Digital Cameras

Digital cameras have come a long way since the 90's where resolutions were very low, speed was slow and the size and features where greater and less that of film cameras. In todays age there are so many digital cameras to choose from that it can be a daunting task for the average consumer to pick a camera that is right for them. Scrup has a beginners guide in plain english explaining the features that you need to look for in a digital camera.

Once you have chosen a camera you will then need to purchase one. There are many shops online and offline that you can buy a digital camera from but which place has consistently good deals? Scrup Digital Cameras will list the advertised price of popular models for you to make your own judgement. We also have information on stores and locations.

Which Camera Is Right For You?

Start off with your needs for the camera. What is the purpose of the digital camera, is it for taking pictures of family, for use on holidays, for work or business purposes?

The most popular type at the moment is the compact digital camera, these cameras are basically a point and shoot and perfect to carry around to parties, concerts, events around the home. The cameras will generally fit comfortably in a shirt pocket and have one button to turn on and one button to shoot so that anyone can take pictures. Because of its size you will lose some features that you would otherwise get in a larger camera.

For business use where higher quality images are required. A SLR is the best option. The newer models come with automatic settings so even the most novice photographer can take great pictures. These cameras are much more dearer but the quality is worth it. If you plan to print the majority of your pictures then I would recommend a SLR. The cons of an SLR is that it is bulky and heavy. Its not very portable and is quite an expensive bit of equipment.

If you are new to digital photography start of with a compact digital camera. These are much cheaper and user friendly. You can always upgrade later on as technology pretty much changes every year.

Megapixels

All cameras advertise it so all consumers look for this number when they buy a camera without knowing exactly what it means. Generally speaking the more megapixels the higher the resolution the picture can be. High resolution doesn't always mean better quality. Most people will only require 5 megapixels or less so people don't really need to bother with this number as almost all cameras on the market today are 6 or greater. Unless you plan to blow up a lot of images then you will need to look at the megapixels.

Zoom

Zoom refers to the lens of the camera and basically the more zoom you have the closer you can get to an object. This helps in situations where you cannot get any closer to the image so you would need to use zoom. Most digital cameras come with at least 3 X zoom, this is ok for protrait shots but for scenic or wildlife shots you will require much more. What people also don't realise is that if you use zoom more noise is introduced into the picture. If the person taking the picture doesn't have a steady hand, you may find the picture will be blurred. To counter this camera manuafacturers have introduced image stabilistation. This will help counter and shake from the picture taker and also assist in taking pcitures when you are mobile. E.g in a car. For cameras that have 10x or more Zoom image stabilistation is required in the lens.

Lens

One of the most important characteristics of a camera in taking good quality images. Lens can be classified into size, material and design. Bigger lens will let more light in good for taking pictures indoors or in low lit areas. Glass will let more light in than plastic. Ideally you would want the biggest lens you can fit on the camera nade out of glass and designed to capture quality images. E.g Leica or Carl Zeiss.

Memory Slots

What memory can the camera take. The cheapest is SD card so look for a camera that is compatible with SD or expect to pay a little extra for other memory cards. Eg. XD, Memory stick and compact flash. Don't worry about what the manufacturers give you as standard, you will need to buy one anyway. Don't buy anything smaller than 2 GB.

Sensor

What alot of manuafacturers don't advertise is the image sensor. This is the part of the camera that captures the image. Compact cameras generally have smaller sensors than bigger cameras because of the size limitation. As a consumer you want the sensor to be big as possible. For example the difference in size for sensors can be like a 10 cent piece to a 20 cent piece. Because the 20 cent piece has more surface area, the image will have less noise and distortion. Take it to the real world, it wil be harder for you to draw a picture on a 10 cent piece than a 20 cent piece because you have less area to work on.

Processor

Generally not advertised at all unless your Canon (Digic 3), the processor is the hear of the camera, this will control how fast the camera starts up, how long you have to wait between shots and how quick it can take a picture. A good processor will allow you to do things quickly with minimum delay. Whats the worst thing that could happen when you are taking a picture? You miss the moment because it takes too long to start up. Someone can't smile that long because it takes too long for the camera to auto detect the environment or that you have to wait for the previous picture to process before you can take another picture.

Summary

There are also other things you need to consider, but i have only gone over the basic things you need to look for if you are after quality pictures.

Other things you need to consider on your own are: batteries, size, video capturing resolution and format, durability, warrently, optical view finder, LCD screen, automatic vs manual controls, connectivity plus many more.