Which Camera do you really need?
When you want to buy a digital camera don't hurry
into buying just any old thing. Ask around, do some market research and know your needs.
Here are a few points you will need to know before making the purchase.
MegaPixel
Pixels are dots that make a digital image. One megapixel equals a million pixels. Each year the standard
goes up. This year 4-5 megapixel is about average for a regular consumer without special needs. More Megapixel translate to a sharper image. The
importance of a high megapixel camera is seen when enlarging photos to more than 8 by 10 or when enlarging images of small items such as
jewelry.
Lens
Digital zoom
gives a poor quality of image. What it does is enlarge the pixels. Optical zoom on the other
hand offers a better quality of image enlargement. If your needs are simple as far as your objects are considered than you would be fine with a
3x zoom. Taking pictures that are more hard to obtain and needs more features such as wild life or out doors adventures shots, require a 10x zoom
lens. These numbers are my estimates and I suggest before purchasing a camera doing some more research to accommodate your needs. If you are
looking for high end professional lenses, consider a camera that allow a separate lens attachment. Mind you attachable lens are
expensive.
Video
Most cameras now days offer a
video feature in addition to stills. The video is not in a professional format which translate into less frames per minutes. Because of this the
film taken will not be fluent (jumps in motion). Never the less, this feature is useful for most amateur needs, such as cute family
movies.
Memory card
Digital Cameras use a memory card to store images. The card that is supplied with the camera
offers a small amount of space. You will need to buy additional card or cards depending on your need. Another downside the video feature is the
dependence of the footage time with the actual memory disk size, inserted in the camera. Most likely the video would take a huge amount of space
and be limited somewhere in the rang of 20 seconds to a minute or two. Buying bigger size memory card will allow more footage and video than a
card with small size memory.
More
Batteries, camera bag,
tripod and more accessories may be added and you should research what it is that you need. Do not forget that you would need a cable to attach
the camera to your computer in order to download images. You may also need software to store, manage and print those photos not to mention a
printer and photo paper. So before you go to the store, define your needs to optimize the purchase.
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