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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.

To begin with me will discuss the similarities between film and digital cameras. Basically a camera is a light airtight box that allows exposure of a light-sensitive material through the use of a shutter and an aperture. This process is the same with either a digital or film camera.

Lenses focus the image and control how the photo will look (wide or telephoto); both film and digital cameras have lenses. The lens is also one of the most important factors in determining overall photo quality; the better the lens quality, the sharper and more clear your image. In film or digital photography- poor lenses=poor image quality.

Both types of cameras use Shutters to control 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.

So what are the differences? The main difference is the way in which it records light. The traditional camera has film and the digital camera has a sensor and a processor. Understanding the sensor and processor is the key to knowing digital cameras.

Something called Lag Time was a major issue when digital cameras first became popular. The “lag”, or amount of time, in between the time you pressed the shutter and the time the shutter opened was very noticeable. Fortunately with recent advances in technology lag time has reduced significantly. Today even most of the budget friendly cameras have a very quick turn around time in between shots or during a series of quick exposures. To sum it up, if your photography requires fast shooting (i.e. sports photography) and requires many frames per second, it would be a good idea to do some research and check out the frames per second and lag time statistics before purchasing a camera.

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.

As with many things, this increased sensitivity does have its drawbacks. When using film you might get an excess of grain, with digital photography you get what is called noise. The grain you might see on your film, in most cases, is generally considered acceptable and even might be desired in some cases. On the other hand noise does not have the same allure. Unlike different emulsions of film, the sensor really only has one sensitivity. To manage an increased ISO, or during very long exposures, the camera must send more power to the sensor, which often will result in the appearance of small specks or dots of white or color. You will also sometimes see a blotchy look which is created from the higher ISO’s or long exposures. Generally most of the noise is generally manifested in the darker areas of your photograph. If your photography requires higher ISO settings this is an important point to pay attention to; this often occurrs during nighttime or long exposures. In higher priced cameras, manufacturers have spent the money to reduce the noise problem, but it still may present itself on the less expensive models. Look to reviews for how much noise individual cameras will produce.

Resolution Resolution is arguably the least understood and most talked about feature of digital cameras. The more resolution the better is what the general consensus is. However this isn’t always the case, more resolution doesn’t always mean better photographs.

Resolution Probably the least understood and most talked about feature of digital cameras. The more the better, right? Well, most of the time. More resolution doesn’t always mean better photographs.

Please remember, it is very common to see cameras that are equal in resolution but have different sensor sizes. In cases such as these it is a better idea to go for the larger sensor. Now you may be wondering, “how do you know how much resolution you do need?” It’s simple really. You need to ask yourself how large of a print you want to eventually make. 3 and 4 Megapixel cameras are plenty sufficient for everything up to 8×10. If you need to create larger prints you will want to move up to the 5 and 6 Megapixel cameras.

White Balance The processors ability to create “correct” color in your pictures is referred to as white balance. The sensor in the digital camera always captures “raw” images at which point the onboard processor processes it and then sends it to the memory card.

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.

The human eye is excellent at ignoring color casts. When we are indoors under typical house lighting the color is quite orange/yellow, office lighting (fluorescent) is very green. Our eyes are able to ignore this, but film and digital cameras do not. They record faithfully. When using film it is necessary to put filters on your camera or to buy film that is balanced for the particular lighting (color) that you are using. With digital we can simply change our white balance. All digital cameras come with a fine selection of white balance options for correcting typical lighting situations. They all will include an auto setting as well. This is useful if you do not know what kind of light you are working under. The more expensive models will come with the ability to custom balance to any color light!

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 some intelligent decisions surrounding resolution and camera speed. White balance is a fairly uniform feature across the entire line of cameras, negating any serious consideration in this arena. So what other features exist that may influence your camera purchase?

Lenses Along with the sensor and processor, lenses play a major part in creating high image quality. Luckily we are at a place in time where most lenses are of a very high quality. So 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 will allow you to shoot in lower light conditions without raising your ISO. It will also allow you to achieve a shallow depth of field, which will 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.

Most amateur digital cameras do not provide real wide angle lens choices. They will commonly go down to 35mm or even 28mm but rarely can you find a 24mm or wider. This is mainly due to the difficulties in building such a small focal length lenses. So if you enjoy wide angle photography you many want to think about moving up 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.

Focusing distance is the last lens specification to consider. If you desire to shoot macro, please look for a lens that focuses very close. They will usually be signified by a “macro mode” or be called “close focusing”.

Shooting your digital camera in the field Using your digital camera should be the fun part. Do not let all of the bells and whistles confuse you when it comes time to take your photos. We agree that there are many choices and they can be a bit overwhelming. Here we have listed 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 choice is an easy one. If you want to work on every image in your computer, shoot RAW. This format is much more flexible and allows you to correct for errors in exposure and color cast without degrading your image quality. If you do not have the time or desire to work on every image, then shoot in the highest quality Jpeg mode. This mode will use a minimum amount of image compression which will provide extremely high quality pictures.

Image Size- Most cameras come with multiple resolution choices. Your choices may look like this: 2304×1728, 1600×1200, 1280×960, 640×480. The rule of thumb is to always choose the highest resolution. In this case that would be 2304×1728. The highest resolution will supply you with the highest quality images possible.

Digital Camera Accessories There are nearly as many accessories for digital cameras as there are digital cameras. There are loads of options available: cases, cards and storage units. Don’t open your wallet just yet, there are only a very few accessories that are considered absolute necessities.

Compact Flash-The first is the type of storage that your camera uses. Personally I prefer cameras the use Compact Flash storage option. This medium seems to be the best all around Flash Card. These cards are sturdy, durable, and not too small to lose or to big to be bulky. It also comes in very large capacities-up to 8 gigabytes! I recommend you have a least two cards on the off chance one becomes damaged or lost. The total amount of storage available to you 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 an ample amount of Flash Card storage, you will not need a portable storage unit. This is however contingent on downloading your cards on a daily basis. If you are in a situation where you 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 storage is one that allows you to plug your card into the unit, and download your images. You can then put the card back into your camera, reformat it, and continue shooting. When you get home you simply attach the storage unit to your computer and transfer the images. Most of these units come with enough storage space for many days of shooting. I would consider a unit with at least 10Gb of storage.

Storage and photo transfer are some of the most basic functions which all of the models will perform. To go beyond this point they can get really fancy. Some units will automatically burn Cds from your cards, which is nice in that it produces an immediate archive of your images. Others come with an Lcd screen that enables you to view your photographs right on the storage unit. Advanced features will even enable you to organize your images into folders and albums. An important consideration is to think about the length of time you will be away from your computer before purchasing one of these storage units. Once you consider your needs you may find that you may not need one.

Extra Batteries / Charger Digital cameras run through batteries at an alarming rate. A definite purchase would be back up batteries. In this instance, rechargeable batteries are the intelligent choice because you will be using so many. Also, most digital cameras now come with a proprietary lithium battery with a charger. This is a good thing as it allows a stronger battery however you still would want a back up battery so you can continue to use your camera while one is charging. 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 and a charger.

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!