New to Digital Cameras?

With a digital camera it is now possible to snap of hundreds of shots, look at each one as soon as you have taken it and make a decision as to whether you want to keep it on the spot. Not only can you take pictures but now even the cheapest of cameras offer the ability to take motion pictures, with sound as well. So buying a digital camera these days is the same as buying three separate items pre Digital cameras. (Camera, Cine Camera, Sound recorder).

However before you dash of and spend a fortune on a digital camera ask your self these simple questions:-

1) What type of pictures are you going to take? And are you really the next David Bailey in the making or do you just want to take a good picture for your family albums?

We all like to think that we can take great pictures and with digital cameras you can as it is now possible to take the same shot over and over again until you get it right, however how many of you are going to do that and just what type of pictures are you really going to take. Lets face it the last thing you want to be worrying about when you are on a night out is where is that Ł500 camera you just bought and are you really going to pull out your fancy new camera amongst a group of people and take pictures.

A lot of people forget just how camera shy they are and I am not talking about camera shy as in you don't like having your picture taken, but camera shy as in you get embarrassed taking pictures when you're out.

Its amazing how many people turn up at a party with great cameras only to put them on the side or tuck them away again as they are just to embarrassed to actually use it.

There fore before you go out and buy a camera ask your self what type of pictures are you going to take? If you are planning on taking a lot of pictures at parties then a nice compact unobtrusive camera with & picture display panel, good low light ability and a strong flash will be just perfect as it is easy to tuck away in your pocket and not so noticeable when you take it out and use it. On the other hand if you are planning on taking scenic shots then a camera with a good zoom lens & real view finder would be perfect as in bright sunlight it is often very difficult to view what you are taking on a 2 inch LCD screen.

2) Am I really going to use all those fancy functions being offered to me?

When you walk into your chosen camera store it is easy to get carried away with the huge array of cameras & features that are on offer and very tempting to go for the camera with the most buttons & functions, however are you really going to use all those functions and do you know enough or want to take the time to learn what all those functions and buttons do? In my experience most users use less then 15% of the additional features offered by the various camera manufacturers and are really only interested in picking up the camera, pointing and clicking, using the automatic focus function for almost all shots. If this is the case then why do you need to spend a huge sum of money buying a digital camera that offers far more then you are ever going to use. Electronic equipment depreciates at a frightening rate and digital cameras are no exception. A typical example of this is the Olympus Camedia C-2100 which cost more then Ł500 when it first came out and now you can buy them at from as little as Ł35.00.

3) How long will a set of batteries last and am I going to have to spend a fortune on buying loads of batteries?

Digital cameras with a nice 2+ inch display screen eat power, so while it is nice to have the ability to view what you are taking on a display screen, do you really want to be carrying round a box of rechargeable batteries with you. Go for a camera that offers both options, that is the conventional view finder and a display screen, that way you can increase the battery life by only using the screen when you need it. Ask the assistant how many shots can you take on one change of batteries or check the net for this information as there is nothing more annoying then your camera turning itself of just as you where about to take that once in a lifetime picture because it has run out of power.

4) Can you pick up the camera you are about to buy and take a picture without having to read a novel and do a degree in physics! In other words how easy is it to use?

This may sound daft, but the more complicated the camera is, the more complicated it can often be to use and just setting it up takes a marathon run of going through menu after menu changing various features before you can even take a shot!

Don't be afraid to ask to try it out in the shop or if you are buying online, then go to your local camera shop first and ask to try it out. If the shop you are about to spend your hard earned money is not willing to let you try the camera before you buy then walk out and go and find another. You may have to do this on numerous occasions as my experience with service in the UK is to be honest appalling! The amount of high street stores that I have walked away from because I have not received the help that I expect is long and growing longer by the day. However I would rather walk out of shop with my money in my pocket then get home and be disappointed with what I have bought.

If a shop assistant can not be bothered in spending a couple of minutes tracking down some batteries and unlocking the display case, then they do not deserve to be paid in my opinion.

When you do find an obliging shop then try it! Take shots in the store, press the buttons, how easy is it to zoom and take a picture at the same time, view your pictures and ask the salesperson what they think?

5) How easy to use is the software supplied with the camera ?

Each manufacturer supplies your camera with a selection of software to help you get the most out of your digital camera, however the ease of use of the software varies greatly from one manufacturer to another and if you are not very good on a computer then you want to make sure that the software supplied is going to be right for you and not so complicated that it puts you of from ever trying to edit your picture again. If you get it right then you open up a whole new world where you can superimpose, remove unwanted items, create fancy postcards and let your imagination run wild with just a click of a mouse. Fear not if you do find that you the software is to complicated as there are always loads of free downloads of simple to use photo editing software available online as well as lots of tutorials and it is well worth spending a couple of hours reading these tutorials if you really want to get the most out of your camera and let your imagination run riot.

6) Is your computer capable of dealing with your pictures?

When it comes to digital cameras the more memory (RAM) you have and the bigger and faster processor you have the better! It's that simple!

Manipulation today's pictures from cameras that can take in excess of 10 megapixel shots & editing movies taken with these cameras requires real computing power unless you don't mind sitting round and waiting for each action to be performed.

For basic photo editing any thing over a Pentium I will do the trick however I would recommend using a minimum Pentium 4 2Ghz processor, with 1 GB Ram, 160 Gig hard drive, minimum (128 meg graphics card) & windows XP / Vista if you plan on spending a lot of time manipulating your pictures & video. People running systems that are older then XP will find it difficult to get drivers for the latest cameras as they often no longer support these systems.

Asking yourself these simple questions above and being honest with yourself could save you a lot of headaches in the future as it is easy to get carried away when you walk into the store to buy and so the more prepared & focused you are the better chance you have of walking out of the store with the camera that's right for you and not the one that just made the sales assistant the most money in commissions.

Don't fall for the hype about huge megapixel cameras. In most cases a good quality 2nd hand 2 Megapixel plus camera will do a great job and often beat a cheap 8 to12 megapixels camera when it comes to taking great pictures.

What are Pixels / Megapixels and what do they actually mean to you?

The word pixel is based on the abbreviation pix for "pictures" and el for "element" and you can think of them as the smallest element of a picture or if you have ever drawn with an ink pen then each pixel is the dot you make when creating a drawing. The more dots you use the finer the drawing looks when finished and the same goes for pixels.

A Megapixel is 1,000,000 pixels! and so if you have a 6 Megapixel camera then that is 6,000,000 pixels per picture. Imagine making an ink drawing and using 6,000,000 dots to create the drawing.

A high pixel count is very important when you wish to enlarge a picture i.e. make it into a poster. The less pixels you have the more grainy the enlargement will look. As an example I will use a 6 megapixel camera which can produce standard 4 x 6 photos at a remarkable 500 pixels per inch (ppi) and 8 x 10 photos at 273 ppi, so as you can see when you almost double the size of the picture you in effect almost half the number of pixels per inch which results in a more grainy looking picture. Therefore the higher the megapixels, the larger the image can be without looking grainy.

However if you are just planning on taking normal size pictures then you do not necessarily need a very high resolution camera.

Ah so the more pixels the better the picture? unfortunately it is not that simple, as taking a good picture no matter how many pixels your camera has relies on a lot of other important parts that make up the camera as well as your skill as a photographer!

Below are 3 pictures taken with 3 different Mega Pixel size cameras.

A 12 megapixel , 5 megapixel and 2.1 mega pixel camera.

Can you guess which picture was taken with which camera?

Click on the image to display the answer.

As you can see from the pictures above the 2.1 Megapixel picture taken by my Olympus Camedia C-2100 takes a remarkable picture and only cost me Ł20.00 at my local car boot sale. Another example of the quality this camera can produce can be seen by clicking here. This picture is the combination of 2 pictures taken with the Olympus and merged to give a panoramic shot.

When the Olympus was first sold it cost Ł500 to buy and yet most people turn their nose up at it because it is only a 2.1 megapixel camera. However in its time it incorporated state of the art digital technology which is still going strong today.

Digital Zoom or Optical zoom?

After pixel size most people will be interested in just how many times zoom their camera is and what is the difference between Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom?

If you want to get good quality pictures then there is only one option and that is optical zoom. This means that you are using a lens as in a conventional 35 mm camera to zoom where as a digital zoom is where the camera software in larges the original image to give the illusion of using a zoom. The problem is that as you in large digitally, the picture becomes more and more grainy. In my opinion a 3 x optical zoom beats a 10 x digital zoom every time.

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