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How to Choose a Digital Camera
How to Choose a Digital Camera
Digital cameras cost more out of the box than regular cameras, but offer the convenience of immediate viewing, multiple image storage, computer connectivity - and there's no film to develop.
Resolution
Resolution
Nearly all digital cameras use CCD or CMOS sensers as the sensing element. This is what takes the place of film. The resolution is the number of pixels in the captured image. Computer images are divided into little dots called pixels. The more pixels, the more detailed the image can be. Here is a guide to choosing resolution, estimating the size print you can make from each:
- 1.3 Mega-pixel = 1280x960: Great 4x6's, acceptable 5x7's.
- 2 Mega-pixel = 1600x1200: Pretty good 8x10's.
- 3 Mega-pixel = 2048x1536: Great 8x10's, good 11x14's.
- 4 Mega-pixel = 2272 x 1704: Great 11x14's, and acceptable 16x20's.
- 5 Mega-pixel = 2560x1920: Pretty good 16x20's.
- 6 - 10 Mega-pixels = At this point you are usually limited by the lens, not the pixels.
Look for a 100 percent glass lens as opposed to a plastic one.
Lens aperture
The aperture of a lens is its maximum opening. The bigger the aperture, the more light is gathered, and the less light you need to take a good photo. This is the most overlooked lens specification, but it very important, especially if you like to take photos indoors without flash or from a reasonable distance.
Lens aperture is measured in f/numbers, such as f/2.0 or f/3.5. An aperture of f/2.0 literally means that the lens opening is half the focal length of the lens. Thus, smaller numbers mean bigger lens openings. You would rather have a lens that is f/2.0 than a lens that is f/4.0.
I really like have a fast (large aperture) lens. It means I can shoot photos indoors without flash, and these look a lot more natural than flash photos. You can also take a lot of photos less obtrusively without a flash. Digital photographers tend to shoot a lot of photos, and you can drive people nuts if you shoot 20 flash photos in ten minutes. They will hardly notice your shooting these twenty shots with flash disabled, and you will get much better candids.
Note that cameras with zoom often have a range of maximum apertures listed, such as f/2.5 - f/4.0. This means the maximum aperture at the most wide angle setting is f/2.5, and the maximum aperture at the most telephoto setting is f/4.0.
Lens zoom range
Lens zoom range
A zoom lens has a variable focal length. The focal length determines the magnification of the lens. A short focal length is a wide-angle lens, great for taking in large vistas. A long focal length is a telephoto lens, allowing you to get a tight photo of a distant object or person. A zoom lens lets you combine both of these and everything in between into a single adjustable lens. If a camera has a 3X zoom, it means that the longest focal length is 3 times the shortest.
A zoom lens has a variable focal length. The focal length determines the magnification of the lens. A short focal length is a wide-angle lens, great for taking in large vistas. A long focal length is a telephoto lens, allowing you to get a tight photo of a distant object or person. A zoom lens lets you combine both of these and everything in between into a single adjustable lens. If a camera has a 3X zoom, it means that the longest focal length is 3 times the shortest.
Most digital cameras have a 3X zoom, with a focal length range from around 35 mm to 105 mm. 35 mm is a modest wide angle, and 105 mm is a modest telephoto. Super zoom cameras have extreme zoom ranges of 8X or 10X. These generally have about the same minimum focal length of around 35mm, but these usually have a much longer maximum focal length. Digital SLR's almost always have interchangeable lenses that allow you to pick whatever focal length you want.
Most digital cameras have a 3X zoom, with a focal length range from around 35 mm to 105 mm. 35 mm is a modest wide angle, and 105 mm is a modest telephoto. Super zoom cameras have extreme zoom ranges of 8X or 10X. These generally have about the same minimum focal length of around 35mm, but these usually have a much longer maximum focal length. Digital SLR's almost always have interchangeable lenses that allow you to pick whatever focal length you want.
Long focal lengths mean you can get a tight photo of your children's faces, or a shot on the soccer field where you child is actually recognizable. Extreme focal lengths let you get in real close to the action even from the sidelines of a soccer field.
Long focal lengths mean you can get a tight photo of your children's faces, or a shot on the soccer field where you child is actually recognizable. Extreme focal lengths let you get in real close to the action even from the sidelines of a soccer field.
(Important: ignore "digital zoom" specifications in ads. Only pay attention to optical zoom. Digital zoom is of no value. All it does is crop the image in the camera. You can always crop an image in software after you have transferred it to your computer, and you have more freedom at this time.)
(Important: ignore "digital zoom" specifications in ads. Only pay attention to optical zoom. Digital zoom is of no value. All it does is crop the image in the camera. You can always crop an image in software after you have transferred it to your computer, and you have more freedom at this time.)
Long focal lengths present problems for photographers. It is hard to hold a camera sufficiently stable at a focal length of 300 mm. Bright sunlight helps, and a tripod or mono-pod can do wonders. An increasing number of cameras with extreme zooms have stabilized lenses that compensate for camera shake. Good stabilization can make a remarkable difference in sharpness of handheld shots at extreme focal lengths. Do not buy a super zoom without image stabilization unless you plan on using a tripod.
Long focal lengths present problems for photographers. It is hard to hold a camera sufficiently stable at a focal length of 300 mm. Bright sunlight helps, and a tripod or mono-pod can do wonders. An increasing number of cameras with extreme zooms have stabilized lenses that compensate for camera shake. Good stabilization can make a remarkable difference in sharpness of handheld shots at extreme focal lengths. Do not buy a super zoom without image stabilization unless you plan on using a tripod.
At the time of this writing, I believe most people are best served by one of three classes of cameras:
At the time of this writing, I believe most people are best served by one of three classes of cameras:
- Ultra compacts with a zoom of roughly 5X. The great virtue of these is that you can always have your camera with you. The quality of the better ultra compacts is astounding for their size.
- Superzooms with a zoom ratio of roughly 10X - 12X. Only a little more than the better ultracompacts, they let you reach out for the distant photos. Be sure to get image stabilization.
- Digital SLRs. This is what the pros use, and for good reason. You can choose any of a wide variety of lenses (for a price), and you can take beautiful photos with less light. But these are big and expensive.
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