Digital cameras have become a necessity these days and people are preferring them over the film cameras because of their ease of use and connectivity to computers and instant preview now that everyone has
computers. The only thing is if we need to take a print we need to go to the studios.
Digital cameras have come a long way from floppy based ones like the sony mavica to the memory card based powershots and cybershots to the high end DSLRs.
So now that you want to get a digital camera I would like to clearlydistinguish the facts and fallacies of what you need to look for when
buying a digital camera.
Resolution: Fallacy - First thing to look for when buying a digital camera is the megapixel count.
Fact - Megapixel count is important but not the most important factor.The number of million pixels that your camera can detail in a single shot is called the resolution.
The more million pixels the more bigger the print. The fact is that nowadays the megapixel has become a word of fancy and everybody seems to be flaunting about their 8mpx and 10 mpx cameras. So is it really important? Anything above 6 mpx is not really
necessary unless u are going to put a lifesize print or maybe poster to
stick on your room walls.
Zoom:
Fallacy - Higher the digital zoom better the camera
Fact - Higher the optical zoom better the prints.
Digital zoom has nothing to do with a the lens. It is achieved by the
software. Digital zoom is as good as stretching a roti to make it look
big. Ultimately you get holes in the roti ;) likewise the picture gets
lots of noise and quality decreases. Optical zoom is good for your
camera as it has something to do with the lens. More or less like using
a binoculars to look at a far away object. So more the optical zoom the
more you can get closer to the object without losing the resolution.
Shooting modes:
Fallacy - More the shooting modes better the camera
Fact - All the shooting modes can be substituted by a good manual more in the camera
The shooting modes just augument taking snaps quickly for a particular
scene. They are indeed good for people who cannot wait and test the
various modes and tweak the dials. But someone who looks for a more
professional touch and who knows that the object will be stationery ;)
till the manual mode has been set perfectly can go for it.
Battery:
Fallacy - External battery is better for the camera
Fact - This is debatable
The internal batteries are good for compact cameras that you can carry
in your pocket. The only limitation is the number of battery cycles the
camera can last. On an average 350 full recharge cycles will be the
limit for the internal batteries and then they’ve to be replaced. Now
replacing might become a problem for imported cameras wherein the model
might not have released in the country and we have to wait for a
compatible internal battery till then. In cases like these external
batteies help. Heavy duty 2000-2700 mah NimH batteries are really good
for a long lasting charge. You can carry them along wherever you go and
no need to worry about the charging station as is the case for internal
batteries. The external batteries are available even in the remotest
places and we never are in a bottleneck because of that.
Some other points to bear in mind:
A fast write speed memory card is really essential when you are taking
snaps and videos rapidly. Anything above 50x write speed is good.
A large LCD screen is good but at the same time drains your battery pretty fast.
USB 2.0 is a must because older versions of USB take hell a lot of time
when transferring the snaps and videos onto the computer.
Video zoom is pretty useful when you want a close up of whatever you are shooting.
Flash Hotshoe support helps if you want to add on external flash.
Now based on my research into various digital cameras I can confidently classify the various brands as follows
Elite brands - Canon, Nikon, Sony, Casio
Very good ones - Olympus, Kodak, Samsung
Not so doing good ones - Benq, HP, Pentax, Epson
For professionals DSLRs like the Canon EOS series and Sony Alpha series would be a very good deal.
For the semi pros Canon S2, S3, S5 Sony H1, H2, H5.
And for the amateurs and point and shoot fans the Canon SD, A series and Nikon L and S series should do.
As a conclusion I can say that the things I have mentioned above are
based on my research and purely my views and opinions. Any further
suggestions or doubts are welcome to be put forth to me.