Digital cameras buying guide

the essential facts to help you with your buying decisions

Thanks to Digital cameras, everybody can now produce stunning pictures easily and instantly. The advantages are obvious: no film is required and no developing, the pictures you have taken can be viewed and checked immediately on the integrated LCD screen and you can take and delete a large number of pictures until you are happy with the result (or your memory card is full). Photo editing software such as Photoshop allows you to improve further on many aspects of your work.

What types of digital cameras are available?

In the lower price range you have the basic 'point-and-shoot' cameras that let you take decent pictures, e.g. for the family album. These cameras adjust all settings automatically, you just press the button. Super slim designs are available that fit into any small pocket.

If you want to be more creative and in control, you can look for compact and the smaller ultra compact cameras that may allow you to choose between program automatic exposure (program AE), Shutter-priority, aperture-priority and manual mode (PASM) and often have various preset program modes for different conditions (night, sport, landscape, etc.). These cameras allow you to produce high quality pictures with your individual settings and you can still use them as point-and-shoot in automatic mode if you feel like it.

Digital SLR-type cameras can combine all these features plus many advanced features and give you a vast choice of functions and control for pictures of the highest quality at a reasonable price. They often have electronic viewfinders (EVF) that let you see the picture projected through the lens onto the sensor as an LCD image(although with a slight time delay), giving a similar appearance as in SLR cameras.

Apart from auto-focus they may also offer manual focus, which can be an advantage in certain conditions. For wildlife and sports photography you may benefit from the super-zoom cameras with powerful optical zoom lenses (12x, 15x,..) that let you zoom in close on the action.

The super zoom cameras should ideally include some form of image stabilization (optical or sensor shift) as it is very difficult to take a shake-free picture at high zoom settings otherwise (unless you carry a tripod). A top range SLR-type camera with super zoom lens can provide you with many features of an true SLR camera in a more compact form and without the need to carry extra lenses.

At the top of the range you find the digital SLR cameras (DSLR), which are packed with advanced features that allow total control for the serious photographer (amateur and professional). Their optical viewfinder lets you see the image you are going to shoot via a mirror through the front lens, clearly and in real time. One of their main advantages is that their front lenses can be interchanged to suit different conditions (zoom, wide angle, fixed) and quality demands (you may have to carry a fair amount of equipment and spend serious money to use their full potential).

They also feature image sensors (CCD or CMOS) that are physically larger and can therefore produce generally pictures of superior clarity with less noise interference. Some of the DSLR cameras are now not much more expensive (especially on the Internet) than top end cameras with fixed lenses. These cameras are, however, usually larger and heavier than other cameras especially when long tele lenses are attached.

A more recent development are the mirrorless DSLR cameras or Interchangeable lens system cameras that retain most of the advantages of a DSLR in a much smaller body, by getting rid of the bulky mirror and pentaprism. See our feature article for more information on mirrorless DSLRs ...

Important features of digital cameras to look for

Image sensor resolution: the image sensor (CCD, CMOS, etc.) converts the image projected from the lens into digital information, using tiny light-sensitive elements tightly distributed over its surface. The more of these elements or pixels are available on the sensor, the more picture detail (resolution) is theoretically possible (provided the sensor is of high quality).

The possible print size for images depends on the sensor resolution and the print quality you require: 3 megapixels let you print about 5 x 7 inch images, 6 megapixels about 6.5 x 10 inch and 10 megapixels about 8.5 x 13 inches.

The quality of the sensor is more important than just pixel count and it can be very difficult to accommodate a large number of pixels on small sized sensors without introducing noise. Larger sensors as used in DSLRs and interchangeable lens cameras can therefore generally provide better low-noise images when combined with high quality lenses.

Lenses and zoom: the picture quality depends largely on the quality of the lens and the sensor. Many better cameras come with zoom lenses to allow closing in on the subject. Several super-zoom cameras (up to 10x or 12x zoom) have image stabilizers that reduce blurring from camera shake. Don't confuse digital zoom, with optical zoom provided by the lens. Digital zoom is just blowing-up the picture without adding detail and is pretty pointless. For DSLR cameras you can choose from many different types of lenses (up to the highest quality and price) which you can interchange easily.

PASM Modes and preset program modes: cameras should at least come with Program mode (P) or auto mode (camera adjusts exposure automatically via shutter speed and aperture setting) and should have auto-focus facitlities.

For more creativity and control you may also want Aperture-priority (A) (you determine aperture, camera sets shutter speed), Shutter-priority (S) (you determine shutter-speed, camera sets the aperture) and Manual mode (M) (you have full control over either setting).

Most cameras offer also preset program modes for automatic adjustments in different shooting conditions (e.g. sport, scenery, night, party, portrait, etc.).

Memory: the memory card is where the pictures are stored. The larger the memory capacity, the more pictures you can store before you have to delete. There is little difference between prices for the different types of cards (prices have come down considerably). Also check the write/read speed of the card as you may require higher speeds for top-end cameras.

LCD monitor and Electronic Viewfinder (EVF): most cameras have LCD monitors to display the picture you are going to take and/or you have taken. Their size is the diagonal measurement in inches (e.g. 1.8'', 2.2'', 3", etc.). The quality of the displayed image depends also on their resolution (given in dots, e.g. 230,000 dots).

In addition, compact digital SLR-type cameras and mirrorless DSLRs often have electronic view finders (EVF). You see the picture projected onto the sensor, electronically converted as LCD image through the viewfinder (resembling what you see through a DSLR). Their resolution in dots is a good measure for the quality and detail of the picture seen through these viewfinders. Also a fast refresh rate is desirable for a live-like appearance of this picture (however, there will always be a slight delay).