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Time to purchase a new digital camera? 

Buying a new digital camera can be a very overwhelming endeavor. Technology is in a constant state of change and there seems to be new camera announcements every month! There is a way to ensure that you purchase the right camera for your needs however. Understand the technology. Not all of it of course, but just enough to make the right decisions. This article will cover the features of digital cameras that are most important for you to understand.
For starters we have to understand the similarities of film and digital cameras. In short, a camera is a light tight box that allows exposure of a light-sensitive material through the use of a shutter and an aperture. This definition does not change from film to digital cameras, nor does the process.
Both film and digital cameras have lenses, which allows you to focus the image and control how the photograph will look (wide or telephoto). The lens is also one of the most important factors in determining overall quality of the image. The better your lens quality, the sharper and more clear your image will appear. Regardless if you are using film or digital photography - poor lenses = poor image quality.
Both types of cameras also use shutters to maintain the duration of the exposure. Both film and digital cameras need an aperture to control how much light hits the sensor during the period that the shutter is open. Very large apertures (2.8 or 4) will let in a lot of light, while small apertures (16 or 22) will let in very little light.
Focusing will always be a necessary step in creating sharp photographs regardless of whether you are using film or digital cameras. Manual and auto focusing can be found on both types of cameras. So what are the differences between the two? The main difference is the way in which the cameras record light. The traditional camera uses film while the digital camera has a sensor and a processor. Understanding the way the sensor and processor work is the key to knowing digital cameras.
Film Advance, Lag and Response Time The digital sensor records light much like film cameras do. The difference is that when light strikes film it is "exposed" and the camera must advance the film to the next frame in order to allow the user to take another photograph. With digital photography, the image that was captured during exposure is passed on to the processor and the sensor is then freed up to record another image. Advance Time is the amount of time it takes for the sensor to release its information and be ready to record again. The speed of the digital camera is also influenced by how many images it can store in its memory before the camera needs a time out to process them. A typical statistic you might find could be "23 full-res(resolution) JPEGs or 6 RAW images at 5 fps"(Canon 20D). In common language this means the camera will shoot 5 images per second until the memory fills up. The memory will become full at 6 exposures if you are shooting RAW and 23 if you are shooting the highest quality JPEG.
In the beginning, when digital cameras first became popular, something called Lag Time was a major issue. The "lag" in between the time you clicked the shutter button and the time the shutter opened was very obvious. With the recent advances in technology there has been a significant reduction in lag time. Even the most budget friendly cameras have a very quick turn around time in between shots or during a series of quick exposures. If your photography requires fast shooting and many frames per second (i.e. sports photography), it would be a smart idea to research the frames per second and lag time statistics prior to purchasing.
ISO In traditional (film) photography ISO (or ASA) was the indication of how sensitive a film was to light. It was measured in numbers (you've probably seen them on films - 100, 200, 400, 800 etc). The lower the number the lower the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the shots you're taking.
ISO One of the many benefits of digital cameras is the ability to change ISOs at any time. ISO refers to the sensitivity of the sensor in a digital camera and film in traditional cameras. The higher the ISO the less light you need to strike the film. With traditional cameras, if you needed to get a faster shutter speed because of low light or fast action, you needed to change to a higher ISO film. This could be wasteful or inconvenient at best. With digital cameras you can change the ISO on the fly. Now it is possible to be photographing outside in bright sunlight with a low ISO (for better color and image quality) and then walk indoors, change the ISO and continue shooting.
Resolution Resolution is probably one of the most talked about but least understood features of digital cameras. Most people believe the higher the resolution the better. This is true, generally speaking. However more resolution doesn't always mean better photographs.
In today's market almost all digital cameras have very high resolutions. You can even find less expensive cameras with resolutions sufficient enough to make a decent 8x10 or 11x14 prints. Given this you might be asking, "what is the big attraction to higher resolutions?" For the most part it is a selling point for the manufacturers! More resolution is good but what is even better, and what you want to look for in your camera, is a larger sensor size. Here the bigger the better manta comes into play. Sensor size is a much better measure of the camera's final image quality. In film cameras, a 35mm is better than an APS camera because the size of the image on the film is bigger. There is no difference with digital cameras.
Please don't forget, it is common to see cameras that are equal in resolution but have different size sensors. In cases like this I would go for the larger sensor. So how can you figure out how much resolution you do need? It's very simple really. Just ask yourself how large of a picture do you want to make. The 3 and 4 Megapixel cameras are plenty sufficient for everything will print good quality pictures up to 8x10. If you want to make larger printsyou can move up to the 5 and 6 Megapixel cameras.
Remember, it is common to see cameras that are equal in resolution but have different size sensors. In this case I would go for the larger sensor. So how do you know how much resolution you do need? Simple really. Just ask yourself how large of a print do you want to make. The 3 and 4 Megapixel cameras are plenty sufficient for everything up to 8x10. If you want to make larger prints you can move up to the 5 and 6 Megapixel cameras.
White Balance White balance refers to the processors ability to create "correct" color in your pictures. The digital camera sensor always captures "raw" information and then the onboard processor processes it and sends it to the memory card.
So if your light is Then the color is Choose this White Balance for good color Daylight Neutral ("white) Daylight Late Afternoon/Sunset Warm (yellow/orange) Daylight Early Morning Warm (yellow/orange) Daylight Cloudy Cool (blue) Cloudy/Overcast Open Shade Very Cool (blue) Open shade Unknown Light source ??? Auto Tungsten/Incandescent Very yellow/orange Tungsten/Incandescent Fluorescent Green Fluorescent
Choose a digital camera that is right for you Understanding how the sensor works allows us to make informed decisions regarding resolution and camera speed. White balance is a fairly uniform feature across the entire line of cameras (with the exception of the high end models), negating any serious consideration in this arena. Given what we have covered I am sure you are wondering what other features exist that may influence your camera purchase?
Lenses Lenses play a major part in creating high image quality, along with the sensor and processor. Luckily in todays marketplace we are at a place in time where most lenses are of a very high quality. So we now know that speed and length are the qualities that you should look at. Speed refers to the fastest -stop of the lens. 2.8 is faster than 3.5, which is faster than 4. A faster lens allows you to shoot in lower light conditions without raising your ISO. It also allows you to achieve a shallow depth of field, which should result in a blurred back or foreground.
Buying a new digital camera
Focal length is the next consideration you should think of before purchasing a digital camera. Do you like to shoot with wide-angle lenses? Long telephoto lenses? Do you enjoy shooting up close with macro lenses? Digital cameras have all the same lens options that your film camera does. It is simply a matter of choosing the camera with the qualities that you want. By looking through magazines or surfing on to the web and going to www.dpreview.com you can easily find the specifications that describe all of the options.
Two sets of specs are commonly given when you begin to look into focal length . The first set is generally the actual focal length of the lens. For example, 7mm-28mm. This example would be an extreme wide angle on a film camera. The digital camera however, has a smaller sensor area than the film camera which makes the 7mm lens look more like a 35mm lens. So the second set of numbers on this lens would be 35mm-136mm. This is typically considered the 35mm equivalent. It is these numbers you should pay attention to when researching different cameras for focal range as they will be more recognizable to you.
In general most beginner digital cameras do not provide a variety of wide angle lens choices. They will typically go down to 35mm or even 28mm but it is difficult to find a 24mm or wider. This problem is mainly due to the difficulties in building such a small focal length lenses. In this case, if you enjoy taking wide angle photos, you may want to think about upgrading to a digital SLR.
When it comes to long telephoto lenses, however, the digital cameras have a big advantage! Their smaller sensor size turns even moderate telephotos into very long lenses. For example a real 57mm focal length behaves like a 370mm! This is a real boon to folks who like to shoot "long". Beware however of cameras which claim their longest focal length as Digital Zoom. Digital Zoom should always be avoided. We are concerned only with real or actual focal lengths.
The last lens specification to consider prior to purchasing is the focusing distance. If you like, or need, to shoot macro, look for a lens that has the ability to focus very close. They will usually be signified by a "macro mode" or be called "close focusing".
Shooting your digital camera in the field Taking photographs should be the fun part. It is important to not let all of the bells and whistles confuse you when you are out in the field. I agree that there are many choices and they can be a bit overwhelming. Here are three of the most important things you should always check before you start photographing.
ISO- If you are outdoors or in areas where you have plenty of light keep the ISO set to a low (100 or 50). Raise the ISO only when you need to prevent camera shake. Typically most digital cameras will provide great images all the way up to 400 ISO. If you need to go higher than 400 ISO, you must know that you may run the risk of introducing a visible amount of noise to your photos. Take some time and play with your digital camera to figure out which ISO produces unacceptable noise levels.
Jpeg vs. Raw- This is an easy choice. If you want to manipulate every photograph in your computer, shoot RAW. This format is much more flexible and enables you to correct errors in exposure and color cast without downgrading the quality of your image. If you do not have the time or desire to work on every image, then use the highest quality Jpeg mode. Jpeg mode uses a minimum amount of image compression and provides extremely high quality pictures.
Image Size- Many cameras will come with multiple resolutions. Your choices may look like this: 2304x1728, 1600x1200, 1280x960, 640x480. Simply put, always choose the highest resolution. In this case that would be 2304x1728. This will supply you with the highest quality images possible.
Digital Camera Accessories It is an understatement to say that there are a lot of accessories for the digital camera! It boggles the mind the number of choices available such as cases, cards and storage units. Not all of the accessories are a necessity, in fact there are only a very few accessories that are absolute necessities.
Compact Flash-The first is the type of storage that your camera uses. I prefer cameras the use Compact Flash. This medium seems to be the best all around Flash Card. Sturdy, durable, not too small to lose or to big to be bulky. It also comes in very large capacities-up to 8 gigabytes! My recommendation is to have a least two cards in case one becomes damaged or lost. Your total amount of storage will be determined on how much you want to spend on your cards (cameras rarely ship with a card that is adequate for most photographic purposes). Having two 512Mb cards seems to be adequate for most shooting situations, unless you are very trigger happy. Having 4 of these cards or two 1 GB cards will ensure that you will never be without storage.
Portable Storage-If you have enough Flash Card storage, you will probably not need a portable storage unit. This theory dependent on moving your photographs from the cards to your computer on a regular basis. For instance, if you are on vacation and will not have access to your computer for long periods of time you may want to consider a portable storage unit. The most basic form of a portable storage unit is one that allows you to plug your card into the unit, and download your images to it. You can then put the card back into your camera, reformat it to remove the existing photos, and continue shooting. When you return home you can simply hook the storage unit to your computer and move the images. Typically these units come with enough storage space for many days of shooting. A good purchase would be a unit with at least 10Gb of storage.
Storage and transfer are the most basic function which all of the models will perform. From here they can get really fancy. There are units that will automatically burn Cds from your cards, which produces an immediate archive of your images. Others come with an Lcd screen that allows you to view your images right on the storage device. Advanced features will even enable you to organize your images into folders and albums. Think about the length of time you will be away from your computer before purchasing one of these storage units. You may not need one.
Extra Batteries / Charger Digital cameras use batteries at an alarming rate. You will definitely need to have back up batteries. Because you will be using so many, rechargeable batteries are the intelligent choice. Most digital cameras come with a proprietary battery with a charger. This is a good thing as it allows a stronger battery. If this is your situation, purchase extra batteries when you buy your camera. If your camera is powered by common AA batteries, you would be wise to buy a couple sets of rechargeable batteries.
Bulb blower- a must if you are considering an interchangeable lens SLR. When you change lens on these cameras you will introduce dust into the body. Ultimately this will migrate to your sensor and manifest itself as small blurry splotches on your final image. A few seconds with the blower bulb will save you hours on the computer cleaning up your photographs!

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