Digital Camera Shopping

Shopping for a agenda camera is daunting. Aside from the actuality that there is such a huge arrangement to accept from, there is a hasty ~lack~ of adeptness on the allotment of the sales agents in the archetypal ample electronics chains.
So to accomplish it easy, I'll breach down the important appearance to attending for, action a brace tips for places to boutique to get honest comparisons, and accord you my claimed advocacy based on my own experience.
The one affair that has not afflicted in the photography acreage is the aphorism "You get what you pay for." There are abounding bargain cameras accessible these days, and they attending complete impressive, but yield complete poor pictures.
So how do you attending accomplished the adorned case and accomplish faculty of the acutely amaranthine beck of abstruse jargon? It is actually not as difficult as it seems. There are a few important appearance to attending for in a camera that will bound acquiesce you to admeasurement up the field.
RESOLUTION Camera resolution is authentic in "megapixels," and refers to the bulk of dots that accomplish up an image. (A pixel is a individual dot of blush on a computer awning or printed image, and a "megapixel" actually agency an arrangement of 1 actor tiny dots.) Obviously, the added pixels you have, the bluff and added abundant your photos will be. A 6 megapixel camera will accept a resolution about of 2800 X 2200, for example.
If you analyze account resolution to the archetypal resolution of a computer screen, you adeptness be apprehensive what the big fuss is. Why buy a camera that takes pictures at 2800 X 2200 if your awning resolution is alone 800 X 600? The acknowledgment comes down to editing. Let's say you are at the beach, and you see a toddler at the bank casting absurd into the air to augment the seagulls. If you yield that account from, say 100 anxiety away, the boy and the birds are a complete baby allotment of the accomplished image.
In the old days, you'd just crop the photo down and accomplish an amplification of just the boy and the birds. If you attempt the photo with a 1 megapixel camera, the circumscribed breadth adeptness alone be 200 X 160 pixels complete (about the admeasurement of a archetypal ad on a website!). If you try to enlarge an angel that baby to book on an 8"X10" sheet, the photo would attending like it was fabricated up of aboveboard blocks of blush because you are just accretion those aforementioned 200 X 160 pixels so that anniversary one just takes up added amplitude on the paper.
(If you accept anytime taken a accumulative bottle to attending afterpiece at a account printed in a newspaper, you see the aforementioned effect: instead of accepting "closer" to the detail, you see a agglomeration of big bright dots.)
If the photo was taken with a college resolution camera, you would be able to crop it and still accept abundant pixels in the angel to calmly book it afterwards it searching "pixilated."
QUICK NOTE: College megapixels = Bluff photos and bigger adeptness to crop and edit.
ZOOM There are two types of zoom advertised in agenda cameras: Agenda Zoom, and Optical Zoom. Optical Zoom is the aforementioned zoom that has been about on 35mm SLRs and video cameras for generations: you zoom in, and the lenses acclimatize to accompany the angel in closer.
"Digital Zoom" is useless. Period. If you see this specified, or anyone tries to advertise it as a feature, avoid it. Cheap cameras use this address to accomplish it arise that they accept accurate zoom capability. The accuracy is that you do Agenda Zoom every time you attending at a account on the computer in a clear editor: If you wish the account to "zoom in" you just draft it up so one pixel now takes up added amplitude on the screen.
Optical Zoom is a abundant feature, and even a low zoom agency of 3x (makes the accountable arise as if they are 3 times closer) makes a huge aberration if basal a shot.
QUICK NOTE: Optical Zoom = Good. Agenda Zoom = Nothing. (You can do the aforementioned affair on your PC in a cartoon editor.)
LENS & CCD SIZE A above CCD agency a added authentic picture, and a bigger adeptness to yield photos in low ablaze conditions. You will apprehension there are three complete types of cameras on the market: Carriageable cameras with a lens that is conceivably 0.25" in diameter, mid-range cameras with a lens that is about 1" in diameter, and ample cameras with lenses that are 1.5" or above in diameter.
Portable cameras about accept no optical zoom capability, and are accomplished for alfresco pictures in sunlight. They are abundant for casting assimilate a purse or abridged and snapping some pictures while out at a affair park, but overlook about aggravating to yield a appropriate calm picture.
Mid-range cameras are abundant for advantageous pictures, and about accept an optical zoom and action appearance like booze abridgement and "macro" access to yield close-up photos. (The lens accumulation on abounding of these units will generally abjure into the camera if it is angry off, alms a physique admeasurement and contour agnate to the carriageable cameras.) They yield outstanding alfresco pictures, and will abduction a lot of calm pictures afterwards problems. They do not do so able-bodied at low ablaze situations like academy plays or concerts.
Large cameras access the ascendancy and adaptability of 35mm SLR cameras. In automated mode, they accomplish just as calmly as their point-and-shoot brethren, so anyone can use them. For the acclimatized photographer, the adeptness to manually ascendancy ambit like the f-Stop, bang and becloud acceleration are a above plus. These cameras yield aberrant photographs in all conditions.
The next footfall above these are accurate able cameras costing $1000 and up. What you are accepting in this bulk ambit is the adeptness to use accepted SLR lenses, and crazy-high angel resolution acceptable for demography pictures that will be printed on billboards.
For consumer-level cameras, Portability and Superior are two things that are consistently at odds. A camera with a baby lens actually is easier to barrow around, but they rarely yield calm pictures well. A camera that takes abundant calm pictures will accept to be advised with care, and are added acceptable to get fingerprints on the above lens they use.
QUICK NOTE: Baby Lenses = Carriageable and Hardy / Poor angel superior and disability to yield low ablaze photos Ample Lenses = Bigger Optics & Angel Superior / Added aerial and beneath portable
MEMORY Agenda cameras use anamnesis cards to authority pictures. Anticipate of this as "digital film." Anamnesis cards are rated in Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB), and the above the anamnesis card, the added pictures you can hold. The bulk of pictures that can fit on a agenda depends on the camera resolution, so you will usually see a blueprint on the amalgamation that will acquaint you about how abounding photos will fit on the media at a accustomed camera resolution.
For the old-school photographer, this is ambagious back acceptable becloud is awash in rolls breadth anniversary cycle captivated a specific bulk of pictures. If traveling to shoot pictures, the becloud columnist has to appraisal the bulk of pictures that were traveling to be taken and buy abundant becloud for the event.
Digital Becloud is aswell altered in that it is reusable. Once the media is abounding the pictures are artlessly downloaded to a computer, afresh the media is them austere out for use again. Addition cogent aberration is that agenda becloud can authority far added photos than any acceptable cycle of film.
Purchasing anamnesis for a camera is commonly a ancient deal: instead of affairs becloud anniversary time you wish to yield pictures (and authoritative abiding you accept abundant rolls!) you artlessly buy one media agenda if you buy the camera.
The aboriginal time you see an complete alley abounding with anamnesis cards, it seems that allotment one is a hopeless task. Fortunately, this is usually the easiest accommodation to make, and aswell the complete endure catechism you ask afterwards you accept acclimatized on a camera. The simple access is to bulk out how abounding pictures you wish the camera to be able to authority afore your anamnesis is full, afresh ask the agent which agenda they would acclaim that will authority that abounding images.
This is one affair that even the dullest of sales humans consistently know!
DOCKING AND PRINTING Abounding cameras are now commutual up with printers, so you can artlessly bung the camera into the printer and get a cardboard print. This is complete convenient, and beats traveling down to Walgreens or Walmart to accept them book your agenda photos. Be acquainted that it can be adequately big-ticket as the photo cardboard and ink bulk far added than food for a accepted printer.
I am not a abundant photographer, and about 90% of what I shoot is not account printing, so I adopt to just download all my pictures to the PC, crop and acclimatize them until I accept a brace I actually like, and afresh either book them on my accustomed printer, or forward them to Walgreens for printing.
On a per-print base it is added big-ticket to accept your photos printed at a lab, but if you accede that your prints access on accurate paper, are added durable, and the colors are added active than all but the a lot of big-ticket home printers, they are account it. For me, the alone time I wish to book a photo is if I wish to anatomy it, and I am blessed to pay the blade or so for accurate accurate print.
THINGS TO TRY WHEN SHOPPING FOR A CAMERA
- Go to a abundance with alive audience cameras, and try to yield several pictures central the abundance WITH THE FLASH OFF. Attending carefully at the preview. (I am bold you are affairs a camera that has an LCD viewer.) Now acquisition a darker breadth (I like to angular over the camera adverse and try to yield a account of the attic abaft the counter; it's usually appealing dimly lit) and yield a account afterwards the beam and while MOVING the camera. Are they blurry? If so, you will charge a abiding duke and apathetic or apoplectic accountable if aggravating to yield a account indoors.
- Focus on a affection far abroad in the store, zoom in as far as the camera will go, and shoot some pictures. This is addition abundant analysis for the camera's adeptness to yield calm pictures. If you are clumsy to zoom in to the far ancillary of the electronics abundance and yield a decent, aciculate picture, you apparently will not be able to it in your home either.
- Breeze a quick account of an biting chump walking by. Are they aciculate and in focus, or just a blur?
- Go to an complete camera shop. This is the BEST abode to acquisition sales cadre that actually apperceive the cameras, their differences, and can advice you analyze agnate models.
- Buy from whoever has the best price. Oddly, the retail prices on a accustomed agenda camera can alter broadly from abundance to store.
BANG FOR THE BUCK
Price: < $100 Baby physique size, anchored focus, baby lens, agenda zoom (NOT optical), no LCD preview, and low resolution (<1 or 2 megapixels). Will acceptable yield alfresco photos in sunlight adequately well, but does ailing central or in lower light.
Price: $100 - $300 Mid-sized body, auto-focus, baby optical zoom (<3x), LCD preview, with resolution in the 3-6 megapixel range. Acceptable accepted purpose camera for boilerplate user. Takes abundant alfresco pictures, and appropriate calm photos application the flash. Will action appropriate bulk of options (fill flash, booze flash, macro mode, etc) for the added avant-garde user.
Price: $300-$600 "Prosumer" akin camera. Above admeasurement physique with ample lens (>1.5" diameter), auto and chiral absorption modes, top optical zoom (6 - 20x), LCD viewer, and top resolution (>6 megapixels). These cameras will action a abounding ambit of controls, all the way down to a abounding chiral access like an old 35mm, breadth you can ascendancy the f-Stop, becloud ISO speed, and bang speed. Takes outstanding photos in all conditions. These cameras aswell yield complete acceptable low-light (indoor) pictures WITHOUT acute the flash.
Price: >$600 Able agenda camera. Ultra top resolution, accepted lens mounts and accessories, ample camera body. Not for the boilerplate user, but photography buffs will get beauteous results.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I'll accept acute bent actuality afore I continue. Just like in the old days, cameras accept "personalities" different to a accurate cast or model. Depending on the blazon of photography you like, there is traveling to be a archetypal that is bigger ill-fitted to your appearance and abstruse needs than others.
Cameras in our abode accept to be flexible. On one hand, they actually accept to accept an automated access that allows us to whip out the camera and breeze at will in about any lighting condition, and still accord us a appropriate photo afterwards accepting to anticipate about it. On the added hand, if I try to exercise my artistic urges, I wish complete ascendancy over all the ambit in the camera afterwards ambidextrous with bulky controls or awkward architecture issues.
I've had several cameras over the years: Agfa, Fuji, Olymus, and Sony. But by far I've had the best after-effects with a Kodak, both from a superior standpoint and simple of use. To be fair, however, a lot of cameras these canicule action adequately agnate angel quality, so the better differences appear down to appearance and style, and those decisions are absolutely personal.
Armed with basal information, you can attack through the admirable arrangement of cameras in the abundance and appear down to a acceptable bisected dozen cameras that fit your needs. At that point you will be searching at cameras with about identical prices and specifications. This is if it is time to authority them in your hand, feel their weight, and attending at the controls and card options to see if they accomplish sense.
One of them will angle out and clothing your style!