Thinking of buying a new digital camera? Here are the key areas to consider when making your move from film to digital or when upgrading to your next digital camera.Specific articles that explore each of the areas listed below are also included in this section.
Resolution
This term refers to the quality and clarity of an image.In the digital world,it is generally measured in pixels.For printing,pixels per inch is the standard measurement (sometimes called “dots per inch,”though the two are not identical in meaning).In the case of cameras,resolution is measured in megapixels.Resolution is the one of the most important aspects of any digital camera purchase.
When it comes to deciding on the right level of resolution,the most important question you need to ask yourself is:“Am I going to want to print enlargements and/or crop and edit my photos before printing them at regular size?”
If you never print anything other than 4”x 6”pictures,a 2 megapixel camera should serve you just fine.However,if you would like to have the option to enlarge your pictures to 5”x7” ,8”x10”or larger,consider a 3,4 or 5 megapixel camera.This also holds true if you want the option to perform significant edits on your digital photos,such as cropping and resizing.
Basically,bigger is better when it comes to megapixels.Although, when shooting at higher resolutions,you will need more storage capacity as your image file sizes will be significantly larger.
Lenses (Optical Zoom)
Most mid-level and higher digital cameras have great zoom lenses. On digital cameras,optical zooms are measured by their magnification factor:2x,3x,etc.For comparison purposes,it is often easier to ask what the 35mm equivalent is.This is because the magnification measurements don’t specify what size lens it is that’s zooming. For instance,a 2x zoom lens could mean a 28mm-56mm zoom, a 35mm-70mm zoom,or a 50mm-100mm zoom (expressed in 35mm equivalents).These lenses would all have different properties,so it is worth asking for 35mm equivalents to be sure you understand what you’re getting
