Resolution - digital cameras are marketed based on "megapixels" and are often oversold. All else equal, a 1 megapixel camera will produce the same quality photo as a 6 megapixel camera the only difference being that the 6 megapixel image will be larger. Note that megapixels and resolution are rated by the manufacturer and will vary slightly depending upon the exact size of the camera's CCD; print size is the maximum film-quality (300 dpi) print size.
This chart tells you the resolution you need based on your intended use...
| megapixels | resolution | print size |
| 1 | 1,024x768 | 4"x6" |
| 2 | 1,600x1,200 | 5"x7" |
| 3 | 2,048x1,536 | 8"x10" |
| 4 | 2,400x1,600 | 11"x14" |
| 5 | 2,592x1,644 | 12"x16" |
| 6 | 2,036x3,060 | 16"x20" |
The next chart lists the maximum effective computer monitor resolutions based on screen size. Note that they may vary depending upon the exact monitor and video card being used...
| screen size | resolution |
| 13" | 640x480 |
| 15" | 800x600 |
| 17" | 1,024x768 |
| 19" | 1,280x1,024 |
| 21" | 1,600x1,200 |
After looking at both charts it becomes obvious that if anyone with a monitor smaller than 21" tries to view your 2 megapixel (1,600x1,200) photo they will be unable to view the entire image on the screen at one time... they will have scroll to see the right edge and bottom. That's right, if you are going to be taking photos primarily to be posted on a website or embedded in email, anything over a one megapixel camera is probably a waste of money.
Hint: there is rarely a need to post/send a photo larger than 640x480. The download time can become so excessive that many people will cancel the download. Also, always send photos in .jpg format, never in .bmp format for the same reason. In fact, a .jpg at 320x240 is perfectly acceptable in almost all cases.
This chart tells you the approximate number of photos that can be taken based on resolution and media size...
| megapixels | 16MB | 32MB | 64MB | 128MB | 256MB | 512MB | 1GB |
| 1 | 45 | 91 | 182 | 365 | 731 | 1462 | 2925 |
| 2 | 17 | 35 | 71 | 142 | 284 | 568 | 1137 |
| 3 | 13 | 26 | 53 | 106 | 213 | 426 | 853 |
| 4 | 8 | 16 | 32 | 64 | 128 | 256 | 512 |
| 5 | 6 | 12 | 25 | 51 | 102 | 204 | 409 |
Looking at the above chart it becomes obvious very quickly that if you buy more resolution than you need you will also need lots more camera memory... and memory is pricey. Therefore, buying more resolution than you need seems doubly expensive... but then also consider that all those high resolution photos will need to be stored somewhere... like your hard drive. Even the 80GB and 120GB hard drives common in new computers can be filled very quickly with high resolution uncompressed photos. As you can see, buying more resolution than you need is triply expensive.
Hint: saving photos to a hard drive risks losing them unless you are vigilant about backup. A better strategy is to download the photos from your camera, edit them if need be, and then burn them to a CD-R/CD-RW or, better yet, a DVD-R/DVD-RW. Then delete the images from the hard drive. If the need arises, you can always copy them back to the hard drive from the CD or DVD.
Once you know what resolution you need, look at features...
Lens - just like a film camera, the most important feature is the lens. Some cheap cameras come with plastic lenses. Good lenses are made from optical quality glass and are expensive.
Canon
lenses are outstanding as are the Carl Zeiss lenses used in some
Sony
cameras.
Hint: buy a UV filter with your camera and leave it on the lens at all times. Not only will this only will you improve your outdoor shots, the UV filter will protect the lens from scratches.
Viewfinder - all decent cameras come with a large color LCD viewfinder. Don't buy one without it.
Batteries - digital cameras eat batteries like crazy. If you don't use rechargeables, the cost of batteries will greatly exceed the cost of film and processing of your old 35mm! Note that some cameras require special (expensive) rechargeable batteries that are near impossible to find. Your best bet is to buy a camera that uses "AA" or "AAA" batteries.
Hint:
Rayovac
has a new rechargeable battery system called "IC3 technology". The batteries, available in both "AA" and "AAA" sizes, can be recharged 1,000 times and last longer at each use than regular batteries. The special charger will charge 4 batteries in just 15 minutes.
Optical zoom - do not confuse with "digital zoom"! A 3x (or more) optical zoom will allow those "telephoto" shots with no loss in picture clarity.
Hint: if you camera comes with digital zoom as well, turn it off. It does nothing except cause a grainy picture.
Memory - how much memory you need depends upon how you will use your camera. If you will be taking just a few photos, for example, a real estate agent taking 20 or so photos of a new listing and then going right back to the office to download them, 32MB media is fine even on a high-resolution camera. However, if you are going on a long vacation and will be taking hundreds of photos while away, 256MB media might be much more appropriate. You can take as many "Compact Flash" or "Smart Media" or "Memory Stick" media cards with you as you need... when you fill one card up just swap in another. Another advantage of having two or more media cards is that you can buy a card reader that attaches directly to your computer. Then a filled-up card need only be taken to the computer; the camera never has to go near the computer. Besides being convenient, this also conserves camera battery life.
Hint: buy a camera that uses jpeg (jpg) mode and use it and do NOT fall in the trap of setting your camera's resolution lower than its maximum in order to get more photos on the media. The best way is to always take the highest resolution photos. You can always use the photo editing software you get with the camera to downsize the photos if you need to but if you try to upsize the photos the results may not be acceptable.
Computer connection - all modern digital cameras use a USB connection. Be sure you have a USB port on your computer; some older models may not have one. If not, you can easily add a USB card to your computer, assuming it's not a laptop/notebook.
Operating system - in order to use a USB connection and the included photo editing software, your computer must be using Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.
Where to buy - use the Internet to shop around for the best price. Figure about $100 per megapixel.
Hint: you can often save a couple of bucks by getting a "package deal"... you get the camera, standard media, batteries, charger, strap, USB cable, and photo editing software as boxed by the manufacturer but a package might also include larger memory media, a case, and a UV filter. Check shipping prices and sales tax too, the "as delivered" price is the only one that counts.
Learn to use your camera - Even if you read the manual cover to cover, you'll find some things are harder than they should be. For example, most digital cameras name the image files with some useless name and if you take lots of photos you will end up with duplicates. We can show you how to automatically name the image files with the date and time... far more useful and prevents duplicates. Contact us for all your digital camera needs.
