Your Digital Camera - Simple and Complex at the Same Time

Teachers of digital photography classes have reported that a large number of students enrolling in their classes often attend their first class with the camera the salesperson suggested rather than the digital camera that best suits their needs.

Choosing the wrong digital camera can cause you to spend more money than you need for both your camera and any accessories. In addition, an expensive camera with all the bells and whistles could lead to frustration and discouragement due to a steep learning curve.

How do you choose the digital camera that is right for you and that will bring months and possibly years of satisfaction? The following checklist should help that decision-making process while preventing spending money on options that are not necessary or needed.

Steps for choosing a digital camera:

Getting the digital camera ready for use:

• Determine the length of time from turning the camera on until it is ready to take a picture. The average time is somewhere around 3 seconds.
• Establish how much time it takes the camera to focus on the object of the picture. Here the typical time is about 1 second.
• Be sure to test the length of time required between pressing the button to release the shutter and having the picture actually recorded on the memory card. Commonly called shutter lag, it is best to keep this length of time to a minimum. A long shutter lag will not provide the picture you thought you were taking, especially if there is motion involved. The average shutter lag can be anywhere between 1 to 3 seconds, with the smaller number being preferred.
• The preferred time from turning the camera on to having the camera focus and record the picture should be 5 seconds or less. This does not sound like a long time, but when that perfect picture just happens to come up it can seem like an eternity and you might miss the shot completely.

What features do you need in a digital camera?

• Do you want the camera to control the settings for your pictures? If this is the case, then you will want a camera that adjusts automatically for different shooting environments.
• Do you, the photographer, want to control the camera’s settings? If so, you will want a camera that allows for manual adjustments for white balance, shutter speed, aperture, and exposure. If you are serious about developing your skills as a photographer, you will also want to consider what other manual settings are available.
• If you want the best of both worlds, look for a camera that has both automatic and manual settings. Also, look for a camera that has already preprogrammed some typical shooting scenarios. On some cameras, you will find settings for lighting situations such as night, snow, beach, and fireworks along with some action settings for kids and sports

Other things to consider when shopping for a digital camera:

• What kind of memory device does the camera use? Is the device compatible with your existing computer thereby enabling an easy transfer of images from the camera to the computer? Will you need to purchase an accessory device to make that transfer?
• Does the camera have an internal flash? How does the camera handle red eye? A flash that is elevated away from the lens and viewfinder is preferred for reducing red eye. In addition, a flash that emits a pre-flash will help reduce red eye.
• If you want to adjust for images far away as well as images nearby, you will want to consider a digital camera with zoom and telephoto capabilities.
• Determine how you will use the images that you take with your digital camera. If your pictures are usually less than 8 ½ inches by 11 inches, you will not need a camera with an overly high number of pixels. Remember, the higher the number of pixels, the larger the file size for storage.

Do your homework. As with any purchase, you should do as much research as possible until you are comfortable with the information you have. Vendor websites are a great source of information related to camera specifications. Photography magazines can help educate the buyer and will often provide various equipment reviews.

Digital photography can be an exciting adventure when using equipment with which you are comfortable and that provide the quality of imagery you demand. Take your time in seeking out the perfect fit and you may find you will move from the typical point and shoot photographer to a photographer that sets out with a particular task and goal in mind.

If you are planning to give a digital camera to someone as a gift, make every effort to determine the skill level of the recipient. With this information in hand, you can better fit the gift to the one receiving the gift.

Raleigh Conrad has always had a fascination for consumer electronics. The purchase of his first digital camera opened up a completely new world of interest. Now with USB Turntables there is another new world of interest in converting old vinyl records and even 78-rpm shellacs to new digital formats. Join Raleigh as he explores this new world at http://usbturntables.rockingchairwisdom.com.