Digital Cameras

Digital Camera Buyers Guide

Point and Shoot versus Digital DSLR

The first decision you need to make when buying a digital camera is whether to go for a DSLR (Digital SLR) camera, or a compact point and shoot camera. DSLR cameras are the larger cameras that most people associate with professional photographers.  Their key benefits are they have interchangable lenses, so you can shoot sharp images, whether the object you are capturing is within centimeters, or up to hundreds of meters away, depending on the type of lense used. 

DSLR's can also shoot at a much faster than a standard camera.  This is important when you are looking to shoot moving objects, or are looking to capture that magic moment at a sporting event.  So overall a DSLR is a lot more powerful, and therefore a lot more versatile.  This does mean that even entry level cameras are much more expensive than point and shoot digital cameras.  You can see a range of DSLR's on the following link DSLR Cameras.     

How Many Megapixels Do You Need?

Again the number of megapixels you need is determined by what you are using the images for.  10 megapixel cameras are now very common, even with the compact cameras at affordable prices, but if you are looking to upload, or email photo's, a 10 megapixel camera will create large files that will take a longtime to upload depending on your connection.  If however you are intending to blow up the images for posters etc then a camera in the 10 to 18 megapixel range will be required.

Digital cameras store their images on memory cards, which makes them extremely versatile as you can markedly increase the capacity of the camera by adding a memory card.  It also means you can quickly and easily interchange the memory card between your electronics products for viewing or uploading to the internet.

Memory cards come in a number of different specs including SD cards, compact flash, xD cards, and a memory stick.  Generally camera’s only work with one particular card so it pays to check what the camera is compatible with before you purchase a memory card.

See the following page for a full range of memory cards, along with their specs and pricing details.

LCD Screen Size

A large LCD screen does make viewing easier, but its not only the size of the screen that is important.  Also take into consideration the sharpness and brightness of the images on the screen, and also the quality of the anti-reflective coating (if buying online without seeing the camera, check for reviews online).

Continuous Shooting

This is also sometimes referred to as Burst mode, and this functionality allows the user to take a sequence of photos in quick succession.  The speed at which a camera can takes shots is measured in frames per second.  The speed and total number of photos that can be taken in continuous shooting mode does vary between cameras, so it pays to carefully check this feature if this functionality is inportant to you.

Image Stabilizers

Their are often times when you are looking to take a photo where the external environment prevents you from taking a steady shot, such as in a moving car.  All digital cameras come with a built in stabilizer that do adjust for small camera movements.

There are two main types of stabilizers, either in the lense, or by shifting the sensor which is in the camera body itself.  Lense based stabilizers tend to be more expensive.  For a technical explanation of the different types of stabilizers see the following link Image Stabilization.    

Digital Camera Basic Features Video

The video below provides a basic guide about what to look for when buying a digital camera.