Choosing a digital camera

There is a huge range of digital cameras currently on the market and some areas to consider before you start looking at them include:

• Decide what you want it for: email, web publishing, hard copy prints, or all three.
• Images for the emailing and the web do not need to be as large as those that are going to be printed.
• The size of images is determined by the number of pixels (a contraction of "picture element") that a digital camera can capture. This is known as the image resolution. Most cameras on the market today can capture a minimum of 3 million pixels. This is also known as the megapixel value of a camera. The quality of pixels differ between different types of cameras - 5 million pixels on a compact digital camera will not be off as good a quality as 5 million pixels on a digital SLR camera.
• Look for the "effective" pixel count of a digital camera, not just the headline figure. The effective figure is less than the headline one because cameras use a proportion of the pixel count for calibration and processing images.
• Digital images are saved onto memory cards. There is a considerable range on the market and different camera manufacturers generally prefer specific memory cards. However, when it comes to downloading or printing images, the type of card is generally irrelevant as cameras can be connected directly to computers. If there are devices that accept memory cards (such as printers that print directly from memory cards or memory card readers that can be connected to computers) they are usually compatible with all of the models on the market.
• Battery life is a vital issue for digital cameras. Check the battery life of different models and look for one that can take a couple of hundred images before recharging. Make sure you use rechargeable batteries and a battery charger. Lithium batteries are the best option and always sure that you have a spare (recharged) battery whenever you are out taking photographs.
• Look for a camera with an optical zoom lens rather than a digital one. An optical zoom is an actual zoom; a digital one just crops the image in the viewfinder to make the image look bigger. Most cameras have an optical zoom and a digital one, but pay most attention to the optical variety.

Once you are aware of the issues involved with digital cameras you can then look at the various types that are available. In general, digital cameras can be split into three groups: entry-level compacts, mid-range (or prosumer) compacts, and high-end digital SLR cameras.

The most common type of digital camera is entry-level compacts, covering the least expensive digital cameras on the market. However, they are good quality and offer good value and can produce excellent images. Most entry-level compacts have a resolution in the range of 3-5 million pixels, which means the images can be printed at high quality to a size of approximately 10' x 8'. In addition, optical zooms of at least 3x are a common feature on entry-level compacts and most of them offer shooting modes for certain conditions (such as sports shots or portraits). Also, some offer manual controls for those that want to extend their photographic abilities. For this type of control, look for cameras that have options for Aperture or Shutter Speed priority modes. A lot of entry-level compacts also have facilities for capturing video but this is usually of moderate quality: if you want good quality video then buy a digital video camera.

Since the overall quality of entry-level digital cameras is very good and consistent between manufacturers, one factor to consider is how the camera actually feels in your hands. Some people like small cameras, while others prefer something a bit more substantial to hold onto. Before you buy a camera, ask to use it in the shop: take a few test shots and see how it feels in terms of physically capturing images and also for accessing items such as the flash and the camera's menu system.

Mid-range compact cameras are the next step up from entry-level ones in terms of both price and performance (they are usually physically bigger too). The general specifications may be similar but mid-range compacts will probably have a higher overall resolution, in the range of 5-8 million pixels. In relation to this, they will also have superior image sensors within the camera which means that the pixels that are captured are of a higher quality than for entry-level models. The range of zoom on mid-range models is generally not too different from entry-level ones but one of the main differences is in the amount of manual control available. Mid-range cameras allow the photographer to take complete control over the image capturing process, if they wish, and provide greater functionality over entry-level cameras, even if they have similar features. For instance, if an entry-level camera lets you change the shutter speed this may only have a range of 1/1000th second to 1 second. On a mid-range camera this could be in the region of 1/5000th second to 30 seconds. Mid-range digital cameras are an excellent option if you want to start experimenting more with photographic techniques rather than just using the point-and-press method, when everything is done automatically by the camera.

The next type of camera is a digital SLR and this is looked at in more detail in the article Compacts versus digital SLRs.