Thursday, October 21, 2004
Important Things to Buy a Digital Camera
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A digital camera's megapixel count remains its most important spec--but it is by no means the only one. Start with pixels, but make sure to check a few other important numbers when considering a purchase.
A camera's megapixel rating is another way of expressing its resolution. The higher the megapixel number, the higher the resolution. In general, higher-resolution cameras let you produce larger, higher-quality prints. A 2-megapixel camera can produce images of about 1600 by 1200 pixels, allowing for high-quality 5-by-7 prints. A 3-megapixel camera can produce images of about 2048 by 1536 pixels, allowing for crisp 8-by-10 prints. The tradeoff is that higher-resolution images take up more space on your camera's memory card, so you may only be able to take a small number of shots before you have to download them to your computer. The solution, of course, is to purchase a larger-capacity memory card.
So if you're interested in producing mostly small snapshots or images to send via e-mail or post on the Web, you probably don't need anything better than a 2-megapixel camera. If you want to create large copies of your masterworks, you'll want a camera that captures 4 megapixels or more.
| Feature | Low End ($50-$200) | Recommended ($200-$500) | High End ($500 and up) |
| Battery life | Fewer than 200 shots | 200 to 400 shots | More than 400 shots |
| An important consideration. Digital cameras quickly drain batteries--especially alkaline batteries--which can be expensive and annoying. Battery life and cost often aren't related; some cheap cameras have great battery life, and some expensive ones use up a charge quickly. Either way, it's a good idea to buy spares. | |||
| Megapixels (resolution) | 2 megapixels or less | 3 to 4 megapixels | 4 to 6 megapixels or more |
| An important consideration. This figure provides a measure of how much fine detail a camera can capture. With more megapixels, you can print larger photos with better image quality. | |||
| Exposure controls | None (full-auto only) | Some program modes (aka scene modes) | Aperture and shutter priority and full manual control |
| Somewhat important. These controls allow you to customize exposure settings such as lens opening and shutter speed, which serious photographers will value. | |||
| Focal range | Fixed or digital zoom | 2X to 3X optical zoom | 4X optical zoom or better |
| Somewhat important. Cameras with greater focal range can zoom out to fit more into a shot or zoom in to fill the frame with the subject. Optical zoom produces sharper images than digital zoom. | |||
| Manual focus override | No | Stepped focus | Yes |
| Somewhat important. This allows you to focus the camera yourself, which can be more accurate than automatic focus in some situations. Cameras with stepped focus can only be set to focus at a few predetermined distances. | |||
| Storage capacity | 32MB or less | 32MB to 128MB | 256MB or more |
| Somewhat important. Amount of data, in megabytes, the camera can store in on-board memory, removable memory cards, or both. How many photos you can store depends on the resolution at which you shoot them. But with most cameras, you'll almost certainly need to buy an extra card, so don't base your purchasing decision entirely on the starter card supplied with the camera. | |||
