Digital Camera Buying Guide

By Author: Peter Johnson
Total Articles: 5
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Planning to buy a digital camera? Not sure how to get started?
Market is flooded with digital cameras from various brands. They too vary in sizes, in features and in specifications. It is obvious to get confused which one is better in this festive season for your family. Here follows the article that tries to impart some of the useful digital camera buying tips:

What do you need the camera for?

If you are looking for a simple one that can be used at home, you won't get interesting features that you may need for taking really good photographic pictures that normally professional photographers look for. Otherwise it would be a waste of money if you have the digital camera with latest features only to be used for personal photography. Digital cameras available in the market are of three basic types: Point and Shoot, Lifestyle and Professional. Based on the purpose one can choose from the following main three types:

Point and Shoot: - reasonably compact, with common features and size like 35mm digital cameras.
Lifestyle: - with moderate features, it's sleek and compact, so you can carry it around ...
... with utter ease.
Professional: - with interchangeable lenses, flashes and other accessories, this type of digital cameras is robust and feature laden, just the best choice for a professional or serious photographer.
Features you must look for

Resolution

Digital images are made up of dots (.) called as pixels. The higher the number of pixels in your captured image, the better will be the quality of the image. This will therefore help you enlarging your image to higher pixel dimensions without creating a pixilated (broken) image, which we normally called as blurred image.

Compression

Compression shrinks a photo's file size so that more images can be stored in the memory card. If you need the absolute best quality images, you have to consider buying a digital camera that takes uncompressed photos but will accommodate less number of images.

Memory

A digital camera's memory size will determine the number of images that can be stored. Memory of 128MB will be good enough if you want to use the camera for personal purposes. If you are on a vacation or when you cannot download images for longer days, a memory of 512MB to 1GB the best option.

LCD Screen

Most digital cameras come with at least an optical viewfinder but many digital cameras also come with an LCD screen built into the back. The display panel varies from 1.5 - 2.5 from camera to camera.

Lens

It is the length of a digital camera's lens that determines how much of a sight will fit in a picture. A "Normal" lens is about 50mm, most closely approximate to what your eye sees.

Optical Zoom

This enables a photographer to zoom in on an object without lowering quality of pictures. Depending on the magnification number, you can zoom in more up to its specified limitation.

Digital Zoom

This feature enables the photographer to zoom in on the centre of the picture by removing the edges of the image. Doesn't this feature make a digital camera cool.

Focus an Exposure

In most digital cameras, the correct exposure for the lighting conditions is automatically determined. A camera rated ISO 100, has approximately the same light sensitivity as that of a traditional film camera loaded with ISO 100 film. A higher ISO rating means that the camera is more sensitive to light and is potential enough to take pictures in darker settings.

Audio and Movie Capture

This feature allows you to record sounds and moving images at the same time, in exactly the same way that a camcorder works. Some digital cameras offer the facility to record a few seconds of audio with each shot, thus letting you add a personal sound bite to your photos.

Movie Mode

This is a feature that lets you take short film clips with your digital camera. The total record length is typically limited to 10 to 90 seconds.

Flash

Most digital cameras come with an in-built flash. Some cameras however include additional features, such as red-eye reduction or night portrait mode.

Image Erase

Most cameras also let you select pictures to erase. This handy feature gives you the chance to edit out the photos you don't want in order to save more space in the memory for more snaps.

Self-Timer

A self-timer allows a digital camera for a delayed exposure, usually giving you about 10 seconds before the picture is taken. So no problem if you don't find anybody to take your photos. You can set your digital camera on self-timer and go back to your position to take a perfect photo of yours.

Computer Connections

Most high-end digital cameras have software and connections for all Mac, PC computers and laptops. However it is necessary to make sure the digital camera you want is compatible with your platform before you go for a buy.

Image Stabilization

This feature enables the photographer to capture still images of something moving very fast. This feature is a must for all professional photographers, especially sports photographers.

Printing

Now-a-days, you can buy special printers, depending on the compatibility of your camera, to print off your pictures without connecting it to a PC. This applies both for digital and SLR Professional cameras.

The Significance of Digital Camera Size and Portability

Size is another very important factor to be taken care of. If you are to use the camera for non-professional purposes the size has to be small as you cannot afford to carry huge sized cameras when you are enjoying a vacation. And there is kind of security problem as there may be a chance of theft.
Budget - The Cannot Be Ignored Option

Based on the budget the features will vary and the overall offering of a digital camera. Today's digital cameras run anywhere from Rs 800 to Rs 30,000, depending on resolution and feature specifications. While the initial expense of a digital camera is still high you may find that the added convenience and savings in film and processing costs are worth it.

Here is one such digital camera that suits best to your all purpose photographic needs: Kodak EASYSHARE C763 Zoom Digital Camera. Here follows other details:

Specifications
Standard features
Sensor type 1/2.5 in. CCD
CCD total pixels 7.38 MP (3152 × 2342)
Effective pixels 7.1 MP (3072 × 2304)
Lens 35-105 mm (35 mm equiv.) f/2.8-5.0 step aperture
Lens protection built-in
Zoom 3X optical, 5X continuous advanced digital with LCD preview, 0.2X increments starting at 3X optical zoom
Shutter speed 4-1/1400 sec.
LCD 2.5 in. (6.4 cm) indoor/outdoor color display
Storage 32 MB* internal memory available, SD/MMC card expansion slot
Auto focus
Type TTL-AF
Focus range normal: 1.6 ft (0.5 m)-infinity
macro (wide): 3.9 in.-1.6 ft (0.1-0.5 m)
macro (tele): 1.3-2.6 ft (0.4-0.8 m)
Auto focus zones selectable: multi zone (3 zones), center zone AF
Exposure control
ISO sensitivity auto ISO: 80-200; selectable ISO: 80, 100, 200, 400, 800**
Metering modes center-weighted
Compensation ±2.0 EV with 0.5 EV steps
Bracketing ±0.5, 1.0
AE lock when S1 locked
White balance auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent
Flash
Range 1.6-7.5 ft (0.5-2.3 m) at wide, ISO 200
2.6-4.6 ft (0.8-1.4 m) at tele, ISO 200
Modes auto, fill, red eye, off
Shooting specifications
Drive modes 2 sec., 10 sec. 2-shot self timer, burst up to 3 images, exposure bracketing
Shooting modes auto, SCN, video, digital IS, macro
Scene modes portrait, night portrait, sports, snow, beach, backlight, fireworks, children, self-portrait, party
Click to capture < 0.7 sec.
Shot to shot < 1.6 sec.
Still capture
Still format JPEG/EXIF v2.21
Picture size 7.1 MP (3072 × 2304)
6.1 MP (3072 × 2048)—3:2
5.0 MP (2592 × 1944)
3.1 MP (2048 × 1536)
2.2 MP (1800 × 1200)—3:2
2.1 MP (1920 × 1080)—16:9
1.2 MP (1280x960)
Compression JPEG standard
Color modes natural color (default), sepia, black and white
Long time exposure 0.5-max, 4 sec.
Review modes delete
Editing undo-delete, crop
Video capture
Format Motion-JPEG with audio recording and playback
Quality VGA (640 × 480) at 15 fps, QVGA (320 × 240) at 30 fps
Length continuous based on memory capacity
Customization
Custom settings camera sound, sound volume, auto power off, date and time, red eye pre-flash, date stamp, video date display, blur warning, language, format
Favorites
Favorites slide show, multi-up, remove Favorites, set-up menu
Physical specifications
I/O interface A/V output (NTSC or PAL, user-selectable), KODAK Camera Dock/Printer Dock interface, digital (USB 2.0) connection
Power Lithium-ion battery, 700 mAh, 5V AC adapter, optional KODAK EASYSHARE Docks
Dedicated buttons menu, review, mode dial, Favorites, auto, SCN, digital image stabilization, close-up, portrait, landscape, night portrait, sports, video, four-way with LED
Tripod mount ¼ in. standard
Dimensions W × H × D: 3.5 × 2.4 × 0.95 in. (90 × 60 × 23 mm)
Weight 4.6 oz (130 g)
Compatibility
Dock compatibility See the Dock Compatibility Chart
Direct printing KODAK EASYSHARE Photo Printer 500, IMAGELINK print system compatible, PictBridge-enabled
Software works with KODAK EASYSHARE Software
Warranty
one year
The Specification Details Courtesy: Kodak.com

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