Monday, June 6, 2005
Consumer's guide to
buying a digital camera
By WALTER S. MOSSBERG The
Wall Street Journal
Digital cameras can be broadly sorted
into three main categories: pocket-size,
point-and-shoot and high-end. Thanks
to technology, pocket-size cameras do a
splendid job of marrying high-quality
features with tiny size - the perfect
solution for casual photographers who
don't want to lug a big camera
everywhere to get good shots.
These pocket-size cameras are so
stylishly slim and eye-catching that
they're starting to appear in various
colors and with extra features, such as unique sound effects. Be careful not to pay more for a
stylish-looking camera that lacks good features.
Point-and-shoot cameras are better for folks who don't mind carrying a camera case or who
would rather have a sturdier feel and a lower price. These cameras come loaded with features,
some of which might not be as commonly found on space-constrained pocket cameras.
High-end digicams are larger, costlier and most commonly used by avid hobbyists, who value
their numerous manual settings and options. But camera companies are doing a better job of
marketing them as less intimidating to average photographers who might want to take their
photography to the next level.
The digital-camera makers, and their retailers, try to boil down the measure of a camera's quality
to one factor: its "megapixel" rating. But, like processor speeds in computers, this megapixel
number can be deceptive. More megapixels don't always mean better pictures.
Megapixels are a measure of the maximum resolution that a camera can capture. But they have
to be seen in tandem with the size of a camera's image sensor. That sensor must be large enough
to capture the ever-climbing megapixel numbers advertised with many new digital cameras - or
else each pixel won't carry as much color information. In many low or moderately priced
cameras, manufacturers add more megapixels without increasing the sensor size, which would be
costly. They simply shrink each pixel, and that approach yields little or no gain in picture quality
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over a camera with the same-size sensor, but fewer, larger pixels. When comparing similar
cameras with lower and higher megapixel ratings, ask if the higher-megapixel model actually has
a larger sensor than the lower-megapixel one.
Don't be hoodwinked into buying a camera with a strangely high megapixel count and a toogood-to-be-true price. It isn't difficult to find digital cameras with five to seven megapixels that
sell for about $300 or so, such as the five-megapixel $329 CanonPowerShot A95 and 6.3megapixel $350 FujifilmFinePix E550. Most users don't need more than about three or four
megapixels anyway, as higher counts are mostly useful for doing detailed editing and making
really large prints, two things that most average users seldom do with their photographs. The
good news for buyers is that prices of three- to four-megapixel cameras have dropped
significantly in the past year.
The only real zoom that you need to pay attention to on a digital camera is the optical zoom, or
how much the lens physically moves to capture a photograph. Most digital cameras average
about 3x optical zoom, which will suit average users just fine. "Digital zoom" describes a
computerized blow-up of part of an image that your optical zoom has already captured, and it
usually degrades image quality.
To trick consumers, camera companies often advertise the camera's "overall zoom" - a number
reached by multiplying the digital zoom (often greater than the optical) with the optical zoom.
For example, a camera with a 3x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom might be advertised as
having a 12x overall zoom, which is misleading. Read closely and ignore digital zoom
completely when shopping for a camera.
One of the hottest selling points for new digital cameras right now is their larger LCD viewing
screens, most of which average about 2 inches diagonally. These allow users to review photos
without squinting or holding the camera close to see captured pictures. You can find larger
screens; the $350 OlympusStylus 500 has a 2.5-inch LCD.
Keep in mind that these screens often must be jammed into a small camera size. In order to fit
them onto some pocket-size cameras, companies do away with optical viewfinders completely.
This makes it harder for users with unsteady hands.
And on some cameras, having to depend on the LCD might make it impossible to take pictures in
bright sunlight, which washes out the image on many screens. Be sure your camera has both an
optical viewfinder and an LCD viewing screen. The $349 Konica MinoltaDimage X50 is a good
example of a pocket-size camera that boasts a 2-inch LCD and an optical viewfinder, yet still
measures about the size of a deck of cards.
When digital cameras started gaining popularity, a feature that frustrated most users was the slow
shutter speed - the time measured between when the shutter button was pressed and when the
photograph was actually captured. Many newer cameras have improved this feature to around
one-tenth of a second or less, and it makes a difference when you must capture an image
instantly.
Shutter speeds aren't easy to find when researching cameras, but it's worth taking some time to
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discover them. If possible, test your camera in the store, taking note of any noticeable lag time.
The time it takes for your camera to start up, which is measured by the time between pressing
"power" and being ready to shoot, is also important for capturing photos instantly. Any camera
worth its salt will take no longer than a second to start up; some even do so in a half-second.
Again, this specification will be buried in the camera data, but is worth finding and testing in a
store to get a real feel for how quickly your camera will respond when you need it.
Another speed issue is shot-to-shot time - the period between taking one shot and being ready to
take the next. The biggest factor here can be the time it takes to recharge the flash.
If quick shooting of multiple pictures is important to you, look for a camera with a fast shot-toshot speed.
Some cameras have a special "burst mode," which allows rapid shooting of a limited number of
pictures.
But, in this mode, auto-focus may not function fully.
Be sure to buy a camera that fits your needs and budget.
If you pay attention to these tips, you'll be less likely to get railroaded by a sales clerk.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/06/06/sections/business/business/article_547912.php