A Pocket Buyer’s Guide for Digital Cameras

The digital wave has left nary an artistic medium untouched. As a result, photography has become infinitely more accessible, transferable, and simple with the advent of the digital camera. No longer is it necessary to spend hours in a dark room developing professional looking pictures. Now, with simply the click of a mouse, you can send your pictures to friends and relatives half a world away or the next town over.

Digital photography has opened the doors to people of all paths of life, including: students and novices who want to dip their hands into the photographic world, business owners and entrepreneurs who wish to put pictures of their wares online in seconds, families that want to compile their photos in organized, durable albums, and intermediate photographic artists that want to showcase their work across the world.

You too can be part of this ever-growing world of visual splendor with a few simple, bits of information to guide your financial and consumer wants. Let’s start with the basics:

Price of Beauty
Mega-pixels:
The picture quality of any digital camera is measured in megapixels. Every picture you take and copy to memory is made of millions of tiny bits of color that make an image. Also, note that as pictures become more detailed with higher grade cameras, the image size increases when it is stored in memory. (We’ll get to that later on) One megapixel is equivalent to one million pixels, and depending on the functions you want your camera to perform, megapixels should be one of the main factors guiding your purchase. At the very low end of the techno gadget spectrum there are inexpensive point and shoot digital cameras that take pictures at about 1 megapixel. One megapixel is fine if you want to send small images in email or post them on a website. Cameras of 2 megapixels and up will provide adequate picture quality for standard 4×6 prints. Now, if you want to enlarge a picture you took of a beautiful cityscape, 3 megapixels and up should satisfy your needs for bigger 8×10 photos. 11×14 prints require even more detail to be scaled up properly so your best bet is a 4 megapixel or more digital camera. For you perfectionists and aspiring professional photographers, something in the 6-8 megapixel range should satisfy your keen eyes.

Most 2 megapixel point and shoot cameras are fine for beginners, 3-4 megapixels provide a good mix of auto and manual features for beginners and novices. For professionals, most 6-8 higher model cameras will provide all the bells and whistles they crave.

What feels good in your hands?
Size:
The size of your digital camera should be dictated by your mode of use. If you are looking for something to tote along in your pocket on vacation, or weekend excursions to snap pictures of your friends and family, or some picturesque scene, a compact, all in one camera may be for you. If you want just a hint of professionalism and more flexibility with you picture taking, standard sized digital cameras provide a bit more of the features you’d look for in a regular camera. If you are a professional photographer that takes pride in their work you may want a larger professional sized camera that offers a bevy of features and versatility that includes manual control and interchangeable lenses. Professional style SLR (single reflex lens) digital cameras are more akin to 35mm SLRs.

Pictures that last a lifetime
Memory:
The memory is what puts the “digital” in “digital camera,” each photo you take is stored in memory and the more detailed the picture the more space it will take up in memory. Not to fear though, we’ve provided a handy dandy chart to show how many pictures can be stored in each resolution setting.

Resolution SettingFine
2048x1536High
1600×1200 Normal
1280×960 Low
640×480
16MB296780225
32MB60150160471
64MB115302324721
128MB2316056491631
256MB456120913003200

Also, be aware that there are several types of memory cards for digital cameras. Secure Digital cards are stamp sized flash memory cards that are priced economically and can be used in other media devices. xD cards are a bit more pricey and are used only with Olympus digital cameras. Compact Flash cards come in Type I and II, (Type II being thicker and with a higher capacity) and feature a controller card to improve file transfers.
For more information on memory cards click here.

Get ready for your close-up
Optical Zoom & Digital Zoom:
Most cameras will have a zoom feature, either optical, digital, or a combination of both. Optical zoom does not compromise image quality because it uses lenses to zoom in. Digital zoom is a software based function that enlarges and enhances the image. Digital zoom, however, often creates “noise” or a grainy effect on the image. So if getting close-ups and zooming is one of your priorities, then opt for a camera with more optical zoom.

Off it goes
Computer Connectivity
Once you have taken all the pictures that will fit on your camera’s memory card, you can transfer them to your computer to edit, email, or post pictures to the web. Most cameras will come with either a serial port or, more commonly, a USB port, serial being the slowest, USB 1.1 a bit faster, and USB 2.0 is about five times faster than USB 1.1. If you are a serious photographer with large detailed pictures you may want to opt for the USB 2.0 in order to cut down on transfer times.

Previews and management
LCD Viewfinders:
The LCD viewfinder is very important to managing your pictures. Most digital cameras are equipped with a 1.8″ LCD screen while higher end models have a 2″ screen. Remember the “try before you buy” mantra? It comes into play here, as a consumer you should try out the interface of the camera and make sure the setup for taking, saving, and deleting your pictures is up to par, so you won’t accidentally delete your favorite pictures before you even make it home.

Production
Digital Video Format/Movie Mode:
As an added bonus feature, most cameras are equipped to take short, low-res video clips with sound. While this is a nifty little feature, it will not take the place of a camcorder and the video clips will take up a hefty chunk of memory.

What’s on?
TV Connections:
Now you want to showcase your photogenic work, right? TV-out ports allow users to display pictures and sometimes create slideshows on their television. This is a great feature that makes it easy and convenient to show pictures at parties or family gatherings.

The Consummate Perfectionist
Light Settings:
Manual settings are very important to professions who want to tweak and modify their camera to achieve the best picture quality possible. Some features you’ll undoubtedly need are shutter speed and aperture settings, interchangeable lenses and flashes, continuous burst shooting, and multiple exposure modes.

Picks:
2MegaPixel ( $150-250)
Nikon Coolpix 2200 2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom 25519
The Good: 14.5 MB internal memory or optional Secure Digital (SD) cards, 3x optical Zoom-Nikkor lens with 4x digital zoom, In-camera cropping; Quicktime movie mode without audio
The Bad: NikonView software is not compatible with Windows 98, no manual shutter or aperture adjustment
The Deal Maker: Best shot selector shoots up to 10 still images then saves the sharpest

Canon PowerShot A60 2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom
The Good: Compatible with CompactFlash Type I cards; 16 MB card included, 3x optical zoom with 2.5x digital zoom, (7.5x total) included manual, aperture priority, and shutter priority exposure modes.
The Bad: No Battery life meter, 1.5″ display
The Deal Maker: Canon’s DIGIC (DIGital Imaging Core) processor ensures excellent color rendition and white balance for every shot, as well as super-fast auto focusing, noise-free imaging, and advanced flash exposure performance

4MegaPixel ($350-450)
Kodak EasyShare DX6490 4MP Digital Camera with 10X Optical Zoom 8500282
The Good: 10x optical zoom, 3x digital zoom, (30x total) Store images on 16MB internal memory, with MMC/SD card expansion slot, Share your shots instantly with exclusive KODAK Share button, for one-touch photo emailing, printing, and transferring, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual Color modes: Sharpness (3 levels) Macro / Close-up mode Burst mode, auto flash adjustment
The Bad: Large body, a little trouble with low light focusing
The Deal Maker: Powered by lithium-ion rechargeable battery (included)

Olympus C765 4MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom
The Good: 1.8-inch LCD display; PictBridge enabled, which enables you to transfer pictures from your digital camera to a compatible printer, 10x optical zoom combines with 4x digital zoom for a 40x total zoom
The Bad: Store images on xD memory cards
The Deal Maker: The C-765 is one of the first Olympus models to feature TruePic Turbo, a new image processor that sharpens image clarity, contrast, and color for life-like results, also makes the camera 30% faster in processing images

5-6MegaPixels ($450-$800)
Fujifilm FinePix S7000 6.3 MP Digital Camera w 6x Optical Zoom
The Good: Includes 16 MB XD Picture Card, also compatible with CompactFlash Type II cards and MicroDrives, advanced exposure controls, including auto, programmed AE, aperture-priority AE, manual EV, and pre-programmed scene position modes.
The Bad: Over-agressive decompression on 12 MP Normal mode, creates noise
The Deal Maker: Professional grade camera in a compact size for well below $800

Sony Cybershot 5.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom DSCP100
The Good: 5-megapixel sensor (2592 x 1944 pixels) for enlargements up to 20 x 30 inches, Compatible with Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro media; includes 32 MB card, Powered by lithium-ion battery (NP-FR1); connects to PCs and Macs via USB 2.0
The Bad: Auto-focus feature is a bit buggy
The Deal Maker: Pocket sized camera, super sensitive 5 megapixel sensor for under $500

8+ MegaPixels ($800 and up)
Nikon Coolpix 8700 8MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Zoom 25515
The Good: Store images on CompactFlash type I/II memory cards; Microdrive compatible, Powered by rechargeable lithium-ion battery (included); Programmed Auto, Shutter-Priority Auto, Aperture-Priority Auto, and Manual, as well as Exposure Compensation for an exceptional degree of exposure control
The Bad: connects via USB 1.1, no memory card included
The Deal Maker: 8-megapixel sensor captures 3264 x 2448 images for poster-size plus print enlargements,

Canon EOS 1Ds 11.1MP Digital SLR Camera
The Good: The advanced chip assembles and processes image data captured by the sensor to achieve color accuracy and wide tonal range equivalent to digitally scanned images from conventional film-based cameras. IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface, allowing speedy plug-and-play data communication with computers, Images are stored on CompactFlash Type I or II cards (Microdrive compatible). You can create up to 500 subfolders on each CF card with each folder storing up to 9,999 images
The Bad: The price tag
The Deal Maker: World’s first digital SLR that can prove its images are unaltered, original files