There are quite a few jargons that are used which go above our heads and we still do not know how we can choose the right digital camera. Here are some things that you need to consider and some terms that you need to be familiar with before choosing the camera:
1. Batteries: The normal alkaline batteries can drain your digital camera, so it is better to go for rechargeable ones. A good digital camera should allow support for both: alkaline as well as rechargeable batteries. The best type of batteries to go for are:
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH): does not suffer from memory effect.
Lithium Ion: Lighter but more expensive than NiMH. Lithium-Ion batteries can be recharged in spite of their status of discharge. They are better at maintaining charge even at low temperatures. Lithium-ion batteries also sustain a charge longer when kept idle
2. Resolution: If you are using a 2 megapixel camera to take pictures of birds, those pelicans will look like plastic bags caught in an updraft. In order to choose a resolution, you have to judge your needs. Here's how you can do so:
2-3 megapixels: Best for party shots and snapshots of people. These do not require high resolution and can be printed at snapshot size or emailed to relatives easily. Nowadays, these kind of cameras are extinct because mobile phones do all the dirty work.
4-5 megapixels: Best suited for holiday photos and hobby photography. These cameras provide enough pixels so that you can have sharp and detailed pictures of architecture or large places in your holiday photos. They can also satisfy the hobbyist by providing enough wiggle room to crop pictures.
6-7 megapixels: More than 6 megapixels and you are having on your hand a high-end digital camera. Expect extremely large prints and sharp picture. If you have an 8 to 12 megapixel camera, you will be among the envied lot.
3. Burst mode: Burst mode is when you can take one photo after the other. Check if the camera that you are taking can click only a predetermined amount of pictures in burst mode. For others, the actual number of images in burst mode may be limited by the storage of the memory card or the buffer size of the camera. Also for shooting in high speed burst mode, the batteries should be fully charged.
4. Computer capability: Make sure that the digital camera that you take is compatible for XP/VISTA/MAC
5. Flash Range: This is measured in terms of 'feet' from the camera; it is the range that will be illuminated by the flash when you are shooting in the zoom mode.
6. LCD screen: The bigger the LCD screen, the more room you get to review the image.
7. Shutter release speed: Do not under any circumstance overlook the shutter release speed of the camera. If you are looking for a once in a lifetime opportunity like say a kiss at the wedding, or your friend racing across the finishing line with his hands up in the air; you need to make sure that your digital camera has an excellent shutter speed. Test the digital camera that you buy at the store, by looking for a quick reaction. There should be less lag between pressing the button and the shutter release.
8. User friendly menus: The digital camera should have user-friendly menus , that are manageable and easy to use, without wasting your time and energy
9. Zoom: Do not be lured by the fancy ads of 15x zoom; it may be just 5x optical zoom combined with 10x digital zoom; which actually means 5x zoom. Digital zoom is useless because you can easily zoom the picture in your computer after you have transferred the pics to your computer. Optical zoom is what you must look for, the more the better. The higher the optical zoom, the farther you can be away from the subject and still get a close-up picture.
10. Audio: Check if your digital camera has a movie mode, this should allow you to record the video with sound
11. Autofocus: Check if your camera can take better photos by automatically bringing objects in the middle of the viewfinder for better focus
12. Manual settings: Look for the following features that will give you more control over the pictures that you take: 1. Macro/Landscape settings: For versatility of shots
White Balance: To keep the colors accurate and allow you to shoot indifferent conditions
Presets: Presets like Snow and Fireworks can give you better results with no effort on your part.
Now that you have bought your digital camera, say cheese.
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