Buying a digital camera is not a child's play.It is indeed a difficult purchase to make especially when there are myriads of features and choices available in the digital cameras being sold in the market.If you are new to this area or if you are a first time buyer then you may easily get overwhelmed by the options available in this regard.So you must do some homework and research to decide upon which digital camera is appropriate for you,lest you should regret after purchasing the camera. Therefore,while buying a digital camera,it is suggested to keep in view the the following points:
How much you can afford?
I think the most important factor which dictates which type of camera you should buy is how much cost you can afford to buy a camera.Obviously,the greater the features and functions a camera is equipped with the higher the cost of camera is supposed to be.Therefore,the only choice you are left with is to make a trade-off between how much price you can afford and how many features you want the camera of your choice to be equipped with.So you should carefully figure out your budget and the features of the camera that are inevitable for you to make this purchase.
Mega-pixels?
The resolution of a digital camera is measure of the quality of the photo images it can produce.The resolution of a digital camera is stated in terms of mega-pixels.So mega-pixels of a digital camera is one of the most important factors that govern the quality of photo images produced by your digital camera.The greater the number of mega-pixels the higher is the resolution of digital camera and obviously the higher is the price of the camera. Only a camera with a higher number of mega-pixels can produce fine quality of photos which can be enlarged and edited without losing image quality.Therefore,here too, you are bound to make a trade-off between the cost and the mega-pixels of camera.The yardstick to decide on the number of mega-pixels of a digital camera, that suits your requirement, is : what is the maximum size of the print that you want to get from the pictures taken with your camera?.If you are interested in print size of about 8x10 or 8x12, then any camera with resolution between 6 to 10 mega-pixels will be sufficient for you. But if you want the print size to be bigger i.e., 12x18 or 12x20 or more, then the minimum number of mega-pixels that your camera should be equipped with is 8 mega-pixels.
Type of Photographer you are
Your photography skills and the type of photographs that you are interested to take with your digital camera is an important factor that you should take into consideration while buying a digital camera.If you are just a amateur or occasional photographer, who likes to take pictures on special occasions only,like parties and get-together, then you do not need a very high resolution camera.In that case any digital camera of some reputed brand,like Canon,Sony or Yashika etc., with resolution ranging from 6 to 10 mega-pixels will be good enough for you. If you are a professionally skilled photographer or a photography enthusiast then any ordinary digital camera will not just do for you. In that case you will need a high quality and high resolution digital camera equipped with advanced features like good optical zoom,face recognition and adjustment for light intensity etc., to capture high resolution and good quality pictures that could be enlarged, edited with software and printed without losing the image quality and resolution.
Image and Video Storage Capacity
I think a good digital camera should be equipped with enough data storage capacity,either built-in or in the form of externally connected memory card,to contain at least a few hundred photo images of high resolution.It is always preferable to have a digital camera equipped with good enough built-in memory as well as a slot for connecting memory card so that data storage capacity of the camera may be enhanced anytime according to your needs.As far as i know,almost all digital cameras available in market come equipped with feature to add additional memory in the form of memory cards.I think this feature is inevitable.
Interface with Computer
No matter how huge is the data storage capacity of your digital camera, ultimately you need to transfer your pictures and videos made with your camera to the computer either for back up or for editing and printing.Therefore your camera must be equipped with the feature to interface with computer either by cable or by blue-tooth connection.
Zooming Feature
Zooming feature of a digital camera is one of the most important factors that greatly affects the quality of pictures taken by the camera,therefore,while buying a digital camera you must take this factor into consideration.Most of the people do not understand the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom.Most of the people think that both optical and digital zoom are the same.This is rather the most commonly misunderstood concepts about the zooming feature of a digital camera.Both of these terms should not be intermingled.In optical zoom lenses of a digital camera move physically to bring the image of a distant object closer to your eyes.Optical zoom is equivalent to physically getting closer to the distant object and viewing the object from a close distance to improve image clarity and quality.while unlike optical zoom in digital zoom the camera simply magnifies the pixels of the captured image to show you a larger image without maintaining the image quality and clarity.So when buying a digital camera you should always pay more attention to optical zoom rather than digital zoom.However,it is recommended the a digital camera should be equipped with features for both good optical zoom and digital zoom.The higher the optical zoom of a digital camera the better the camera is.
Battery Type
The type of batteries your camera operates with and the life of batteries, in terms of number of shots taken with your camera,is an important feature of a digital camera that should never be overlooked.Digital cameras operate with batteries and they suck batteries like a blood sucking vampire.Good quality batteries, especially the type of batteries recommended by the manufacturer, are really expensive.So it always better to have a camera which can operate with rechargeable batteries,so that whenever your camera runs down its batteries they may be recharged instead of buying new ones.Though the initial cost of rechargeable batteries is much higher than that of non-rechargeable batteries and you also need a battery charger but your camera is really worth this investment as you are saved from the trouble of buying new batteries every time your camera runs down its batteries.Two types of rechargeable battery options are available for digital cameras i.e., Lithium-ion and NiMH.Both types of batteries have their own advantages and disadvantages.I personally recommend AA size NiMH rechargeable batteries as they can be easily purchased from anywhere in the world.whenever your batteries go dead and if you do not have AC or Dc power to recharge your batteries and you don't have spare batteries either then in that case you can easily install AA disposable batteries in your camera in place of your rechargeable dead batteries.This is not the case with Li-ion battery pack, which is proprietary.You cannot just substitute AA disposable cells for your Li-Ion battery pack,in case if your battery goes dead .
Portability
A digital camera should be light in weight and small in size so that it may easily fit in your jeans pocket and may be easily carried any where for taking pictures.A digital camera should be portable like cell phone.
LCD
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display.It is a small display screen located at the back side of your camera.This screen helps you preview the picture being taken with your camera.Also with this screen you can view the pictures and videos already recorded by your camera in its memory.LCD sucks a lot of battery power,therefore, it is suggested that along with LCD the digital camera should also be equipped with good optical view finder so that while taking snap shots dependence on LCD and power consumption of LCD may reduced.
Ease of use
A digital camera should be easy to use so that any casual user may easily operate it without poring over bulky user manuals.For a casual user a portable and easy to operate camera equipped with sophisticated features, like automatic adjustment for light intensity, focus and face recognition etc., which does not require much knowledge and skills in photography, is a suitable option.
These are a few guidelines,discussed above, which may be helpful for a person not much familiar with the art and technology of photography in buying a good point-and-shoot type digital camera.However,if you are a professionally skilled photographer then you need to consider a lot of other features as well.So choice of a digital camera depends solely upon your photography skills and your area of application.
No comments:
Post a Comment