Guide to Buy Digital Camera
There are a lot of kind model of digital camera, with various type, function
and also the price. This information will give you the guideline to make you
have an idea for choose the right digital camera as you need.
- Megapixels
The megapixel rating of a digital camera determines how much fine detail
you can capture in your shots. Typically, the number of megapixels can range
around from 2 megapixels to 8 megapixels. How do you decide how many megapixels
you need? As a rule of thumb, if you're only interested in taking small
snapshots to send via email or for posting on the Web, you won't need more
than 2 megapixels. If you want large print outs of your gorgeous photographs,
then you'll probably want to get 5 megapixel cameras and above.
- Zoom Lens
You'll definitely want a camera with decent optical zoom. Now the keyword
here is optical zoom (as opposed to digital zoom). Optical zoom physically
moves the camera lenses to zoom in on a subject. Digital zoom, however,
digitally averages and magnifies the image within the camera's microchip
- resulting in poor picture quality. Many manufacturers' advertisements
talk about digital zoom instead of optical zoom - so do be careful when
choosing. I'd recommend getting at least 3x optical zoom in any camera you
buy. (related article Optical
vs Digital Zoom)
- Exposure Control
The ability to control exposure settings such as shutter speed and lens
opening is critical to professional photographers. Cheaper digital cameras
only allow you to shoot photos in automatic mode - just press the shutter
release and voila, your picture is taken. More advanced users prefer to
tweak the shutter speed and aperture to capture fast moving objects or blur
the image background. Choose a camera with good exposure control if you
foresee yourself taking on photography as a serious hobby.
- User Controls
If you are getting a point-and-shoot camera, make sure you find one that's
easy to use. User controls to set resolution, macro mode, flash and exposure
should be within easy reach. Of course, if you're a serious photography
buff who wants to take the time to tweak all sorts of manual settings, then
this many not be so critical. I prefer to try out the camera first in the
store - play with the controls and get comfortable with them. Only then
will you know whether it's comfortable enough for you.
- Battery Life
This has got to be one of the most overlooked features in digital cameras.
I know many people who go for the latest and greatest digital cameras which
are short in the battery life department. If you want to take good photos,
your camera needs to powered for extended periods of time. I've found that
cost and battery life don't go together - many cheap cameras have good battery
life, while some high-end models drain your battery really fast. Make sure
you choose a camera that has good battery life.
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