Buying a Digital Camera?
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A few days ago, I was bitten by the bug of changing from a ’reel’ camera to a digital one. With a price range considerably higher than the normal cameras, I resorted to a little bit of research to equip myself with all the information I needed before reaching any decision.
I needed a camera for my personal use and a shoot-and-trigger camera was just right for me; not for me the trouble of adjusting the focus, with terms like aperture, shutter speed etc. thrown in.
For the benefit of all, here’s a list of do’s which one should keep in mind before buying a digigal camera :-
THE PURPOSE OF A DIGITAL CAMERA
If you intend to post images on Website or just to email the latest pictures of yourself to friends and family members, then you do not need a high resolution camera. A 1.3 megapixel digital camera is more than adequate.
If you need to print out your images, you will have to match the resolution of your digital camera according to the size of your intended prints.
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Resolution of the Digital Camera Suggested photo size for the best quality
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2.0 megapixel digital camera Up to 4R (the maximum size you can
print your photos)
3.0 megapixel digital camera Up to 8R
4.0 megapixel digital camera Up to 10R
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A 2-megapixel camera is fine for snapshots, though models with that resolution are becoming less common. If you want to produce 8-by-10-inch prints, you’ll need at least a 3-megapixel camera. Four- or 5-megapixel cameras will yield even larger prints and allow you to blow up a part of an image with less likelihood that the print will be blurry.
BATTERIES
The cost of disposable batteries adds up over the long run. In my view, one should go for a digital camera which uses the readily available batteries in the market, rather than some exclusive batteries earmarked by the company. At the time of buying, purchase a set of rechargeable batterty set.
ADDITIONAL MEMORY
Digital Cameras come with a ’’pre-loaded’’ memory of 16 MB/32 MB, which can hold very few photos. You can store only 4-6 ’fine’ quality photos in 16 MB. One need to buy additional memory (Secure Digital Cards) which come in the slots of 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB and 1 GB. One should invest in SD Cards of higher capacity as it will come handy in the long run.
DAMPNER
This is to confess that I haven’t yet bought myself a digital camera at the time of writing this article but I’m in the process of buying one. The above mentioned views/comments are my own after the so-called ’research’.
Sony DigiCams are not user-friendly. Kodak has a good series. But the ones that caught my fancy are of Canon. They are quite user friendly, not bulky and batteries which are readily available in the market can be used with them. In fact, the model I intend to buy is Canon Powershot A520.
In the end, I hope that my article can be of some use to the discerning user who is planning to buy a digital camera for the first time.