How to Choose a Digital Camera (updated 11/26/09)
Aug 23 '00 (Updated Nov 26 '09)
The Bottom Line Do you want to buy a Digital Camera? Here's some basic information that may help you make a better purchasing decision.
When I first became interested in photography (about thirty-five years ago) choices were much simpler. Thirty five millimeter cameras came in three basic flavors - professional cameras like the Nikon F2, The Canon F1, and the Pentax LX, amateur level cameras like the Pentax K1000, the Nikkormat "FT" series, and the Minolta SRT models, and finally compact cameras (in not only 35mm, but also in 126 and 110 film formats) - what are called P&S (point & shoot) cameras these days.
The ongoing technology revolution is rapidly changing the social and cultural landscape of United States and the rest of the world. Celebrities, politicians, regular folks, and religious leaders tweet. Almost everybody is on facebook or myspace and virtually everyone has a cell phone. Substantially more than half the homes in the U. S. have personal computers, MP3 players are everywhere, and millions of folks won't leave home without their GPS. During the last thirty years camera technology has also changed dramatically and digital cameras have replaced traditional film cameras in popularity (and sales). Features like auto exposure, auto focus, auto flash, program modes, scene modes, image stabilization, and face detection AF have made taking good pictures much simpler and provided today’s photographers with options that we old-timers never dreamed were possible.
More people every year are buying digital cameras and for many consumers the search for the "right" digital camera can seem a bit intimidating. Don't be discouraged, it really isn't as confusing as it may appear. Manufacturers are continually introducing newer more sophisticated digital cameras. Competition for consumer dollars is really stiff and that benefits consumers in some very important ways. Digicams are now much cheaper and provide many more picture taking/making options than their predecessors. Six years ago an average 3 megapixel P&S digital camera cost over $500. Today a very good 12 megapixel P&S digital camera can be purchased for around $200.
Don't worry about trying to stay ahead of the developmental curve - whatever you buy today is already obsolete---its replacement is in the final stages of R&D, and the next generation hot digicam is currently evolving on the digital camera drawing boards.
Here’s a little basic information to get you started right on your camera search.
First and foremost - don't fall for the megapixel myth (more megapixels make for better pictures) more megapixels just make for bigger pictures. Higher resolution does provide the ability to crop more extensively and/or print larger pictures, but only a tiny fraction of all the photographers out there will ever need those options. The vast majority of photographers are snapshooters, family photographers, and casual shutterbugs. If you're not going to be printing pictures larger than 8x10 or doing extensive image manipulation in photoshop then a basic 8 to 10 megapixel P&S digicam like the Canon Powershot A480 will more than meet your needs. The quality and construction of the lens is much more important to the quality of the images you’ll capture than the camera’s resolution (how many megapixels).
The first question that you’ll need to answer is - how are you going to use the camera? There are several distinct types of digital camera and knowing exactly what the camera is intended for is going to make the search and selection process much simpler. Digital cameras range in price from less than $100 dollars for a bare bones no-name Big Lots digicam to about $4500.00 bucks for a Nikon D3S body. Their capabilities vary just as dramatically as their prices. The Big Lots digicam will produce images that are (barely) acceptable for email use while the Nikon Pro dSLR is the exact same model used by many of the shooters at National Geographic and a new generation of digital photojournalists who need a camera that is tough enough to go into combat and sophisticated enough to send back stunning “real time” images of the conflict.
Simple and inexpensive basic digital cameras are usually more than adequate for E-Mail, Home Pages, home businesses, and web auction shots. Cameras designed/optimized for this type of use typically cost between $130.00 and $200.00 and fall into the 8-10 megapixel range.
General use cameras – these cameras are generally used for snapshots of friends and family, record shots of growing children, and to document vacations and special events. Digital cameras designed/optimized for this type of use are generally in the 10 -12 megapixel range. Some exceptional deals can be found on general use cameras if you are willing to invest some time in research. Typical Snapshot friendly "point & shoot" digital cameras also fall into this category. If you don't need enlargements larger than 8x10 inches, then a compact digital camera like Nikon's Coolpix S640 will work fine as your primary or family camera. Prints are easy make at home with an inexpensive photo printer or you can upload your digital images to one of the on-line printers or have them printed (directly from your memory card) at the local drugstore - just like your folks did (with their 35mm film and 110 or 126 film cartridges) when you were a kid.
More advanced shooters are likely to utilize their cameras for On Line Photo albums/home HDTV slide shows, "pro" quality web pages, Desktop publishing, Web site design/development, and printing/enlargement of images via the digital darkroom for display or sale. The Cameras purchased by more advanced shooters are designed to produce near pro quality images – cameras favored by these photographers offer high resolution (typically 10 - 15 megapixels), more features, and heftier price tags. Cameras like the Canon Powershot S120 IS or Canon Powershot G11, the Nikon D300, Canon Digital Rebel XSi, or the Sony A350.
Here are some things you’ll need to understand before you make your digital camera purchase - a brief glossary of digital camera terms:
Megapixels
Pixel is an acronym for "picture elements" (each pixel is like the individual dots that make up the pictures that you see on a monitor screen), and basically the more pixels, the sharper the image – up to a point. Megapixels equal "millions of picture elements". The resolution range, in currently available digital cameras, is from about 5 megapixels (5,000,000 picture elements) to 22 megapixels (22,000,000 picture elements)
Digital/Optical Zooms
Most P&S digital cameras provide both an optical zoom and a digital zoom. Optical zooms are just like those used in 35mm cameras. Digital zooms magnify (digitally "zoom" in on) a small central sector of the image area which causes pixelation (individual picture elements start to become visible), noise (the edges of the pixels fuzz out, causing color to fade and contrast and overall image quality to drop), and a general loss of sharpness and color saturation. Digital zoom use should be avoided unless you happen to stumble upon an alien abduction in progress or see the Loch Ness Monster in the flesh.
The camera's imaging capability is only as good as the lens mounted in front of the sensor. Digital cameras have an inherent problem - the image sensor array (because of its small size) uses only the center portion of the zoom lens, this causes distortion and image degradation. Many of these problems can be overcome with well designed nicely constructed lenses made with optical quality glass. Do some research on the lens quality of your chosen model, most consumers overlook this very important component in the purchasing equation when researching digital cameras.
Don't be guided by cost and resolution numbers alone, check out everything you can find about the camera you’ve chosen before you lay down those hard earned dollars. A 10 megapixel camera with a mediocre lens is no better than a 5 megapixel camera with a good lens. A good 3X or 4X zoom is demonstrably better than a mediocre 10X zoom. A wider angle zoom that starts at (the 35mm equivalent) of 28mm allows more to be crowded into the image than a standard zoom that begins at the 35mm equivalent of 35mm or 38mm.
Some of the most exciting options currently available to consumers are the "long lens" (10x to 20x zooms) P&S digicams - many with image stabilizaton. Optical Image Stabilization (the camera automatically shifts an element in the zoom to compensate for camera movement) is practically ubiquitous in today's long zoom (also called mega-zoom) digicams. OIS allows photographers to shoot at shutter speeds up to three stops slower than would have been possible without OIS. For example, if a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second is required to avoid the effects of camera shake (without OIS) a digicam with OIS can capture a reasonably sharp image of the same subject, everything else being equal, at 1/60th of a second. Mechanical image stabilization is slightly different (the camera moves the sensor to compensate for camera movement) way to accomplish the same goal.
Digital image stabilization boosts sensitivity (ISO) and increases shutter speeds to compensate for camera movement. Mechanical or optical image stabilization provides an especially important benefit outdoors (when shooting handheld) at full telephoto (where even the slightest camera movement is magnified exponentially). Image stabilization can also be a very useful asset when shooting indoors where higher shutter speeds may not be possible or would result in dark images with poor shadow/highlight detail. Digital image stabilization is especially useful in low light and dimly lit indoor venues where flash may be prohibited, but boosting sensitivity also increases image noise levels.
Optical viewfinder vs Electronic Viewfinder vs LCD viewfinder
Coupled Optical viewfinders (that zoom with the lens) are like the Galilean framing devices found on traditional 35mm compact P&S cameras -- you look through a small optical tunnel and see, more or less, what the lens sees. SLR type prism/mirror Optical viewfinders like those offered on the Nikon D5000 or Canon EOS 7D, show exactly what the lens sees. Serious photographers prefer this type of viewfinder.
An Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) is just a smaller version of the LCD screen found on the back of most digital cameras. The Electronic Viewfinder doesn’t show as much detail as an SLR type optical viewfinder nor is that detail rendered sharply enough for the photographer to ensure that the image is in tack sharp focus.
LCD viewfinders are like small TV screens. They are usually acceptable framing/composition aids unless you are outside in bright light or under bright light inside - both of which cause the screen image to fade. Glare and reflections can also make it hard to see what’s on the LCD screen. Most P&S digicams offer only LCD viewfinders
Optical viewfinders and electronic viewfinders (EVFs) narrow the photographer's vision of the world (by eliminating everything except the field of view of the camera's lens) and that’s a good thing - because it forces shooters to see photographically. Arms length LCD screen composition causes shooters to see their images as a picture within a picture, a smaller part of the whole rather than as a completely self-contained mini-environment and that is a very important distinction, in creative terms.
dSLRs
DSLRs are designed for more serious shooters, many of whom already have a bag of OEM (Nikon, Canon, Pentax, or Olympus ) lenses and accessories. With the newest digital SLR's like the feature rich Nikon D5000 experienced photographers can assume total personal control over their images.
There are a few important facts first time DSLR Buyers should keep in mind. DSLR image sensors are larger than the image sensor arrays in P&S digicams, but they are usually smaller than a frame of 35mm film so there’s a 1.5X/1.6X magnification factor with 35mm format lenses and a 2X magnification factor with four thirds and micro four thirds lenses. The good news is that telephoto lenses magically grow longer (a 200 mm telephoto becomes either a 300 mm or a 400mm telephoto). The bad news is that the same thing happens to wide-angle lenses (a 28 mm wide-angle lens becomes a 43 mm or 56mm normal lens). Photographers who like to shoot grand vistas or expansive interior shots will have to buy ultra wide-angle lenses.
Many DSLR LCD screens can’t be used as viewfinders (like they are with Point & Shoot digital cameras) because the mirror used to reflect the image up to the TTL optical viewfinder blocks the light path. Four thirds (4/3) format DSLRs with “Live View” LCD screens like the Panasonic GH1and the Olympus E3 are similar to P&S digicams, in that their LCD screens can be used as viewfinders. Until recently DSLRs didn’t feature movie modes, but consumers wanted DSLRs with movie modes so the most recent DSLR models feature movie modes – just like their P&S cousins.
Image Storage
Digital cameras don’t use film - instead they store images electronically on digital flash memory media. The most popular type of memory media for digital images is the SD/SDHC card. Other memory media types are Compact Flash Cards (types I & II), xD picture Cards, and Sony Memory Stick cards. Digital flash memory media provide capacity (for SDHC cards) up to 16 Gigabytes. Some pro level digital cameras accept Compact Flash (type II) memory media cards.
Power
All digital cameras use batteries for power although many digicams are also able to plug right into house current with an optional AC adapter for battery free (tethered) power. There are more varieties of digital camera batteries currently available than there are excuses for FEMA’s slow response to Hurricane Katrina. Batteries and chargers are included with most cameras.
Digital cameras draw their operating power from two basic sources – available anywhere AA-size batteries or proprietary and model centric lithium-ion batteries. Travelers, particularly those who travel outside the U.S. , should choose a camera that uses AA batteries. When a camera that uses a proprietary battery runs out of power – users must either insert another battery (buying an extra proprietary battery will typically add from $30 to $100 to the final cost of your digital camera) or stop taking pictures until they re-charge the camera battery.
If you are outside the U. S. this process requires not only an available outlet, a battery charger, and a power converter, but anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours to fully charge the battery. When AA batteries are exhausted they can be discarded and replaced with fresh set of easily obtained available almost anywhere AA batteries. Smart shooters will bring along a couple of sets of long-life Energizer E2 Lithiums AAs, but over the counter Alkaline AAs will do fine in a pinch. Canon’s A series digicams like the A2100 IS (and several others) use AA batteries.
Software and Hardware
Digital Cameras usually come packed with a software CD that will allow users (at a minimum) to import images to their computers and send them as email attachments. Some software packages provide substantially more sophistication in the manipulation and management of images - for instance some included software CDs allow users to stitch images together to make panoramas. Most included software can be easily replaced by a good third party image management program like Adobe Photoshop Elements. Hardware options available for many digital cameras allow the use of external flashes and add on lens converters that provide enhanced wide angle, macro, and telephoto capabilities.
Ergonomics & Usability
Some digital cameras are very small, like the super thin (MP3 player sized) Olympus Stylus 7010. Larger mega-zoom digital cameras like the Sony H50 are about the same size as an entry-level DSLR. Make sure the camera you decide to buy is going to be comfortable for you to use and that the weight and size are not going to be a deterrent to getting out and shooting pictures. The key here is to not buy more camera than you need – that snazzy new DSLR may really impress your friends, but you won’t be capturing any “killer” shots if you leave it at home because it is too cumbersome to carry with you all the time. Today’s ultra-compact P&S digicams are feature rich, small enough to be dropped in a pocket, and tough enough to go just about anywhere.
Pro shooters and more advanced shutterbugs may need heavy DSLRs or prosumer P&S mega-zoom digital cameras, bags of lenses, external flash units, and heavy tripods, but most casual photographers and snapshooters only need an easy to use and capable digicam that is small enough to be carried (like a cell phone or MP3 player) everywhere you go. Photography’s most enduring raison d'être are the spontaneous images that preserve life’s happiest moments. The camera you have with you when something special happens will do a lot better job of capturing that once in a lifetime photo op than the bulky camera you decided to leave at home.
Tiny cameras can't be expected to compete on an equal footing with full sized DSLRs or Prosumer P&S digicams in terms of image quality. Consumers who value compact size must be prepared to accept certain trade offs because tiny batteries can't hold as much power as larger batteries. Lens aberrations will show more clearly in tiny zoom lenses than they would in larger optics and the output power from a flash unit that is half the size of a standard postage stamp obviously can't equal the output power of a unit that is exponentially larger.
Tweakability Quotient
How responsive is the digicam you are considering? Will it keep pace with you as your photographic abilities grow and your creative skills evolve? Will it allow users to make truly personal images via aperture & shutter speed selection, exposure compensation, flash compensation, exposure bracketing, AF bracketing, in-camera image adjustment (saturation, contrast, sharpening), manually selecting ISO sensitivity, or manually fine tuning white balance?
If you think you might get serious (at some point) about photography you should look for a digital camera that provides a broad range of exposure control, creative flexibility, and lots of user input into the picture making process. Full auto digicams limit input into the image making process and many purchasers will eventually grow frustrated with those limitations.
An Important note for digital camera buyers
One of the major disappointments more advanced photographers face when they switch from film cameras to digital cameras is loss of the ability to use selective focus (a blurred or out of focus background is used to dramatize a sharply focused foreground and thereby accentuate the subject --- especially useful in portraiture) due to the very short focal length zooms of fixed lens P&S digicams. Depth of field (how far the plane of focus extends in front of and behind the point of focus) is a property of the focal length of the lens, and to a lesser degree of the aperture selected. The shorter the focal length of the lens the further the plane of sharp focus extends. P&S digicam zooms have very short focal lengths which create deep depth of field even at wide apertures and long telephoto settings - areas where 35mm (and larger format) lenses provide very shallow depth of field. What this means practically is, if you like to shoot portraits with the subject in focus and the background blurred, you'll have to buy a digital SLR.
A Final Word
Photography (digital or film) has always been about compromises, so purchasers should start with realistic expectations -- there are no perfect cameras. Once you've determined what you are going to use the camera for, and which features/options you want/need/expect, the next step is to read everything that you can find on the models that meet your requirements.
Seek out sites with knowledgeable reviewers who generously share their personal experiences with the cameras. Read lots of reviews. Avoid reviewers that just regurgitate specifications, gush hyperbole, and spout numbers. Base your final buying decision on your opinion of the camera and the consensus opinions of those reviewers whose opinions you trust. If possible, go to a local camera store and handle your top two or three choices since subjective camera "feel" and perceived usability are very important factors in consumer satisfaction with digital camera purchases.
There’s never been a better time to buy a digital camera. Good luck in your digital camera quest and good shooting!
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