Digital Camera - All You Need to Know

Current consumer electronics market is flooded with all kind of Digital camera and picking the right one could be confusing. What works for your neighbor might not work for you, so there is no reason to make your decision based on someone else purchase.

This article is not going to recommend you one brand or the another. this article is written to help you make an educated decision based on your needs.

Before we discuss what your needs might be for a digital camera, let's first discuss some terms you keep hearing over and over again. this are industry technical terms and even though you're not required to understand them all, it make sense to at least know what they mean so that you could understand the their importance.

1. Resolution

It refers to the sharpness of a digital picture. resolution is in fact used in broader terms rather than just in digital photography. You will hear resolution numbers for a HDTV, as well as a DVP player. So it's important to understand that resolution means same thing regardless of the subject. Higher the resolution, better is the sharpness and more details visible within the picture. Resolution is measured in pixel. So if a camera has a resolution of one 1 mega pixel, it means that every picture taken by this camera is constructed using one million pixels. If a camera has 5 million pixels, obviously its resolution is a lot higher than first camera and thus picture quality is far superior.

2. Viewfinder

It's a small LCD screen in the back where you could see what image is being captured. Different cameras have different size screens, so it's not that important provided you have at least a reasonable size viewfinder screen available with your camera.

3. Shooting method

This varies from camera to camera. Most digital camera will offer auto exposure of a scene to get you “a point in time” shot. While some advanced and more expensive camera will offer a continuous shooting mode, which takes multiple pictures in quick succession. this might become an important consideration if you intend to take pictures at your kids sport events.

4. Video Clips

To record video, we obviously have video recorder or camcorders and to take "still pictures" we have cameras. This video to "still picture" separation is becoming less and less noticeable. Now most camcorders can take a "still picture" so camera manufacturers figured why not allow a camera to record a short video clip as well. Video clips is a nice feature to have in a camera, but if you intend to do lot of video recording, I would suggest sticking with a decent camcorder or video camera.

5. Zoom Capability

You can use Zoom function in a camera to focus on a certain part of a scene or a subject. There are two different types of Zoom setting. Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom. Optical Zoom is achieved by using camera lens and more zoom means more details about the smaller area of the scene. Digital zoom is what you use once you have exhausted all the optical zoom of your camera. Digital zoom does get you a more detailed view but it doesn't add any resolution. So digital zoom is like zooming on a already taken picture. You can zoom but you can get more details than what was capture in the original picture.

6. Image stabilization

This is the a measure of camera capability to compensate for vibration (such as hand shake). It is an important factor if you intend to use large zoom lens.

7. Storage Media

This is the type of storage your camera uses to store images digitally. There are different types of media cards available such as SD, Flash, Micro etc. There are some cards that can store lot more images than other for the same size.

After defining these technical terms, let's move on to the important things about digital camera and what will fit best based on your needs and budget.

If your needs are related to taking pictures occasionally and just point and shoot, you could buy a decent camera with at least 5 megapixel or resolution. 5 mega pixel is a decent resolution and you will not regret it. You should also look for a 2.5 in viewfinder screen.

If your needs are moderate to extensive digital photography as well as editing, You need to carefully evaluate some of the more advanced camera . You're more or less looking for a digital SLR camera with over 10 mega pixel zoom and longer battery life. You should also consider in-camera image editing and high speed continuous shooting. You'll probably end up using different focus lens so shop for a camera that allow you to attach longer focus lens.