This document offers comprehensive guidance on selecting the ideal digital camera, emphasizing the importance of personal preference and necessity over cost savings. Key considerations include evaluating camera features in-store, setting a realistic budget, and testing various specifications like megapixels, aperture, zoom range, and ISO ratings. Overall, it highlights that while digital cameras provide flexibility and convenience, they may not always be more cost-effective or deliver superior image quality compared to film cameras.

1. How To Choose The Perfect Digital Camera For You
title:How To Choose The Perfect Digital Camera For You!
author:Amit Laufer
source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/gadgets_and_gizmos/article_55.shtml
date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:10
category:gadgets_and_gizmos
article:
The huge variety of Digital Cameras in the market is a great thing but it is making our buying
decision a difficult task. The following buying tips will help you make a better, more educated,
focused and rational purchase decision. Please take into acccount that there is no one perfect Digital
Camera that contains all the requiered features and sells at a low price too, so it will be a
compromise like many others we make in life.
Do You Really Need a Digital Camera?
To answer this compare the price of mid range digital cameras and devide it by the cost of a roll of
film. How many rolls of film you need to buy before covering the cost of your digital camera? On
average good mid range digital camera cost aprox $ 600. Film will avarage $ 2. you will buy 200
rolls of films before ever covering the cost of your new digital camera. Think about it, how much
time in terms of years would it take to shoot 300 rolls of film X 36 frames? It is almost 11,000
pictures! Shooting ten rolls a year on average would take 30 years to spend $ 600 in terms of rolls of
film and if the cost of the camera was only $ 200 then it will take " only " 10 years. Do you start
geting the picture here? Don't forget that there is the cost of developing and the cost of the prints,
but if you want to get simmilar quality prints as film camera then you will have to send your digital
images to a mini lab printer as well.
So please, don't buy into the idea you are saving money here...
It is true though that with the digital camera you print only the best shots you like most and not all
36 pictures, so at some point everything begins to balance out. Another point to consider is that,
many people don't print digital images, they store it on their computers or over the internet in digital
albums, or they make a presentation with background music, burn it on a DVD disk, and share it
with family and friends at their living room on TV. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.
If it is not necessarily cheaper, Does the Digital Cameras give better quality results? The answer is
short: NO! experts may even argue that film quality is better.
There is the psychological aspect behind it all. Remember not having to buy film gives you the free
feeling of taking as many pictures as you like, with instant satisfaction of seeing results immediately.
Secondly,you always have the option to retake shots.
Thirdly, people tend to store or print only the best pictures. The overall result is improvement in our

2. recorded memories, we shoot much more, correct and delete bad ones and store or print only the
very best.
In addition, imaging software enables us to even further improve saturation of colors, Compensate
for bad exposures, crop, rotate, make a collage from many pictures, add Artistic Graphics Text and
style.
To sum it all up, it is not true that the Digital Cameras are saving money, the quality is not higher
than Film camera, in general the new better Digital cameras give you more manual control over
exposure and shutter speeds. Psychologically we feel relaxed and free to shoot much more pictures.
The end result is an overall improvement in recording our live memories.
What Do You Need to Look for in a Digital Camera:
Examine the Camera at a real store:
First I would like to suggest that the whole buying process not be done over the internet even
though it is convenient and tempting. In my view it is very important to see the camera, to hold it in
your hands, and most importantly to try it and see the results. The features of many digital cameras
look quite similar and it is hard to make a decision merely by feature comparisons . It might be very
handsome nice looking camera on the internet but may be it is too small for your big hands? Did you
know that some Digital cameras Have up to 3 seconds delay between pushing the button and the
actual shutter Movement (Picture taking). In 3 seconds my son is out of the frame already... One
warning, come prepared (after reading this article), listen to the salesman but with a critic ear, as
objectivety may be abscured and profit margin goals may be at mind. You don't have to buy at the
store, If you like a specific camera now is the time to go to the internet and compare specific model
prices. buy only at a reputable and reliable store either virtual or not.
Decide on a Certain Budget and Stick to it:
Photo gear has a lot of wana haves, nice to haves and let me have that one as well, gadgets. most
camera manufacturers provide a basic memory card of 16 MB, this will be good for only a few high
quality pictures, I strongly recommend you will buy a 128 MB or even better yet 256 MB Memory
Card. Since Digital Cameras use LCD screen, batery consumption is much higher than what you are
use to in film cameras, it is recommended to invest in a battery charger. Allocate a budget for your
camera, but make sure it includes the Camera + Memory Card + Battery charger + case and even
consider Wide Angel Converter.
Skin tone:
Test the cameras quality by taking a picture of people, observe the skin tone (face, hands etc'), does
the skin tone looks natural to you? Or is it too pale or yellowish? Is it too reddish or pink? Insist on a
good natural result.
How Many Mega Pixels?
The very basic " Point & Shoot " models can start with 2 Mega and can give very good results but I
recommend you choose 3 mega or even 4 Mega for prints of up to 5 x 7. If you don't need many
enlargements it is high quality and sufficient. There are compact models with even 7 Mega pixels
but for all practical reasons it is an over kill, I would invest in wider aperture lens and longer range
zoom. Don't think if your neighbor bought a 7 Mega camera that his camera is better, It's not.

3. What Aperture Lens:
The smaller the number the better, it is always marked with "f", for instance aperture range: f2.8 -
f4, if it is constant on the entire zoom range, let's say f2.8 on all zoon range - excellent, the longer
the zoom range the harder it is to produce a small aperture number, for instance a zoom range of
36mm - 420mm (12 X) if it is f2.8 on all the range it is impressive. a camera with Aperture range of
f2 - f3 Very good. Higher aperture than f5 will produce less desirable results.
Zoom Range:(Optical)
The longer the range the better, you can catch a distant object, make nice close ups and portraits, it
gives you more accessibility, flexibility and creative options. A long 420 mm (12 X) is excellent range
BUT, you need to understand that the longer the zoom range the bigger the amplification of any
hand shaking with the camera, therefore it is recommended to hold your breath, be as stable as you
can with your hands and body but even better yet to use a Tripod. I would even compromise a bit on
the range to be 370 mm (10 X) " only ". Important feature on a long-range zoom is an Anti-Shake or
Image stabilizer. These features compensate approximately one f stop or more on movements.
I referred here to Optical zoom, there is a digital zoom in addition but usually the quality of it is very
low, some salesmen tend to confuse the customers by multiplying the optical zoom by the digital
zoon and claiming the camera to be 12 optical x 4 digital = (48 X)! Ignore such statements, refer just
to Optical zoom.
In the old Film cameras a long zoom range meant a very long bulge, in the current modern Digital
Cameras it extends less than an inch and stops, all the rest is done internally by the Cameras optics.
Wide Angel:
Most Digital Cameras do not have wide angel! It is one of the their biggest shortcomings, 36 mm or
even worse 37 mm is not a wide angel zoom, as a result when taking pictures indoor you will notice
you cannot catch a better part of the scene or only part of the room, when shooting outdoor you will
notice that only part of the landscape can be included in the frame. Not to worry, there is a solution!
Wide Angel Adaptor, it is an add on which is placed over the existing lens. It can be (X 0.75) = 28
mm, it can be (X 0.66) = 24 mm which is excellent. There is an additional charge for adopters as
they are produced either by a third party or the original manufacturer of the camera. Adaptors give
small Distortions so as a rule of thumb it is much better to have the original manufacturer adaptor as
it matches optically much better. There are even Macro ad on Adaptors available.
LCD Screen:
The bigger the better, average size is 1.8", but there are models with 2" and even 2.5", another
feature is a swivel (flip-out & twist) LCD screens, you can show your kid His picture in real time, and
it can help you take a difficult angel and access shots. The LCD screens have one big problem, that
is, under sun light and outdoor conditions it is very difficult to see the picture on them. Therefore, if
it has Anti Glare feature it's better. The more pixels the better.
ISO Rating:
This one is important to actually check in the store and observe the results carefully. The wider the
range the better, both on the low and high sides of the scale. If it is less than 100 it means you will
get very good results in bright day light sunny conditions ( Iso 50 or 80 ), if it is Iso 400 and up it

4. means you will get excellent results on low light conditions. Some of Digital Cameras don't perform
well in Iso rating of above 200, (e.g. you will see a lot of noise and snow flakes), this is why I
recommended verifying it.
Optics:
The quality of the Glass Optics is Important, some of the Manufacturers wave with their Optics
Brands well known producers like:
Leica lens
Carl Zeiss lens
Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon lens
Nikkor Lens
Canon Lens
Etc’.
Additional points:
Auto Focus - The more points the better - (9 Points is very good).
External Flash option via hot shoe a plus.
Lens Protective Hood - Better Light input + physical protection of the lens.
Who is the Camera manufacturer?
Most of the Digital cameras are designed in Japan, it is very important to choose a reliable producer
with strong and experienced knowledge of Cameras, with a large variety of models and commitment
to service and excellence. Always think who is the manufacturer, is he coming from the film field,
Printers producer, electronics or has he dealt with cameras from day one.
Summary:
The economy of the Digital Camera is not cheaper than Film Cameras.
The overall result of using Digital Camera is improvement in our recorded memories, we shoot much
more, correct and delete bad ones and Store only the very best.
Examine and test the Camera at a real store only then compare prices in the Internet, buy only at
reputable store.
Decide on a Budget and stick to it, Take into account all the accessories such as bigger memory card
of at least 256 MB.
Aperture lens - The smaller the "f" number the better, Range between f2 - f3 is very good, f2.8 across
all the zoom range is excellent. Especially if the zoom is long.

5. Zoom range of (12 X) or (10 X), with Anti Shake or Image Stabilizer is great, Consider adding a
Tripod.
Wide angel adaptor is most important (0.75 X) or even better yet (0.66 X), original manufacturer
adapters will give you best optical compatibility.
LCD Screen - The bigger the better, Flip out & twist, Anti Glare, High Resolution.
ISO Rating - Preferable range 50 - 800, settle for 80 - 400, Test It!
Optics - well known manufacturers will give you better quality output.
Auto Focus - The more points the better - (9 Points is very good).
External Flash option via hot shoe a big plus.
Lens Protective Hood - Better Light input + physical protection of the lens.
Well-known leader and experienced Camera manufacturer with good service backup.
A list of major camera manufacturers web sites:
Canon USA
Casio-USA
Nikon USA
Fuji-Film-US
Hasselblad
HP-US
Kodak Photo
Konica-Minolta-US
Mamiya
Leica-Camera
Olympus-America
Panasonic-Cameras
Pentax
Samsung-camera-usa
Sigma-Cameras

6. Sony-US
In my view the best place to look for Information on Digital Cameras Is the DpReview web site at:
www.dpreview.com. Here you can Read the Latest Digital Camera news, In depth reviews of specific
models, Compare side by side cameras, see picture samples, forums with specific Sections of
Manufacturers and cameras models. In addition you get final professional Conclusions. This article
can be obtained Free of charge at: www.1st-Photography-World.com.
(C) Copyrights Amit Laufer - 2005
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