Digital Cameras have become a common site wherever you go.
If you're getting ready to purchase your first digital camera,
or maybe you're looking to replace one you already have, it is
best to familiarize yourself with the knowledge of what makes
one digital camera different from another and choose the one
that is right for you. In this article we'll cover one of the
most significant factors in picture quality. This is the “digital
film.”
Just like with a film camera, the digital camera has a lens
which brings light into focus on a bed of light sensitive material.
In the digital camera, that light sensitive material is a circuit
bed called a “CCD.” The CCD plays the same role as
film in a film camera and the lens allows light to fall onto
the CCD which is then converted into a digital image. The quality
of the lens can make a significant difference in the clarity
of that image. Very cheap digital cameras may even use a piece
of plastic as the lens, which will usually have an uneven surface
and light transmission. This will be noticeable in the picture
but may not be an issue for a security camera or a web cam. Better
quality digital cameras will have ground-glass lens and high-end
digital cameras will even have interchangeable lenses as do high-end
film cameras. The lens still plays the important role of bringing
light clearly to the CCD surface for a distortion free picture.
A CCD also provides an interesting advantage to the digital
camera. It is possible to automatically adjust light sensitivity
to improve contrast, shoot in dim light, or even take black and
white, sepia or infrared and ultraviolet light pictures with
the touch of a button. Because any of these images are stored
as the same data on the memory card, a digital camera can offer
unsurpassed versatility without the need to change film types.
Not all digital cameras have these features built in, but they
are options you may see in some cameras. While the possibilities
are cool, ask yourself if you that is a feature you need in a
digital camera.
With digital cameras, CCD is a grid of light sensitive points
which capture the image for conversion into a digital image.
The number of points on the CCD is measured in terms of “mega
pixels.” The mega pixel rating is a completely new bit of
terminology and is unique to the digital camera. The mega pixel
rating is a measure of the resolution of the camera, or its ability
to store details of am image. For example, a digital camera with
a maximum resolution of 1280 by 768 pixels (dots) comes out to
a total of 983,040 pixels with which to describe the digital
image. As each mega pixel represents one million pixels, we can
see this isn't even one mega pixel. Some digital cameras have
mega pixel ratings at 5.1 and even 7.1 mega pixels. What does
this mean to you? The more pixels the more detail stored. If
the image is going to be viewed on a screen or a TV, this isn't
very meaningful because video displays have resolutions which
are usually well below one mega pixel. However, when printing
on a high quality photo printer, the difference between a 3 mega
pixel digital camera and a 5 mega pixel digital camera can be
very obvious.
Some people will try to evaluate a mega pixel rating by how
large a print can be made from the digital camera's image. The
truth is that any digital image can be printed to any size. The
real issue is what it looks like. Most people print their film
to 4x6 prints and many are now doing the same with their digital
cameras. Ask to see printed samples of pictures which are like
the type you would normally take and compare the same prints
between different cameras. Many stores will try to dazzle you
with colorful still life images of piles of multi-colored fruits
and hot air balloons. Do you take pictures like that? Probably
not, so perhaps they're not the best images to be scrutinizing.
If you take pictures of friends standing around, use each camera
to take pictures of people standing around. Then use a demonstration
printer at the store to make prints and look at the results.
Do you see little dots in the middle of solid colors? Does the
image look like it was taken with a poor quality film camera?
Don't seek out the digital camera that happens to take perfect
pictures in a perfect setting, contrived by the marketing department
of the digital camera's manufacturer. Look for the digital camera
that takes pictures you like in the settings in which you most
commonly find yourself.
Another issue to consider is that some digital cameras are
designed for “point and click” use while other cameras
are designed with lots of settings which must be manipulated
for optimal results. In my personal experience, I have found
that Kodak makes digital cameras which are ideally suited for
simple “point and click” use and consistently take
great looking pictures in a wide variety of settings. I have
also personally found that digital cameras from Nikon work best
when you set them to “manual” and do not rely on the
automatic settings. This seems to be true of their film cameras
as well. Does this make one digital camera better than another?
Only if one fits your needs and skills, and the other does not.
There are many magazines available on digital cameras today.
Most recognize these differences in digital camera quality, based
on needs and intended use of the owner. Before buying your new
digital camera, pick up a few of these magazines and familiarize
yourself with the latest reviews. Remember that the pros and
cons are still written “through the lens” of the reviewer.
If you see a negative about a digital camera that you otherwise
like, ask yourself if that negative is meaningful to your needs.
Next ask yourself if that negative might be meaningful to your
needs as you become more experienced. If the answer is yes, ask
yourself if you would still be using that camera as a more experienced
photographer in the future or would you perhaps sell it and buy
an entirely new digital camera? It's unlikely that the digital
camera you buy today is going to be the only one you'll ever
have. Buy the digital camera that most reasonably meets your
needs and how you normally plan to take pictures.
Memory cards and battery life are also consideration factors
which will be covered in other articles. For now, I hope this
information has taught you more about the workings of a digital
camera and some of the factors to consider when choosing one.
Take your time and learn a bit about digital cameras before your
purchase. Sure, it's not like buying a car, but photography is
a very personal experience and the right digital camera will
truly make a difference in your enjoyment of capturing the moment
with digital photography.
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About The Author
Dave Saunders is a certified nutritional educator and lifelong
technologist. He lives in the Washington, DC area with his wife,
Irene and writes about his many passions. While pursuing his
own enjoyments in broadly experiencing life, Dave enjoys creating
interconnections through his writings and lectures to help others
create context and see new discoveries and technologies in more
a practical light. You can find other news and articles on digital
cameras at www.aboutdigitalcameras.net
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This article was posted on October 07, 2005