Kamera Digital News

Buying a digital camera

June 26th, 2007

Buying a digital camera
By REUBEN SCHWARZ – The Dominion Post | Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand

Even a basic digital camera is an awful lot more complicated than a film model, and finding the right one for you can be a harrowing experience.
Cameras are one of the few areas where reading reviews can do as much harm as good.

A lot of reviews will go into mind-boggling detail about things the average person only faintly understands, like ISO and apertures, and can lead you into avoiding good cameras for faults you won’t notice, or paying more for features you’ll never use

Camera shopping is a sea of jargon, but here are a few things to look for.
First, decide what sort of camera you want.
SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras use separate lenses and take the best photos if you know what you’re doing, but also cost the most.
Ultracompacts are small and slim and made to carry around in handbags and pockets. For most people, a normal-sized compact model will be the best bet.
If you’re going to be shooting in bad weather or underwater, get a camera that’s built to withstand this, because the delicate electronics in most won’t cope.

The next thing to look at is the camera’s megapixels.
Most people won’t need more than 5MP, but new digital cameras usually have at least 7MP or more.

Having more megapixels is better because you have more options if you want to crop and zoom later on your computer.
You can reduce the quality of your photos so you don’t fill up your memory card as quickly.

There are four main types of memory cards used in cameras – Memory Stick, XD, CompactFlash and SD.
Each have their own advantages and drawbacks, but most people probably won’t notice much difference, so just use whichever your favourite camera comes with. The bigger the card, the more photos you can store at a time.
It’s often hard to tell how many photos will fit on a given size card, but expect to fit about 300 photos taken at 7MP or about 400 taken at 5MP on a 1GB SD card.

The bigger and brighter the LCD screen is, the easier it is to set up great photos, but the more battery it chews through.
Check what the screen looks like in low light as well as direct sunlight (outside if you can)

If it’s good in both, you probably won’t need an optical viewfinder.
Optical zoom is the zoom to concentrate on, because this brings the image closer.

Digital zoom expands the image, just like you can do with software on your computer afterward.
But with 7MP or more, using a digital zoom often won’t noticeably degrade the quality of the final photo, especially if you’re only printing standard photo sizes, and it can be useful in setting up a shot on your camera.
Shutter lag is the delay between pressing the button and the camera taking the shot.

Long shutter delays mean you can’t get good action photos, so should be avoided.
This will be different for standard shooting and burst modes (when the camera takes multiple shots).

Autofocus helps you set up great photos by automatically determining the best focus using different points.
Nine-point autofocus, for example, uses nine points to do this, but you’ll also see models with three-point, five-point and other numbers.
Generally, the more the better.

It’s one step beyond point and shoot, and is a good feature if you can get it.
Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries will be the best for most people, but if you do a lot of travelling you may want to choose an AA-powered camera.
If you do go the AA route, invest in some rechargeables to save your wallet and the environment.

Every camera will be perfect for somebody, but since it’s impossible for us to run reviews of every camera out there, we’ve rounded up our favourites.
These won’t best suit everyone – you may want something with different features, or cheaper – but they definitely won’t disappoint and are a safe bet for gifts.

Stuff’s picks
Compact camera
Canon’s Ixus 75 ($599) is an impressive little 7.1MP camera.
The shutter delay is excellent and it starts up in under a second.
The menus are well laid out and easy to use, whether you’re an amateur or a pro, and there are loads of neat extras that are easy to find.
The image quality is great and the huge 3-inch LCD screen is bright and good even in direct sunlight, so though there’s no optical viewfinder you probably won’t miss it.

The black and silver design looks pretty cool, too. 3X optical zoom.
SLR
The Canon Eos 400D ($1800) is the pick of the entry-level SLR bunch, if you can afford it.
This 10MP beast has far more features than the average punter will ever need, but it’s a good step up from compact digital cameras before hitting the real professional kit.

The design is compact and lightweight, startup and taking photos are both quick, and the controls as straightforward as you could expect with this many extras.
The 2.5-inch LCD is just to show the settings but is bright and clear when showing photos.

It turns off when your eye comes up to the optical viewfinder so it doesn’t interfere with your shot – a nice touch that shows how much thought Canon has put into this camera.
It has a nine-point autofocus system and dust-removing technology as well as software to clean dust from the final image.
Ultracompact

Usually you have to sacrifice a fair bit to get a sleek ultracompact, but Sony’s 8.1MP DSC-T100 ($800) has managed to cram in almost everything you could want and more, like a nine-point autofocus.
It’s quick to start up and has very little shutter delay for an ultracompact. It also boasts in-camera retouching, letting you put on a soft filter or fisheye lens after you take the shot.

Its bright, 3-inch LCD screen will suck power, though, and the buttons will be a bit small for people with big hands.
There’s no optical viewfinder and it has 5X optical zoom and 10X digital zoom.
Outdoors Compact cameras don’t come more rugged than the Olympus mju-770SW ($699) .
Its full-metal case means it’s waterproof to 10 metres, letting you taking pictures while snorkelling.

It’s also designed to survive a 1.5m drop, having 100 kilograms of weight put on top of it, and temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius.
7MP, 3X optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD screen, too.
The controls are good except for a few quirks.
It’s slightly slow to start up, but the shutter lag is good.
The 770SW won’t replace a professional rugged camera, but it’s perfect for point-and-shoot outdoors types.

Entry Filed under: World Digital Camera