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Archive for the ‘Digital Camera’ Category

Digital Camera technology has evolved very fast during the last two years. Cameras now have plenty of new features and more power at prices that almost anyone can afford. This article is aimed to provide you with everything you should know in order to make a good purchase.

What are the costs?

Digital may sound expensive to some people, but it’s no longer true. You can find very good devices at prices below $100 that are perfect for beginners and kids. Of course, at the higher end of the market you can spend thousands of dollars for the latest DSLR camera. Anyway, if you’re not a professional photographer who needs to set everything manually and have interchangeable lenses, you can get everything you need for $150-$400.

How many megapixels do I need?

Let’s start by understanding what a megapixel is. A digital photo is composed of pixels (short for picture elements). A thousand of such little squares is a megapixel (MP). Camera models vary in the number of megapixels they have, but the higher is not always the better. Resolution, which determines the clarity of the image, is dependent upon the number of megapixels. A higher resolution will get you clearer photos, but they will also take up a lot of space on your memory card so you can;t take too many photos without carrying extra storage. If you don’t think you will print your photos in large sizes, but limit to 4”x6” and 5”x7”, or if you mostly email them or post them online, there’s no point in buying a camera with more than 5 or 6 megapixels.

How much control over the camera settings do I get?

Most cameras let you choose how much control you have, from completely manual, where you determine everything, to fully automatic, where all the settings are the camera’s defaults. In between there are a lot of pre-sets modes you can choose from, ensuring that you shoot well exposed and clear photos whether it’s a bright sunny day, a late night or an indoor event. You also have the option to change colors to sepia or black & white for more versatility. Some cameras also have options to correct common problems such as red eye. When you shop for cameras, compare design features and shooting modes. First check if the have the basic ones like portrait, landscape and action, then look for extras like night and snow mode. Higher-end models let you have even more control, allowing you to set shutter speed, ISO and aperture yourself or just one and the camera sets the rest accordingly. It can be fun to experiment with these different settings and see what the photos turn out like. And if you don’t like them, you can just erase them and take others.

Optical vs. digital zoom: what’s the difference?

Optical zoom is the function that moves your camera lens to get closer to the subject without moving and without making the photo look pixelated. Digital zoom is a feature that crops part of the image and stretches it to make it look bigger, just like you would crop it and enlarge it with a photo editing application. The difference is it happens in the moment you take the photo. It is sometimes difficult to say which is which, because manufacturers often present a combined number of optical and digital zoom power. What they do is multiply optical and digital zoom. For example, if a camera has an 8x digital zoom and a 3x optical zoom, they say it has a total zoom of 24x. You should care more about optical zoom because this is what will get you clear photos.

How about size: is heavier always better?

You should choose a camera that fits your lifestyle from all points of view. Slim cameras, for instance, are very easy to slip in your pocket and take along anywhere. Models that are a little larger have more features, such as more manual control and a wider LCD screen. Larger ones may include stronger zoom, which is very useful to capture the architecture details of an ancient building you visit or take great shots at a soccer game.

What extra equipment should I get?

First of all, you need batteries. Many cameras use A4 ones, which have to be replaced once in a while, more frequently if you take many photos at high resolution. The auto-focus function and LCD screen also eat up a lot of power. Rechargeable batteries can be a good option and there are two types: Lithium ion (Li-ion) and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH). Newer models often come equipped with Li-ion batteries. Rechargeable batteries hold more energy and can be recharged several times. You have to look in your camera manual to see what type of batteries you need. Another thing you should invest in is a memory card, which is where your camera stores the images. It’s better to have several memory cars available especially if you go somewhere where you expect to take a lot of photos. The memory card should have at least 1 GB so that you never run out of space. A docking station is another useful thing if you have rechargeable batteries. It provides an easy way to recharge them and you can connect it to your PC in order to upload pictures. A carrying case is another good investment. It not only protects your camera, but you can also use it to carry memory cards and extra batteries.

Now you have enough Information to make a good purchase. Good luck with your decision!

Alex Don

Waterproof Digital Camera can capture your memories on a beach, at a nightclub, pool and in many other places because of its high technical configuration. It is specially designed for taking clear pictures of the objects under water that is below five feet and more. Parallel to this, you can view all the pictures instantly and you have quick access of the images taken. There will be lot of differences in taking shots and the working condition also varies when compared with the other digital cameras.

Waterproof Digital Cameras have different modes that are used for diverse scenes, but you need to have proper knowledge of the camera before use and that can be attained by thoroughly reading the manual. You have to do some research before deciding to buy. Always purchase a camera that is easily accessible by the thumb for clicking and the user interface should be simple. Technical aspects like compact, digital zoom, flash levels, dimensions, internal memory, movie mode etc have to be given importance while buying.

Sony and Canon offer waterproof digital cameras at different prices. Nowadays the waterproof cameras are designed for lifestyle purpose and fulfilling professional needs also. People enjoying vacation on water base always opt for waterproof digital cameras to enhance and cherish their experience. You can take colorful shots while doing underwater snorkeling or scuba diving and so you cannot rely on faulty cameras. In addition to this, these cameras are good options for capturing action shots that are water-based like white water rafting, fishing and kayaking etc. There are cameras available to capture underwater photographs at the depth above 30 feet.

Sealife DC500 is scuba divers delight as it can be used up to 200feet depth. This camera has two underwater shooting options. First one is typical shot for underwater with slight shutter pause or lag. But the Shark shooting option captures intended object and the range or distance is remembered for the following photos and hence there is no lag time with the closing speed of the shutter. It has got a flash and has expandability with other lenses like 3x and 4x optical zoom. Some main features of this waterproof digital camera are 5.0 mega pixels, 3x optical zoom and auto-focus with a LCD display of two inches for viewing the photos.

Olympus Stylus 770SW is referred as the toughest waterproof camera because it is not only waterproof but also freeze and crush proof. Among the waterproof cameras available in the market, this camera sounds like handling anything on the way without any damage. It has got 7.1 mega pixels and as a result gets great resolution and also has LCD display of 2.5 inches. Underwater, the camera is shockproof till 5 feet, can take up crushing force of 220 pounds and waterproof till 30 feet. It also has 30 shooting modes with movie sounds.

Pentax Optio W20 is another waterproof digital camera that is preferred by many photographers because it provides them the needed features. A rubber-sealed seam is an important feature that can be immersed till 5 feet for a period of half an hour. It’s distinctive features are 7 mega pixels, macro lens, 3x optical zoom, 2.5 inches LCD screen, recording videos and underwater settings.

The other popular waterproof Digital Cameras are Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z1000, Fuji Fine Pix A400 digital camera and Bonica Snapper-XP underwater digital camera.

Russ Snapper

These days, it seems like just about all consumer electronics include some sort of digital camera. It’s never been easier to take pictures and share them online, but when it comes to digital photo printing, there may be a few issues that you should know about ahead of time. The quality of the prints you receive will depend largely on the type of camera that you use. It is important to know this ahead of time, so that you can be assured that you will be happy with the finished results.

Although camera phones are popular and are certainly capable of taking decent enough images, these usually are not suitable for digital photo printing. This is due to various different reasons, which we will explore later in this article. If you are planning on using your camera photo to take pictures that will later be processed by digital photo printing, here’s what you need to know.

First, the image quality for camera phones is usually much less than a traditional Digital Camera. The majority of these phones use 1.3 megapixel resolutions, but you may be able to find phones that go all the way up to 3 megapixels. This may look like a strange word, but it refers to how many pixels go into a standard size image. 3 megapixels equals roughly 3 million pixels per inch.

The more pixels you have per inch, the higher the quality of the image. Using this example, a camera that uses 1.3 megapixels for a resolution will produce images of lesser quality than one that uses 3 megapixels. However, even that may not be enough for quality digital photo printing. It is best to use a camera that has a high resolution and typically, camera phones just don’t have this capability.

This is due mainly to their small size and limited capacity. Unaltered digital image files can be quite large, and camera phones will have a small amount of useable memory. If you were to store high quality images on your phone, you would probably be limited to around one or two. This is inconvenient, so most manufacturers use a lower resolution. While this does allow for more images to be stored on a phone, it does affect the results of digital photo printing.

This is the number one reason that camera phones just can’t produce images that are of high enough quality for digital photo printing. Typically, a 4×6 print that was taken with a camera phone will be blurry and virtually unusable. That same size print that was taken with a regular digital camera will typically be much more clear and of higher quality.

While camera phones are great for everyday photo taking and quick sharing online, they really are not well suited to digital photo printing. It is best to use your regular camera if you want to take photos that will be printed later. You’ll be assured of much better results if you do.

CJ Thomas