How to buy a digital camera

Question: Any tips on how to buy a digital camera? It’s a little intimidating. — S.L..

Answer: A digital camera may seem like a complex device given all the technologies inside it, but don’t let that intimidate you. There are two key features you should keep in mind when buying one.

First, consider the resolution (or megapixel rating). This is a measurement of the quality of an image that a camera can capture or, in more geeky terms, “image resolution”.

Consumer cameras range in resolution from less than one megapixel to ten megapixels, although it can go higher on professional models.

A pixel is a tiny piece of image data – in fact, when you print out a pixel, it’s represented as a dot of color. So the megapixel rating is calculated by counting the pixels across the width of an image and those along the height and multiplying them together.

Let’s start in the middle. A 3-megapixel camera has an image quality that can produce nice 8×10- inch images. If you opt for a 2-megapixel camera, then you can expect to produce decent 4×6-inch prints. You certainly can still print 8×10 images with a 2-megapixel camera, but the quality will be diminished because there’s less image data for the printer to work with.

When you get to a 1-megapixel camera, expect images ideal for viewing on a computer screen.

You may encounter cameras that produce even lower resolution images. Although they’re no longer out there in great numbers, some cameras use what’s called VGA resolution or 640×480 pixels. That’s one-third of a megapixel. Your webcam, if you have one, probably has VGA resolution.

Cameras that capture resolutions higher than 3-megapixels are ideal for people who want to print large blow-ups, or who like to capture images that can be cropped – ideal for focusing on one person in a group shot using photo editing software and still ending up with a nice print.

But megapixels aren’t everything. The second rule to buying a digital camera is to find a camera with a good lens. Without that, the image may be high resolution, but it will also appear fuzzy or smeared.

A lens is the most expensive piece of a camera. If you encounter two cameras with identical resolution but with a significant price difference, chances are one has a higher quality lens, and therefore takes sharper pictures.

The best way to evaluate a lens is to do a side-by-side comparison. Ask a salesperson to snap a picture in the store and show you the resulting image alongside images captured by competing cameras. Also, find out whether the manufacturer touts a brand name lens. Sony digital cameras, for example, use lenses from Carl Zeiss, a famous German glass maker.

Many digital cameras now come with two types of zoom – optical and digital, both of which are expressed as a number followed by an x (for instance, 8x optical zoom, 3x digital zoom). Most aficionados will tell you that the type that should have the higher number is the optical, because it is a “true zoom” similar to 35mm cameras you may already be familiar with. Digital zoom, on the other hand, simply makes the image larger by enlarging the pixels, which can be trouble if your goal is sharp well-focused close-ups.

There are many other features that might attract you to a camera: size/weight, size of display, easy-to-use menu, data card capacity, and more. (Be sure you know what kind of data card your prospective camera uses, because you’ll need to factor in the cost of one or more high-capacity ones, since most cameras come with cards just big enough to tantalize.)

Don’t overlook battery technology. Look for a lithium ion battery that can charge inside the camera or that works with an included external recharger. These batteries provide long life and eliminate disposable battery costs.

You may also want to ask about shutter lag (or shutter delay). This is the lag time between clicking the camera’s shutter button and when the picture taken. If this is too long, you can miss that “Kodak moment” by a second or two. If the store folks will let you, take a couple of pictures right there and see for yourself.

Connection technologies are also important. How does a camera attach to a computer? Most connect to a computer’s USB port. If you own a computer purchased in late 2002 or later that supports USB 2.0, look for a camera with the same connection feature. USB 2.0 moves data from an external device to a computer 48 times as fast as the original USB 1.1 connection (found on computers built since 1998).

An alternative is a FireWire connection which is 40 times faster than USB 1.1, although FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394) is an Apple technology and is unusual on most PCs.

Ultimately, your choice of camera comes down to personal taste and preference. Hold the camera in your hands and get a sense of how it will feel to use it. Is it comfortable to hold and easy to work with? How would it be to carry it around in your hands on over your shoulder for a day? That kind of thing is important too.

If you consider all these features, you’ll find a great camera that fits your needs and budget.