. ISO 100 is the base, while ISO 200 sensor is twice as sensitive as an ISO 100 sensor. At ISO settings of 800 or higher, you can do handheld shooting in dim light. Pay extra attention to the ISO level the camera is capable of so you can avoid using the flashlight as much as possible. Photos taken with flashlight usually has no comparison with photos taken without. Even the resulting shots are often grainy under high ISO setting, the resulting photos are always more appealing.
Battery Life
One way of viewing battery life is how many shots a camera can take before the battery needs to be recharged. As a reference point, most models fall in the range of 200 to 500 photo shots. Overtime, the rechargable battery degrades so you'd make your own judgement whether you'd buy an extra spare rechargable battery to prevent from missing the precious moments.
Flash Range
Flash range is how far the flash can reach out from the camera during the shot. A typical mistake is that you expect the flash can reach the objects when it really can't. I have seen cameras' flash range ranging from as short as 6 feet to as long as 28 feet, professional ones can possibly even go beyond. Turning on the flash doesn't mean the light will be sufficient, especially when you're taking pictures of distant objects indoors. Know the limitation of your flash range helps. Next time you buy a camera, look for what the manufacture says about the flash range. If you can avoid the flash in a not-too-dark surrounding, don't use it, and you'll usually get a better color picture by holding your breath and staying still.
Next Shot Delay
The Next Shot Delay refers to the time in seconds that you have to wait for your camera before you can take another shot. This is important because you don't want to sigh when the moment flies by as your camera flashes and doesn't respond. As a reference, next shot delay varies from 1 to 5 seconds. I'd suggest to stick with models that offer 1 to 2 seconds of Next Shot Delay.
Image Stabilizer
The image stabilizer is a mechanism used in a digital still camera or video camera that stabilizes the recorded image by varying the optical path to the sensor, and by cropping the images behind the scene. It is a feature that increases the stability of an image to compensate camera shake.
New Models
Get yourself know what's new on the digital camera market. With the above introductory tips, check out Digital Camera Timeline maintained by Digital Photography Review. The timeline shown there is a graphical representation of new digital camera product announcements going back to 1995. You should be able to head start your camera selection there.
revised on 2008-04-14 by Charles Gwa
revised on 2007-05-28 by Kyle Ko
article published on 2006-11-04 by Charles Gwa
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