Navigating the Digital Camera Jungle
by Brian Underdahl
Well, it’s getting close once again to gift giving season so naturally people start looking for goodies like digital cameras. But if you’ve tried this recently you’ve probably discovered that choosing a digital camera can be awfully difficult. There are so many choices and unless you spend all of your time on the subject it almost seems impossible to figure out what to buy. I’m going to try and give you a little help.
These days it seems like you almost can’t get a cell phone that doesn’t contain a digital camera. But does that mean that standalone digital cameras are going the way of dinosaurs? Absolutely not! As handy as my cell phone camera is, you can always tell that the pictures came from a cell phone camera. Quite simply, they can’t pack a full-featured cell phone, PDA, kitchen sink, and a high-quality camera into that kind of package. Even if the electronics can be shrunk that much, you simply can’t get high-quality lenses and image sensors crammed into the package.
So, if you’re looking for a real digital camera that’s going to take pictures worth saving, where do you begin? I’d say you need to understand the basic types of digital cameras first so that you can limit your searching to the ones that will best fit the needs of the user.
The simplest units are the “point-and-shoot” models. These range in price from under $100 up to about $300 (or so). Most are pretty small–usually smaller than a wallet. They take pretty good pictures and are certainly convenient. When you’re shopping look for two important features: optical zoom and anti-shake. Optical zoom means that the lens actually moves a little so you can get a little closer (visually) to the subject. Many cameras also have “digital zoom” which isn’t really a zoom at all–it’s just a way to trick you into thinking you’re getting a zoom feature. Digital zoom is worthless! Anti-shake, however, is a highly useful feature. Anti-shake helps stablize the image so your pictures come out sharper. Always go for the camera with anti-shake features if you’re choosing between otherwise similar models.
The next general category is the “super-zoom” models. These are cameras which generally have better picture quality and they include an optical zoom of 10X to 18X (or even 20X). You’ll pay a bit more for these types of cameras and the picture quality makes up for their larger size. Keep in mind, though, that super-zoom above about 10X is mostly a marketing ploy because it’s pretty hard to zoom more than that and get a good, steady shot.
The final category is the digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex). Here you’re talking $450+ (or a lot of pluses!), but you’re also into cameras that will take far better pictures. Digital SLRs have removable lenses so the photographer can buy exactly the high-quality lens they want (high-quality also means high-price, so the camera body is just the start). But if you’ve got the bucks and you want to buy a camera that someone will be proud of, a digital SLR is the only way to go.
Do you have to spend a ton of money and buy the best there is? No, but it helps to know the person who will be using the camera so you don’t waste your money. People who like to travel light and who used to buy disposable film cameras will find a point-and-shoot model perfect. Someone who is a bit more tech savvy but not quite obsessed with photography will probably like a super-zoom. Me? I went for a digital SLR because I wanted something that would take pictures to rival my old 35MM SLR.
Have fun shopping!