Choosing and Using a Digital Camera

OK, I admit it. I am a photo-holic. This is a multi-generational addiction in my family. When we were kids, my brother set up a darkroom in our family home.

My parents were photo-holics. My dad constructed floor-to-ceiling cabinets in our basement recreation room to hold all of our photo albums.

My grandfather bought a panel truck when he retired, just to cart his boxes of slides around with him. He set up private screenings for any willing viewers.

Over the years, we have spent a king's ransom on film and photo developing.

Digital cameras have set us free from all of that hard-copy storage. Of course, I had to purchase a stand-alone hard drive for my laptop, which was jamming up for lack of memory space. Yep! Too many photos!

Even so, digital is the way to go.

How Can You Choose Which One to Buy?

Scanning the digital camera display at any major retailer can be enough to send your eyes rolling back up into your head! As you check out the product offerings, look for several key features:

Memory Card Capacity

Each digital camera employs a tiny memory card, which is inserted into the camera itself. The memory card looks almost like a tiny floppy disk. How much memory does each card hold? What replacement cards are available?

It's a good idea to pick up an extra card or two. After all, once the memory card is full, the camera will hold no more photos. (Of course, the user can delete unwanted images to make more room.)

Megapixels

Many people wrongly believe that the best digital cameras are the ones with the highest megapixel rating. This refers to the resolution the camera can attain. Higher resolution images make better photos, particularly for enlargements.

However, the higher resolution photos consume considerably more memory (on the camera and on your computer). Many photographers actually set their cameras for lesser resolution, if photos will not be printed on a large-scale format. For basic pictures or action shots, a lower rating may be sufficient.

Zoom

Read the fine print carefully here! What's the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom?