Buying a Digital Camera?? Keep in Mind

• Whilst brand names can help you make a decision based on reliability or quality of picture, remember that sometimes a cheap camera will satisfy your needs as well as a more expensive one.


• Decide if you want to Scroll or Press. Are you comfortable with wading through menus to change basic settings? Or would you rather just press a button? Smaller cameras may be cooler, but larger cameras have buttons.


• Consider how wide you want to go. Smaller cameras have narrower-angle lenses, so you won't get that whole building in without getting way back. A 28mm (film equivalent) lens will give you all the wide you'll need.


• Get a grip. Even some larger cameras have uncomfortably small hand grips. The grip should just fill the inside curve of your fingers. Many small cameras have no grip at all. Will you get a major finger cramp just trying to hold on?


• Don't get too hung up on the megapixels. Lens quality and camera responsiveness are far more important. 5/6 megapixels is more than enough to create good quality 4x6 prints. Within a range of plus or minus 1 or 2 megapixels, the images will be virtually indistinguishable from one another (with an 8 megapixel camera compared with a 10 megapixel camera for instance, the difference in resolution is not significant).


• Consider your need for speed. Many cheap cameras have a substantial time lag between pressing the button and actually taking the picture. If you're going to take pics of your kids, this is something to think about -- they move fast! Also, consider the continuous frame rate - for action shots, a continuous frame rate of at least 5 frames per second is desirable. The camera should be capable of taking 5 frames per second, for at least four seconds before the internal memory buffer is filled. Cameras with slower continuous frame rates and/or smaller internal memory buffers will be frustrating, and make certain types of photography difficult, if not impossible.


• Battery Type. Many cameras use proprietary batteries, rather than standard AA batteries. Consider that someday, the battery that comes with your camera will stop working or get lost, and you will need to obtain a replacement. Your batteries will generally die at the worst possible time, like the first day of your vacation, or at your daughter's wedding. Proprietary batteries may be difficult or impossible to replace (especially on short notice), where many types of AA batteries are available nearly anywhere, and at any time.


• Weight quality vs. quantity. A DSLR (that's a digicam with interchangeable lenses) will give you better pictures and is actually easier to operate than a small camera, but it'll weigh more and cost more.


• Memory card format. Compact Flash cards are the defacto standard in professional cameras, and are available in capacities up to 16GB as of late 2006. The Compact Flash card format has been in constant use since its inception in 1994, and shows no sign of obsolescence in the forseeable future. Compact Flash drives and related software drivers are compatible with nearly all operating systems. Regardless of the camera you choose, it should be capable of using Compact Flash memory cards, perhaps in addition to the card format du jour. Smart Media cards were once a popular card format for digital cameras; they are no longer manufactured, nor are they used in digital cameras. SD or Smart Digital cards are (as of late 2006) a the most popular card format in consumer cameras, but are "only" available in capacities of up to 8GB.


• Figure in the accessories! Most cameras don't come with a memory card or a card reader. Add them in when you're totalling cost. And don't forget batteries --get an extra set and a charger. And a bag, and...;-) - Choose a memory card with enough capacity to hold at least 400 images at the camera's highest JPEG resolution. This is equivalent to 11 rolls of 36-exposure film, and is adequate for most people.


• Make room for zoom. With zoom you can switch between close up and a faraway point. There is a very important thing to think about when buying a camera and that is the difference between optical and digital zoom. Optical zoom measures the ability of the camera's lens and other parts to capture more light, and more detail, from a particular faraway point. That means that you get better-quality pictures taken from a distance while digital zoom works by capturing only the central portion of the entire image received by the sensor. It basically means that the digital zoom is really only a cropping tool, since it cuts off the parts of the image that would be out of the field of view if a longer focal length lens had been used. As optical zoom is much better and more clear don't get fooled with advertisements of digital zooms, it's the optical zoom you should be watching.