How To Read Digital Camera
Reviews
You could be forgiven the idea that you need a PhD in nuclear
physics to successfully read digital camera reviews. They are
difficult to read, price and feature comparison have in some cases
been made contentious.
To simplify matters the following list is a basic checklist to
consider when buying a digital camera:
* Price
* Number of mega pixels or sensor photo detectors
* Is there a zoom, if so how wide.
* How wide is the tele zoom
* Can the camera stabilize the image
* Can you focus on your image manually
* Do you or the camera control white balance
* What is the longest shutter open time
* What is the fastest shutter time
* Can you manually set the shutter time
* Can you set the time fro the length of the shutter opening
* Is there an internal flash
* Can the camera support an eternal flash
* Can the camera record the orientation of the shot
* What sort of storage device does the camera support (Memory
stick, Disc, Compact flash, DISC CD R, SD/MCC, Xd)
* Can the camera compress the image
* What type of view finder (TTL, Electronic, optical)
* Is it waterproof (This does not mean can it film underwater it
means is the case water tight for next to the pool beach
shots.)
* Does the camera support a USb computer point
* Does it have a battery
* Does it support firewire
* Weight net
* Weight with the case and lenses
* Does the camera support changeable lens * Can you buy a
protective case and if so can it be operated with the case on
If you fail to understand any of the above terms and feel
you need to, then a little research would be advantageous. If you
want a point and shoot a camera to record family events the above
points may not need to be considered. If you require any control at
all over your camera you should consider many if not all of the
above points and make yourself a checklist of the features you
require.
Broadly speaking the digital camera market is in three ranges,
the point and shoot idiot proof camera for less than three hundred
dollars. Above from that are the cameras with more advanced
features offering more control than the point and shoot. They
should offer overriding adjustments to manually change the shutter
speed and they should be more robust. Lastly there are the cameras
for the professional market; they offer interchangeable lens better
optics, a sturdier case, flash hot shoes and faster electronics. In
general they can detect a higher number if pixels.
Different cameras are better for different purposes and if you
are going to take nature photographs or use the camera outdoors a
stronger camera is necessary and you may want to consider focal
length, aperture speed and exposure potential.
The bottom line is that if you are a serious photographer and
that does not mean a professional, you are going to want the same
functionability from your SLR digital camera as you do from your
SLR film camera. Just five years ago the digital camera was a niche
market and many committed photographers, myself included refused to
change. Not because we were dinosaurs or could not adapt to new
technologies, but because we could not get the same results or
better from SLR digital no we can.
Speak to your friends, join a photograph club even online there
are many forums and ask questions, at least to the questions raised
above, and you will be able to decide which is the best buy for
you. Remember nowadays it is not the basic camera which delivers
the results it is the same as SLR film it is the lens, the tele
zoom and the zoom and their optical quality that will ultimately
deliver the best quality photographs.
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