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Things You Should Know Before Buying Discount Cameras

by: Nicky Pilkington

Taking photographs has always been considered an enjoyable pastime. Photography is one of the best ways to capture a moment in time. It seems now the world has become obsessed with taking pictures. Everywhere you look there are advertisements for cameras. Probably one of the most significant innovations in the Digital Age has been the digital camera. At one time these cameras had one thing in common with their non-digital counterparts—an expensive price tag. In recent years the cost of digital cameras has dropped considerably; so much so that you can easily purchase a digital camera for less than $200. To find the best deal you will need to do some comparison-shopping. By arming yourself with some information about digital cameras, you will better prepare yourself for buying discount cameras.

As most of the innovations in digital technology, digital cameras are considered more complex than they really are. When you shop for discount cameras, price should not be your only guide. It is a good idea to understand some of the basic features of digital cameras so that you can effectively compare the various models available on the market.

If you’re interested in buying discount cameras, you undoubtedly are familiar with at least one buzzword associated with digital cameras: megapixel. Megapixel, which refers to the number of pixels per one million or how fine an image’s resolution is, is important to consider when buying discount cameras because megapixel directly relates to the image quality you are able to obtain. When you shop for discount cameras you will notice that there are a wide range of megapixels. At one time, a digital camera with 1.3 megapixel was standard and a camera with 5.0 megapixels was considered top-shelf. With the recent introduction of digital cameras with 9.0 megapixels, the standard in megapixels is changing.

Buying a digital camera with the highest number of megapixels is not necessarily the best method of selecting a digital camera. Since megapixels relate to an image’s resolution, you should first determine your plans for the digital camera. If you want simply to take images for personal use, a median number of megapixels such as 3.5 may be sufficient. If on the other hand you intend to enlarge and crop images, you may want to shop for digital cameras with a higher number of megapixels.

The number of megapixels that a camera uses is the primary selling point for digital cameras. However, it is the additional features that will have the greatest effect on price. Optional features that you may want to consider include video recording capabilities, an optical zoom lens, and a histogram. Most cameras include a zoom lens, but it is usually a digital zoom lens. This type of lens only appears to enlarge the image. An optical zoom lens is an ideal option if you will use your digital camera to shoot distant objects. Creating a digital movie is another popular option. If you want a digital camera with this feature, be sure to note the maximum recording time. A handy feature that is not used often, but is very handy if you are serious about digital photography is histogram. Once you snap an image you can use the histogram option to analyze the exposure. If an image is too bright or too dark you can reshoot the image.

About The Author

Nicky Pilkington

For more information about buying discount cameras, you can review a buying guide and offers for discount digital cameras at http://discount-digital-camera.biz/. If you are short on time, this website also offers some of the best deals in digital cameras on the Internet.

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How To Compare Digital Camera Prices

by: Steve Gargin

Digital camera prices have been constantly dropping whilst the quality and complexity of the digital cameras has been rising rapidly. People who used to only dream of owning a digital camera because of the excessive digital camera prices may now be able to afford much better cameras than they realize. In fact, digital camera prices have changed so dramatically that a 5- or 6-megapixel point-and-shoot digital camera has dropped below what a 4-megapixel camera was selling for less than a year ago.

Digital camera prices of $200-$300 are now common for good point-and-shoot digital cameras that come with an image resolution of up to 5 mega pixels and a 3X optical zoom lens. It is important to recognize what the minimum features are to expect for this range of digital camera prices. Digital camera prices between $200 and $300 should include:

* 1.3 frames per second shooting capability

* 10 to 20 scene modes

* built-in flash

* lens openings from f2.8 to f4.8

* optical viewfinder and an LCD of 1.5 to 2 inches

* optical zoom lens with a range equivalent to that of a 35-115mm lens

* rechargeable batteries

* shutter speeds of 4 seconds to 1/2000 second

* solid plastic or metal housing

* video clip capture at 320 by 240 resolution with audio

Digital camera prices can vary and it is essential to know what the most useful features are. Obviously you want to take good pictures but don’t want to pay the inflated digital camera prices that the high-end cameras have. However, your priority should be to assess which features are the most important to enable you to take the best pictures. The higher the numbers of megapixels that the cameras have, the higher the digital camera prices are but this does not necessarily guarantee better pictures.

One of the most useful features to look for in the $200-$300 range of digital camera prices for point-and-shoot picture taking is scene modes. Digital camera prices are not affected very much by having scene modes but these allow an amateur photographer to take shots such as a fireworks display and sunsets without knowing how to adjust the camera settings manually. The majority of the better digital cameras within the $200-$300 range of digital camera prices have scene mode selections available. Another feature of cameras within the $200-$300 range of digital camera prices is that they are compact and will fit in a jacket pocket.

About The Author

Steve Gargin is the administrator of http://digital-camera-reviews.helper-guru.com/camera-digital-finepix-fuji-review/index.html which is a great website dedicated to giving free advice on Digital Cameras.

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How To Choose The Perfect Digital Camera For You!

by: Amit Laufer

The huge variety of Digital Cameras in the market is a great thing but it is making our buying decision a difficult task. The following buying tips will help you make a better, more educated, focused and rational purchase decision. Please take into acccount that there is no one perfect Digital Camera that contains all the requiered features and sells at a low price too, so it will be a compromise like many others we make in life.

Do You Really Need a Digital Camera?

To answer this compare the price of mid range digital cameras and devide it by the cost of a roll of film. How many rolls of film you need to buy before covering the cost of your digital camera? On average good mid range digital camera cost aprox $ 600. Film will avarage $ 2. you will buy 200 rolls of films before ever covering the cost of your new digital camera. Think about it, how much time in terms of years would it take to shoot 300 rolls of film X 36 frames? It is almost 11,000 pictures! Shooting ten rolls a year on average would take 30 years to spend $ 600 in terms of rolls of film and if the cost of the camera was only $ 200 then it will take " only " 10 years. Do you start geting the picture here? Don't forget that there is the cost of developing and the cost of the prints, but if you want to get simmilar quality prints as film camera then you will have to send your digital images to a mini lab printer as well.

So please, don't buy into the idea you are saving money here...

It is true though that with the digital camera you print only the best shots you like most and not all 36 pictures, so at some point everything begins to balance out. Another point to consider is that, many people don't print digital images, they store it on their computers or over the internet in digital albums, or they make a presentation with background music, burn it on a DVD disk, and share it with family and friends at their living room on TV. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

If it is not necessarily cheaper, Does the Digital Cameras give better quality results? The answer is short: NO! experts may even argue that film quality is better.

There is the psychological aspect behind it all. Remember not having to buy film gives you the free feeling of taking as many pictures as you like, with instant satisfaction of seeing results immediately. Secondly,you always have the option to retake shots.

Thirdly, people tend to store or print only the best pictures. The overall result is improvement in our recorded memories, we shoot much more, correct and delete bad ones and store or print only the very best.

In addition, imaging software enables us to even further improve saturation of colors, Compensate for bad exposures, crop, rotate, make a collage from many pictures, add Artistic Graphics Text and style.

To sum it all up, it is not true that the Digital Cameras are saving money, the quality is not higher than Film camera, in general the new better Digital cameras give you more manual control over exposure and shutter speeds. Psychologically we feel relaxed and free to shoot much more pictures. The end result is an overall improvement in recording our live memories.

What Do You Need to Look for in a Digital Camera:

Examine the Camera at a real store:

First I would like to suggest that the whole buying process not be done over the internet even though it is convenient and tempting. In my view it is very important to see the camera, to hold it in your hands, and most importantly to try it and see the results. The features of many digital cameras look quite similar and it is hard to make a decision merely by feature comparisons . It might be very handsome nice looking camera on the internet but may be it is too small for your big hands? Did you know that some Digital cameras Have up to 3 seconds delay between pushing the button and the actual shutter Movement (Picture taking). In 3 seconds my son is out of the frame already... One warning, come prepared (after reading this article), listen to the salesman but with a critic ear, as objectivety may be abscured and profit margin goals may be at mind. You don't have to buy at the store, If you like a specific camera now is the time to go to the internet and compare specific model prices. buy only at a reputable and reliable store either virtual or not.

Decide on a Certain Budget and Stick to it:

Photo gear has a lot of wana haves, nice to haves and let me have that one as well, gadgets. most camera manufacturers provide a basic memory card of 16 MB, this will be good for only a few high quality pictures, I strongly recommend you will buy a 128 MB or even better yet 256 MB Memory Card. Since Digital Cameras use LCD screen, batery consumption is much higher than what you are use to in film cameras, it is recommended to invest in a battery charger. Allocate a budget for your camera, but make sure it includes the Camera + Memory Card + Battery charger + case and even consider Wide Angel Converter.

Skin tone:

Test the cameras quality by taking a picture of people, observe the skin tone (face, hands etc'), does the skin tone looks natural to you? Or is it too pale or yellowish? Is it too reddish or pink? Insist on a good natural result.

How Many Mega Pixels?

The very basic " Point & Shoot " models can start with 2 Mega and can give very good results but I recommend you choose 3 mega or even 4 Mega for prints of up to 5 x 7. If you don't need many enlargements it is high quality and sufficient. There are compact models with even 7 Mega pixels but for all practical reasons it is an over kill, I would invest in wider aperture lens and longer range zoom. Don't think if your neighbor bought a 7 Mega camera that his camera is better, It's not.

What Aperture Lens:

The smaller the number the better, it is always marked with "f", for instance aperture range: f2.8 - f4, if it is constant on the entire zoom range, let's say f2.8 on all zoon range - excellent, the longer the zoom range the harder it is to produce a small aperture number, for instance a zoom range of 36mm - 420mm (12 X) if it is f2.8 on all the range it is impressive. a camera with Aperture range of f2 - f3 Very good. Higher aperture than f5 will produce less desirable results.

Zoom Range:(Optical)

The longer the range the better, you can catch a distant object, make nice close ups and portraits, it gives you more accessibility, flexibility and creative options. A long 420 mm (12 X) is excellent range BUT, you need to understand that the longer the zoom range the bigger the amplification of any hand shaking with the camera, therefore it is recommended to hold your breath, be as stable as you can with your hands and body but even better yet to use a Tripod. I would even compromise a bit on the range to be 370 mm (10 X) " only ". Important feature on a long-range zoom is an Anti-Shake or Image stabilizer. These features compensate approximately one f stop or more on movements.

I referred here to Optical zoom, there is a digital zoom in addition but usually the quality of it is very low, some salesmen tend to confuse the customers by multiplying the optical zoom by the digital zoon and claiming the camera to be 12 optical x 4 digital = (48 X)! Ignore such statements, refer just to Optical zoom.

In the old Film cameras a long zoom range meant a very long bulge, in the current modern Digital Cameras it extends less than an inch and stops, all the rest is done internally by the Cameras optics.

Wide Angel:

Most Digital Cameras do not have wide angel! It is one of the their biggest shortcomings, 36 mm or even worse 37 mm is not a wide angel zoom, as a result when taking pictures indoor you will notice you cannot catch a better part of the scene or only part of the room, when shooting outdoor you will notice that only part of the landscape can be included in the frame. Not to worry, there is a solution! Wide Angel Adaptor, it is an add on which is placed over the existing lens. It can be (X 0.75) = 28 mm, it can be (X 0.66) = 24 mm which is excellent. There is an additional charge for adopters as they are produced either by a third party or the original manufacturer of the camera. Adaptors give small Distortions so as a rule of thumb it is much better to have the original manufacturer adaptor as it matches optically much better. There are even Macro ad on Adaptors available.

LCD Screen:

The bigger the better, average size is 1.8", but there are models with 2" and even 2.5", another feature is a swivel (flip-out & twist) LCD screens, you can show your kid His picture in real time, and it can help you take a difficult angel and access shots. The LCD screens have one big problem, that is, under sun light and outdoor conditions it is very difficult to see the picture on them. Therefore, if it has Anti Glare feature it's better. The more pixels the better.

ISO Rating:

This one is important to actually check in the store and observe the results carefully. The wider the range the better, both on the low and high sides of the scale. If it is less than 100 it means you will get very good results in bright day light sunny conditions ( Iso 50 or 80 ), if it is Iso 400 and up it means you will get excellent results on low light conditions. Some of Digital Cameras don't perform well in Iso rating of above 200, (e.g. you will see a lot of noise and snow flakes), this is why I recommended verifying it.

Optics:

The quality of the Glass Optics is Important, some of the Manufacturers wave with their Optics Brands well known producers like:

* Leica lens
* Carl Zeiss lens
* Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon lens
* Nikkor Lens
* Canon Lens
* Etc’.

Additional points:

* Auto Focus - The more points the better - (9 Points is very good).
* External Flash option via hot shoe a plus.
* Lens Protective Hood - Better Light input + physical protection of the lens.

Who is the Camera manufacturer?

Most of the Digital cameras are designed in Japan, it is very important to choose a reliable producer with strong and experienced knowledge of Cameras, with a large variety of models and commitment to service and excellence. Always think who is the manufacturer, is he coming from the film field, Printers producer, electronics or has he dealt with cameras from day one.

Summary:

* The economy of the Digital Camera is not cheaper than Film Cameras.
* The overall result of using Digital Camera is improvement in our recorded memories, we shoot much more, correct and delete bad ones and Store only the very best.
* Examine and test the Camera at a real store only then compare prices in the Internet, buy only at reputable store.
* Decide on a Budget and stick to it, Take into account all the accessories such as bigger memory card of at least 256 MB.
* Aperture lens - The smaller the "f" number the better, Range between f2 - f3 is very good, f2.8 across all the zoom range is excellent. Especially if the zoom is long.
* Zoom range of (12 X) or (10 X), with Anti Shake or Image Stabilizer is great, Consider adding a Tripod.
* Wide angel adaptor is most important (0.75 X) or even better yet (0.66 X), original manufacturer adapters will give you best optical compatibility.
* LCD Screen - The bigger the better, Flip out & twist, Anti Glare, High Resolution.
* ISO Rating - Preferable range 50 - 800, settle for 80 - 400, Test It!
* Optics - well known manufacturers will give you better quality output.
* Auto Focus - The more points the better - (9 Points is very good).
* External Flash option via hot shoe a big plus.
* Lens Protective Hood - Better Light input + physical protection of the lens.
* Well-known leader and experienced Camera manufacturer with good service backup.

A list of major camera manufacturers web sites:

* Canon USA
* Casio-USA
* Nikon USA
* Fuji-Film-US
* Hasselblad
* HP-US
* Kodak Photo
* Konica-Minolta-US
* Mamiya
* Leica-Camera
* Olympus-America
* Panasonic-Cameras
* Pentax
* Samsung-camera-usa
* Sigma-Cameras
* Sony-US

In my view the best place to look for Information on Digital Cameras Is the DpReview web site at: www.dpreview.com. Here you can Read the Latest Digital Camera news, In depth reviews of specific models, Compare side by side cameras, see picture samples, forums with specific Sections of Manufacturers and cameras models. In addition you get final professional Conclusions. This article can be obtained Free of charge at: www.1st-Photography-World.com.

(C) Copyrights Amit Laufer - 2005

About The Author

Amit Laufer
Age: 46
Location: New York, United States
MBA - International Trade & Finance - Heriot-Watt University.
Bsc. Computers and Information Systems - Long Island University - C.W Post Campus.
Hobby: Photography
Married with two Children.
Editor of: www.1st-photography-world.com

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Get The Most Out Of Your Digital Camera Today!

by: Kevin Rockwell

Point and click. The new life of digital cameras gives us all the opportunity to capture images as we go. Whether you simply hit the shutter button to take pictures of your friends and family or if you want to have your camera with you at all times in order to capture the beauty of life wherever you find it, getting the most out of your digital camera can be easy.

Let's imagine ourselves with the perfect set up of digital camera and a few accessories to make things just right. My personal and professional recommendation is that we start with memory. Get more today. If you only have one memory card for your camera it is time to add to the collection. If you have more than one then good job! The more memory you have for your digital camera the less likely it will be that you get stuck wanting to take more pictures and have no more room on the storage. Memory is relatively cheap, takes up no space in your kit and gives you total control over creativity.

Your camera comes with a variety of quality settings to work with when taking images. Don't use TIFF, leave it on one of the medium quality level settings and your camera will take fine images for you and not eat up all your memory. If you use the highest setting you will get very few images onto your card. They will for the most part be of very high quality but you would only want to shoot at that level of quality if you are intending to make high quality large format prints of your images.

Now if that child of yours is just so incredibly cute and your wall is aching for a portrait of his or her shining face then by all means do it on the highest quality. The key will be to use good software to process the image and then a printer that can make a large format, high quality print of your image. They exist and for not unreasonable prices I might add.

I was stunned at a recent art show in my neighborhood to be looking at a photographer's exhibit of large size prints (18x24 and up in size) to find out that he shoots exclusively in digital now. He was a former film photographer who switched over in recent years and now makes stunning prints from his digital images. His landscape images were simply amazing and to find out that he shot them on a good digital camera made me very curious about the process, but that is fodder for another article.

Juice is the answer to your next question. Always have more juice. I spent 20 years in the TV news business and my mantra was always have extra batteries ready to go and an extra tape under the back seat in case of emergency. For TV cameras the batteries were always big and heavy rechargeable NiCads. Lithium batteries are the rage nowadays as they are lighter in weight, have no memory problems, and run longer. Digital still cameras can take advantage of Lithium batteries but the cost is often slightly prohibitive for most of us. Some camera systems use proprietary battery systems. I would recommend not buying into that sort of system. Try to buy a camera that uses universal types of batteries such as AA's. I use a camera that takes AA's and I have three sets of rechargeable batteries so I can rotate through them and never be caught short. Total cost for three sets of batteries is about $30, and they will last you several years if you treat them right. If you just buy regular AA batteries and shoot a lot of images your battery cost might triple that over a like period of time.

Edison did it and now we consider him a genius. Experimentation is the name of the game. Digital images cost you nothing but time and a little battery life. Play around and take lots of shots of things, people, events, you name it. Look at magazines, newspapers and notice what images look cool to you. Try to take shots like that yourself so you can see how it is done. This will get you thinking about how to make your everyday shots better. Look for new and different ways to frame things, take both a vertical and a horizontal shot of the same thing and see how it changes perspective. Get closer to your subject, or get farther away to see which looks better. Find something unique about your subject and look for a way to exploit that for a better image. Here is and example, say for instance you have a great looking car you want a picture of, well don't stand across the street from it and zoom in on the car, get right up close with the sun behind you so the car is sparkling shiny and fills the whole frame of the image. Find it's best feature and center that in the shot say the awesome lines of front of the car or snazzy wheels.

Print something from your camera every week to remind you of the beauty of everyday things. Take shots all the time, pick one and print it out and then put it in front of you for a day or a week. Live life as though you want beauty around you all the time. If you are madly in love then surround yourself with pictures of that love. If you live in a beautiful place then take pictures of it all the time to make sure you never forget how special it is to be there in your life. Don't let those images hide away and not be seen. Wallpaper on your computer can be another place to put your weekly image, change it regularly with images from your family, work, life, hobby and you will get more smiles and more joy out of your camera than you know what to do with. My current wallpaper takes me back to a wonderful day on a mountain lake this past summer paddling kayaks in the afternoon breeze. What about yours?

About The Author

Kevin Rockwell worked as a network TV cameraman for 20 years shooting news. Now a devoted fan of digital photography and video he works to gather information and news for digital camera users. Free reports ->http://great-digital-cameras.com/gdcj.html

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