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Digital Camera Buyer’s Guide
The Ultimate Guide to Buying Your First Digital Camera

Optical zoom is the way to go. I never use the digital zoom. If I want to get more of the image, I just move closer!

Higher zoom levels sound great, but they require a rock-steady hand to get sharp images. Using the upper end of the zoom also requires more light.

Digital Camera Features

Here’s a list of some features you may want to look for on your next digital camera. If I’ve missed any, let me know.

Optical zoom vs. Digital Zoom

Digital camera makers are fond of boasting how much their cameras can zoom, but you have to watch out for the asterick. An ad that describes a camera with up to 10x* zoom will often have a disclaimer in fine print that reads:

*Optical zoom to 3x, digital zoom to 10x.

Optical Zoom

Almost all digital cameras over $150 dollars have some type of zoom. Optical zoom is where the camera's internal lenses move to make the image larger or smaller. You can see this when the lens extends in and out as you press the zoom button. This is the best type of zoom to have, as it does not reduce the image quality as you zoom in. Due to the small size of pocket digital cameras, the upper end of optical zoom is about 3x, although there are a few new cameras that boast a full 10x optical zoom, like the Olympus C-740 and C-750, with 30x-40x digital zoom.

Digital zoom

When you move past the optical zoom (or for low-end cameras, they may only offer digital zoom, because the lens elements are fixed in place), the camera crops, or cuts away parts of the picture. It 'blows up' the remaining image, but in doing so, the picture quality suffers. It needs to use a smaller part of the image to make up a full size image. If you get a chance to try this in a electronics store, you'll instantly notice that the picture gets more ‘grainy’ as you zoom in.

LCD Monitor

This is the small screen on the back of the camera. It allows you to preview the picture before taking it, and to view the picture after taking it. While most digicams also have a optical viewfinder as on regular film cameras, it is often not accurate.

Even though using the LCD screen can affect battery life, carrying around a few spare charged batteries more than makes up for the convenience of viewing the screen to get the best possible picture. 

Screens range from 1.2" to 1.8". Preview the screen before you buy to make sure it is large enough and bright enough for you. Most screens are hard to see outdoors in the sunlight.

Image Size and Resolution

Image Size

Each camera allows up to specify what size image you want to create when you take a picture. For example, my Canon A20 2.0 megapixel camera offers three sets of image sizes.

Large 1600 x 1200 pixels Medium 1024 x 768 pixels Small 640 x 480 pixels

Using larger image sizes will result in large picture files on your memory card, resulting the space for fewer pictures. Likewise, a smaller image size will let you store more photos.

Keep in mind that you can switch between image sizes on the fly, so a memory card can contain a combination of image sizes and resolutions.

Resolution

Some cameras let you specify how much they should compress the picture, which can directly affect how sharp (or unsharp) the image is when you view it on your computer screen or print it out. Depending on your situation, you may want to sacrifice a bit of quality on a long trip to get the maximum number of pictures on a memory card.

My Canon A20 has three modes you can set independently of the resolution:  Normal, Fine, and Superfine. Other cameras may have other terminology, but what I like the most is that I can experiment with the six values (three image size and three compression) to determine which I like best for each situation.

USB Connectivity

This feature lets you connect your camera directly to your computer. This allows you to retrieve your pictures, and on some cameras, you can remotely control it from your PC. I have more on getting pictures from your camera on a later page.

Record Video and Sound

Some cameras will let you record video and sound to a memory card. The length may be up to a set length (10 seconds), or for as much as you have room on your memory card. The movie file may be in the manufacturer’s proprietary format, or it may generate a mpeg file that requires no further conversion. Keep in mind that the movie mode is far inferior to a regular video camera, since it is normally taking only 5-10 images per second, where a video camera takes 30 frames per second.

Self Timer

Most cameras offer a self-timer function that lets you get in the picture. Most are about 10 seconds, and flash a light on the front of the camera to count down the time.

Red eye is caused by the flash reflecting off of the red-blood vessels at the back of the eyeball.

Red Eye Reduction

Using the flash on your camera may cause red eye. It happens more frequently on digicams because the flash is located relatively close to the lens. Many digital cameras allow you to switch on the red eye feature, which makes the flash strobe just before the picture is taken, causing the subject’s iris to close. This only works for about 6' from the camera. If you continue to get red eye in your pictures ask them to look directly into the flash, and to not blink when the strobe effect occurs. Red eye can also be corrected in image editing programs.

Learn more about red eye at HowThingsWork.

Internal memory

Some cameras come with internal memory, usually about 8MB or so. Since you cannot remove the memory to use a card reader, you need to physically connect the camera to your computer to retrieve the pictures, or use the camera’s menu to copy the images to a memory card.

The number of images you can store on your memory card depends on the size and resolution you choose. Check your camera’s manual (or go on line to view it first) to see how many sample photos the manufacturer says you will get.

Output to TV

This is one feature that I thought I’d never use, but this past holiday I took about 200 photos, and decided to plug it into the TV as a running slideshow. Everyone loved it!

Auto Power Off

Auto Power Off helps save the charge on your batteries. Most cameras can be set to automatically turn off after a certain amount of time, usually at 1, 3 and 5 minutes. On some cameras, it can be turned off completely.