The myth about digcams needs to be broken first ; it is the simplest digital device to handle, for amateurs and professionals alike. Forget the hard specs on Mega pixels, CCDs and SD/xD cards, the device you hold is the same as the ‘Hotshot’ you received on your teenage birthday. What has changed is the basic way the cameras process the picture – which has nothing to do with your buying and operating one. More often that not, I face prospective buyers asking - how much Mega pixel is best ? Should I go for a digital or optical zoom ? Is it okay to have a 128 MB compact flash ? etc etc and the list goes on. What I address here is how to get over your dilemma when you visit a digcam shop and make your correct choice :
Mega pixels : The fundamental difference in the technologies of a classical camera and the digcam is that, the classical disposable film has been replaced by the Charged Couple Device (CCD) sensor. As light enters the camera through the lenses the photosensitive cells ( of the film or, in this case, the CCD ) react to incoming light entering the device to generate the image being shot. The quality of the picture generated therein would depend on how vividly the film/CCD copies the real-life object. Mega pixel is the measure of the CCDs quality – meaning millions of small dots or pixels which define the picture resolution. You would not get anything less that 3 Mega pixel in the market today, which is good enough for any situation. So if you are a leisure photographer, whatever you get more than 3 MP is a bonus. Practically speaking, a lot depends on the build of the CCD between different makes, so brand plays a more important role than pure numbers here. Infact between my 3.2 MP and 4 MP cameras, the quality of the lower one is better.
Zoom : This is one feature you should spend the least time in selecting. Digcams have brought with them the concept of digital zoom which, to my opinion is absolutely useless. Classical optical zoom is what you need for shooting, more of it the better - depending on how much you are willing to pay. Digital zooming effect results in significant deterioration of the image quality, and better avoided. So next time the salesperson harps too much on his value-proposition on digital zoom, cut him short.
Memory : Look for the internal memory capacity of the camera and format in which the image is saved . JPEG is what you should look out for , any more format viz TIFF, XIF, raw, etc are more than necessary. The type of the memory card supported also plays a crucial role once you start using the camera as these are the spares you would need to buy. SD/MMC/Compact flash are most commonly available memory card types in the market and cheaper than the other varieties. You would do good to have a spare memory card with you for long trips where downloading and clearing the memory is not possible. A typical 1GB SD card can hold more than 1000 3 MP pictures and costs between 3500-4000. Keep this in mind as your added investment.
Movies : Just like taking snaps using a Handycam does not give the best results, do not expect wonderful results out of shooting movies with digcams having a movie capture feature. The camera jerk while shooting in motion has a clear effect on the video quality and best results would elude you unless you are standstill or using a tripod. However digcams do double up as a handy camcorder and would be a good idea to have a large memory card to support movie storage. The movie frame size and capture format is something you should be careful about. Cameras supporting MOV format ( *.mov file, Quicktime) packs in a large movie length, cannot be burnt into a VCD unless converted to compatible format. Cameras taking AVI format does not have this problem ; the compromise you make here is the shorter length of the captured movie.
What else : Nothing else really, but look for how many scene modes are available. This is very useful to the casual photographer who does not want to go the details of the aperture, shutter speeds and exposure. Auto, Portrait, Sports, Night, Close-up, Landscape are modes generally available in most of the reputed ones. For the more serious wizards who would love to experiment and control the picture composition all by themselves a full manual setting mode is also available.
Accessories : The initial investment for a digital camera is high because it serves the best purpose with the complete set of accessories. While your camera would generally be packaged with the software CD and full set of connecting cables, you would still need to buy an additional memory card – the bigger the better and a high quality chargeable battery set. Digcams are power hungry and you are sure to feel ditched if your ordinary chargeable batteries conks off at the crucial moment. Nothing less than a 2500 mAH Lithium battery set would support you through the shots and the fun of reviewing them over and over again in the LCD screen. It is worth investing in a premium product here.
How much really : A decently featured digcam along with 1 GB memory and a good set of chargeable batteries would make you poorer by 15 grands. However you have good deals available everywhere which can scale down your investment needs. You may also decide to postpone your accessory buying ; in which case you may settle for a sub 10K deal. One piece of advice though, online deals be better avoided in India as rates in the market can be highly negotiated. Reputed vendors like J J Mehta offers special rates on a number of models. It would also make sense to scout through the Christmas deals on BestBuy, Wal-Mart, Buy Dig and get one for yourself from the US.
Deficiency : Digcams suffer from a serious problem with the flash specially, in the compact range. The flash itself is not strong enough , the image gets darkened the moment you exceed the flashing distance. Moreover closer images with flash either gets roasted or unevenly illuminated when flash is used. Flash is therefore best avoided to the extent possible and in dimly lit situations, use the night mode or a slow shutter-big aperture combo only.
Which Brand : There are plenty of choices here, but I would suggest you to stick to the classical camera vendors. Kodak is a good option to buy as your first camera. Kodak retailing and support in India has also improved. Advanced buyers can consider Canon , though I have never used one. Besides, Fuji, Nikon, Sony all have models to suit your budget needs.
I would buy : Kodak DX7590-5MP, 10X optical zoom
Accessories : 1 GB SD card and Camelion batteries.