With the wide array of cameras available today, you can be easily tempted to spend between a hundred and several thousand dollars for a digital camera. How do you know which one is best for you? Some features will be 'must-haves' while other features may never get used. With this article, I plan to clarify some of the mysteries about various digital camera features. This article is one in a series of many that will help you make the most educated purchase you can.
Finding just he right digital camera for your own needs will require you to understand more about the features you see listed on every camera advertisement or marketing piece. Things like Zoom, magnification and type of exposure will help you create just the right image. Simplifying the dizzying array of choices is the aim of this article. Look for other articles in this series to help flush out your knowledge.
Most photographers are happy to let their digital camera automatically select exposure control. This means that the camera will automatically select the exposure control and/or the aperature setting. If you grew up setting these controls yourself on your film camera, or of manual override of those controls is important for your photography, then be sure to look for manual override on the feature list for your camera possibilities.
If you are interested in taking snapshots to share with your friends or family, take vacation photos or general "snapshot" type of images, then a basic zoom range of 3x will be adequate. The zoom features are actually created by several lens elements, not just a single lens. Focal length tells you the amount of zooming and refers to the physical distance from where the light enters the camera's lens elements to the focusing surface of the film (even if it's digital film). look for focal lengths of 135mm or more if you want to do sports, portrait or even nature photography. Otherwise 105mm as a top end will work well for most applications.
One common feature you'll note relating to a camera's zoom is optical vs. digital zoom. While the term "digital zoom" has a fancy ring to it, all it does is magnify the image without adding any image detail that the camera isn't already capturing. Optical zoom, however, will actually bring you closer to your subject, enlarging the area as well as increasing the detail available to capture digitally. Software can take the place of digital zoom after the photo has been taken. If you have the choice, you'll always get better quality and more detail with optical zoom, rather than digital zoom.
Understanding the many features available on digital camera will help take the anxiety out of choosing the best one for you. A good approach is to make a list of the features that you will find most important and allow the others to be optional. Don't get caught up in spending more for features that you may not need or use.
Finding just he right digital camera for your own needs will require you to understand more about the features you see listed on every camera advertisement or marketing piece. Things like Zoom, magnification and type of exposure will help you create just the right image. Simplifying the dizzying array of choices is the aim of this article. Look for other articles in this series to help flush out your knowledge.
Most photographers are happy to let their digital camera automatically select exposure control. This means that the camera will automatically select the exposure control and/or the aperature setting. If you grew up setting these controls yourself on your film camera, or of manual override of those controls is important for your photography, then be sure to look for manual override on the feature list for your camera possibilities.
If you are interested in taking snapshots to share with your friends or family, take vacation photos or general "snapshot" type of images, then a basic zoom range of 3x will be adequate. The zoom features are actually created by several lens elements, not just a single lens. Focal length tells you the amount of zooming and refers to the physical distance from where the light enters the camera's lens elements to the focusing surface of the film (even if it's digital film). look for focal lengths of 135mm or more if you want to do sports, portrait or even nature photography. Otherwise 105mm as a top end will work well for most applications.
One common feature you'll note relating to a camera's zoom is optical vs. digital zoom. While the term "digital zoom" has a fancy ring to it, all it does is magnify the image without adding any image detail that the camera isn't already capturing. Optical zoom, however, will actually bring you closer to your subject, enlarging the area as well as increasing the detail available to capture digitally. Software can take the place of digital zoom after the photo has been taken. If you have the choice, you'll always get better quality and more detail with optical zoom, rather than digital zoom.
Understanding the many features available on digital camera will help take the anxiety out of choosing the best one for you. A good approach is to make a list of the features that you will find most important and allow the others to be optional. Don't get caught up in spending more for features that you may not need or use.
About the Author:
Before you buy your next digital camera online, be sure to read more of Adrian's reviews at Olympus EPL 2 Review. She takes the guesswork out of your shopping by helping you compare digital camera features, such as Olympus EPL1 vs EPL2 before you buy.. This article, Taking the Mystery out of Digital Camera Lenses is released under a creative commons attribution license.
No comments:
Post a Comment