Thinking About Buying a Digital Camera

Photographic prints, either at home, or via a development laboratory, or a self-service kiosk, are not the only options – digitised images can, for example, be uploaded to a digital photo frame, displayed on the Internet, or emailed to friends, to name but a few of the possibilities.

Types of Digital Camera

Digital cameras can be classified, broadly speaking, by their resolution – the maximum number of picture elements, or “pixels” that captured images can contain – usually expressed in millions of pixels, or “megapixels” (Mp). The more pixels an image contains, the less grainy, or “blocky” it is, so the greater is its overall quality. Less expensive digital cameras normally have a resolution of, perhaps, 1 or 2 Mp, and are perfectly adequate for producing images for the Internet, or email, or for smaller, say, 6 x 4 inch, photographic prints. Larger prints require a higher resolution, perhaps 7 or 8 Mp for 10 x 8 inch prints, and digital cameras of this type usually have higher memory capacity – a higher resolution image requires more storage space than one at a lower resolution – better zoom facilities, and other features. The Mustek DBV400 digital camera, for example, offers a resolution of 4 Mp, and the Mustek DV8200 model a resolution of 8 Mp.

Other Considerations

The level of complexity and sophistication that require in a finished image, or photograph, will determine the overall type of digital camera that you choose, and the same is true of some of the other features and functions that you may encounter.

For example, you may wish to download images from your digital camera to your computer – but this could be, perhaps, a single photograph, or at most a few photographs, which you want to email to a friend, every once in a while – or, on the other hand, a large number of high resolution images that you regularly need to download, for manipulation and editing purposes.

In the first case, you may well be able to get away with somewhat outdated transfer methods, such as floppy disk, or serial, or parallel cables, but these are limited, in both speed and the volume of data that can be transferred. In the second case, however, a faster, more sophisticated method of transferring data will be required, and you should consider a USB (“Universal Serial Bus”) 2.0 connection, or, perhaps better still, a memory card reader. The Mustek DV8200 model, for example, is an 8 Mp digital camera, which includes a USB 2.0 interface and cable.

Conclusion

Try to be realistic in your assessment of your needs, rather than just your “wants”, when it comes to finally choosing a digital camera. Increasing quality, and functionality, quickly adds fairly significantly to the price tag, so set yourself a target specification, and target budget, if you can – and stick to it.

About the Author

Alicia Taylor is an independent researcher and author on electronics, financial and business matters.

e-tailers such as 3 Wisemonkeys now offer a digital cameras & camcorders buyers guide. As well as producing quick guides such as the one above, 3 Wise Monkeys will respond to individual queries and offers detailed buying advice over the phone with no pressure to purchase.

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