There are many types of camera in the world. Many of the first cameras built have been modified and upgraded so they can still be used today.
There are many things you have to look for in a camera.
Megapixels: More megapixels does not mean a better image. It just allows you to print a bigger picture without your being able to see individual pixels. A camera with around 6.0 megapixels is a good starting point. If you want to print your photos at large sizes (bigger than A4), you may want to consider a higher resolution. Professional photographers tend to use cameras with 12 megapixels or more, this helps take a picture from far away. Memory cards: This is the main form of storage for your images. There are many types of cards available, but most cameras will only accept one. The type of memory card is probably less important than storage capacity because they’re all physically small and their cost is tied to memory capacity. The capacity of most of the cards supplied with the cameras isn’t large, so you should consider buying a bigger one. Remember to factor this cost into your overall purchase cost. BatteriesDigital: Cameras are usually pretty power hungry and as a general rule rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are a good idea. However, some cameras are more energy efficient than others. Also, there are some situations (such as travelling) where being able to use normal alkaline batteries is a real advantage. Unfortunately many now can't, but some can, so having a spare rechargeable is pretty important. This information is available in the Digital camera comparison table. Video output: A connection port that allows you to look at your pictures or movies on TV. This is a handy way to show your pictures to a group and makes your digital camera a highly portable display device as well as a camera. Some of the latest cameras have a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) allowing you to easily connect your camera to the latest flat screen LCD and Plasma TVs. Viewfinder type: Some cameras have a viewfinder which is really a very small LCD screen. These tend to be acccurate, but can be slow to refresh in some circumstances which makes them less effective when taking pictures of fast moving objects. Shutter speed: Aperture controls the depth of field in your picture, allowing you to determine how much of the image is in or out of focus. Setting the shutter speed is handy if you’re taking photos of fast-moving objects or to compensate for low lighting. White balance: Light comes in many colours — fluorescent is usually greenish, tungsten (normal household bulbs) is red/orange and daylight blue to red depending on the time of day. Automatic white balance should make sure whites always appear white regardless of the lighting conditions, but sometimes you'll get a better result if you can manually override the automatic setting. Image stabilisation: With longer lenses it can be difficult to hold the camera still which can lead to slightly blurry pictures. Image stabilisation can help by either adjusting internally for the camera movement, or by a system called Best Shot Selection (BSS) where the camera will automatically take a number of images when you press the shutter and decide for itself which of them has the least blurring. PictBridge:This is a way for digital cameras and inkjet printers to communicate. The printer and camera don't have to be of the same brand, but the connection between them must be via a USB cable. Once connected, the camera can control the basic printer functions so you can print without the need for a computer. Macro performance:Most digital cameras can focus pretty close to their subjects, but some do a better job than others, especially if they have a 'macro' option. |