DIGITAL STILL CAMERA |
1. WHAT IS A MEGA PIXEL? |
A "PIXEL" IS SIMPLY A TINY DOT OF COLORED LIGHT. THE MORE DOTS OF LIGHT A CAMERA CAN CAPTURE WHEN YOU PRESS THE SHUTTER BUTTON, THE LARGER AND MORE FINELY DETAILED A PHOTOGRAPH CAN BE DISPLAYED OR PRINTED.
TO PUT IT IN FAMILIAR TERMS, A 3 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA WILL PRODUCE AN 8 X 10 INCH SIZED PHOTOGRAPH WITH COMPARABLE CLARITY TO A 35 MM FILM CAMERA. PRINTED ON ANY LARGER FORMAT AND THE PRINT WILL BE GRAINY AT 3 MP RESOLUTION.
TO TAKE PICTURES TO SHARE WITH FRIENDS USING ONLY E-MAIL, 1 MP IS MORE THAN ENOUGH AND, IN FACT A CAMERA WITH GREATER RESOLUTION WILL REQUIRE YOU TO USE YOUR WINDOWS XP OR A PHOTO EDITOR TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE PICTURES WHEN SENDING THEM OVER THE INTERNET AS THE FILE SIZE MAY BE TOO LARGE FOR MANY E-MAIL SERVICES.
IF YOUR CAMERA IS CAPABLE OF A GREATER NUMBER OF MEGA PIXELS, IT WILL ALLOW YOU TO CROP AND RESIZE THE IMAGES YOU TAKE WITHOUT LOSING CLARITY. THE GREATER THE NUMBER OF MEGA PIXELS, THE FINER THE RESOLUTION AND THE GREATER THE FILES SIZE USED TO STORE THE CAPTURED IMAGE ON THE FLASH MEMORY CARD AND HARD DRIVE IN YOUR COMPUTER.
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2. DATA CARDS : UNLIMITED FILM |
ONE OF THE NICEST FEATURES OF DIGITAL CAMERAS IS THE ABSENCE OF FILM. BECAUSE A DIGICAM CAPTURES LIGHT WITH A CHIP THE IMAGE IS STORED IN DIGITAL FORM AS A DATA FILE, JUST LIKE YOU WOULD STORE A LETTER IN A MICROSOFT WORD FILE.
THESE FILES ARE STORED IN A REMOVALE DATA CARD THAT ARE POSTAGE STAMP SIZES (SOME BIGGER, SOME SMALLER).
THIS DATA CARD IS KNOWN AS FLASH MEMORY. IT IS THE REUSABLE DIGITAL FILM ON WHICH PHOTOGRAPHS ARE SAVED. THE MOST COMMON FLASH CARD FORMATS ARE:
* COMPACTFLASH (CF) TYPES I & II,
* SECURE DIGITAL (SD),
* SMART MEDIA,
* XD MEMORY CARD AND
* MEMORY STICK.
THE TYPE OF MEMORY USED IN THE CAMERA IS DETERMINED BY THE MANUFACTURER AND THERE ARE DIFFERENT STRENGTHS TO EACH FORMAT.
WHEN CHOOSING A DIGITAL CAMERA, TAKE A MOMENT TO UNDERSTAND THE MEMORY CARD FORMAT. THE FIRST ADDITIONAL ACCESSORY YOU WILL WANT TO BUY FOR YOUR NEW CAMERA WILL BE A LARGER MEMORY CARD. ALTHOUGH, IT IS LIKELY THAT THE NEW CAMERA WILL COME WITH A MEMORY CARD, IT IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE A VERY HIGH CAPACITY. THE LAST THING YOU WILL WANT TO DO IS RUN OUT OF DIGITAL FILM (MEMORY) WHEN AWAY ON HOLIDAY.
HERE'S A BREAK DOWN OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DATA CARDS ON THE MARKET TODAY.
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3. COMPACT FLASH CARD |
THE MOST ESTABLISHED FORMAT FOR FLASH MEMORY CARDS IS THE COMPACTFLASH CARDS. INTRODUCED IN 1994, IT IS THE MOST WIDELY USED FLASH MEMORY CARD. IT COMES IN TWO THICKNESSES, TYPE I AND TYPE II. IF THE CAMERA ACCEPTS TYPE II CF CARDS, IT WILL ALSO ACCEPT TYPE I CARDS. TYPE I ARE CURRENTLY BEING SOLD IN SIZES COMMONLY FOUND UP TO 2 GIGABYTES (200 MEGA BYTES). AT ABOUT 860 KB FOR A 4MP RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPH, YOU CAN CAPTURE UP TO 230 HIGHEST RESOLUTION PICTURES ON A 2 GIG CARD AND EVEN MORE AT A LOWER RESOLUTION SETTING. THAT IS A LOT OF HOLIDAY SNAPS!
THE PRICE PER MB OF MEMORY IS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE IN THE COMPACT FLASH FORMAT, HOWEVER, IT IS ALSO THE LARGEST FORMAT (IN ACTUALLY PHYSICAL SIZE) AND THEREFORE WILL AFFECT THE SIZE OF THE CAMERA ENGINEERED AROUND IT.
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4.
SECURE DIGITAL (SD) |
THE NICE THING ABOUT THE ABOVE CARDS IS THE POPULARITY AND THE INTERCHANGEABILITY BETWEEN DEVICES. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT YOU WILL HAVE OR OWN IN THE FUTURE, A MP3 MUSIC PLAYER OR PERSONAL HANDHELD COMPUTER (LIKE A PALM PILOT) THAT SUPPORTS EITHER THE CF OR SD FORMATS AND THEREFORE YOU CAN PURCHASE A LARGE CAPACITY CARD FOR USE WITH BOTH THE CAMERA AND THE OTHER DEVICES. THERE ARE SOME FORMATS, HOWEVER, THAT ARE USED ONLY IN CERTAIN BRANDS OF DEVICES.
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| 5. PROPRIETARY MEMORY CARDS |
YES. SONY'S DIGITAL8 CAMERAS RECORD A DIGITAL SIGNAL ONTO STANDARD 8MM OR HI8 TAPES, DELIVERING STUNNING RESOLUTION AND VIVID COLORS. PLUS, THE VIDEO CAN THEN BE COPIED WITH NO LOSS IN QUALITY. KEEP IN MIND, THOUGH, THAT THESE CAMCORDERS RECORD AT A FASTER SPEED THAN ANALOG MODELS — A 120-MINUTE HI8 TAPE WILL GIVE YOU 60 MINUTES OF DIGITAL VIDEO IN SP MODE, OR 90 IN LP MODE.
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| 6. XD PICTURE CARD |
THE XD PICTURE CARD FLASH MEMORY CARDS ARE CURRENTLY USED IN OLYMPUS AND FUJI DIGITAL CAMERAS. THEY ARE TINY LITTLE CARDS THAT HAVE ENABLED DIGITAL CAMERAS TO BE BUILT IN SMALLER AND SMALLER SIZES WHILE STILL BE ABLE TO OFFER TREMENDOUS MEMORY CAPACITIES. CURRENTLY, XD CARDS ARE AVAILABLE IN SIZES UP TO 512 MB.
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| 7. MEMORY STICK |
THE MEMORY STICK IS USED PRIMARILY IN SONY PRODUCTS, INCLUDING SONY PDAS, SONY CAMCORDERS, SONY TELEVISIONS AND SONY DIGITAL CAMERAS. BUT THE MEMORY STICK IS NOW FOUND IN SOME SAMSUNG AND KONICA DIGITAL CAMERAS ALSO. CAPACITIES RANGE UP TO 1 GIG – WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO UP TO 116 PHOTOS AT 4MP RESOLUTION ON ONE CARD.
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| 8. SMART MEDIA |
SMART MEDIA FLASH MEMORY CARDS ARE THIN AND LIGHT WEIGHT. THEY ARE FOUND IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF DIGITAL DEVICES; INCLUDING DIGITAL CAMERAS, DIGITAL MUSIC PLAYERS AND DIGITAL VOICE RECORDERS. ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE NOW, THEY ARE NOT THAT COMMON AND THE LARGEST CAPACITIES AVAILABLE ARE RELATIVELY LOW AT UP TO 128 MB.
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| 9. LENS - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GLASS |
ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF MEGA PIXELS IS CRUCIAL TO THE RESOLUTION AND SIZE OF A PARTICULAR IMAGE, THE QUALITY OF THE IMAGE CAPTURED IS USUALLY DETERMINED BY THE QUALITY OF THE LENS. THE LENS IS ALSO THE SINGLE BIGGEST FACTOR FOR ADDING COST TO A CAMERA. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO COMPETING 3 MP CAMERAS AND THE QUALITY OF THE PICTURES THEY TAKE IS ALMOST CERTAINLY THE QUALITY AND PRICE OF THE LENS.
THE BEST WAY TO KNOW WHETHER THE LENS IN A PARTICULAR CAMERA IS ABOVE AVERAGE IS TO LOOK AT THE BOX THE CAMERA COMES IN. IF THE LENS IS MENTIONED AS ONE OF THE FIRST OR SECOND FEATURES ON THE BOX, OR IF THE LENS USED IN THE CAMERA IS A NAME BRAND DESIGNER LENS, CHANCES ARE THAT IT IS A SUPERIOR PIECE OF GLASS.
OF COURSE, ONCE YOU HAVE BOUGHT A DIGITAL CAMERA, YOU ARE STUCK WITH THE LENS. UNLIKE, SINGLE LENS REFLEX (SLR) CAMERAS, THE LENSES ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE.
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| 10. ZOOM - GETTING IN TIGHT |
THERE ARE TWO ZOOM FEATURES YOU'LL LIKELY SEE ON CAMERA FEATURE LISTS. ONE IS "OPTICAL ZOOM" THE OTHER IS "DIGITAL ZOOM". IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE.
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| 11. OPTICAL ZOOM |
IF YOU PLAN ON USING THE DIGITAL CAMERA FOR CAPTURING LITTLE JOHNNY PLAYING ON HIS PEEWEE HOCKEY TEAM, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER A GOOD OPTICAL ZOOM LENS. THE LENS IS PROBABLY THE MOST EXPENSIVE PART OF THE CAMERA AND USUALLY THE BETTER THE LENS, THE BETTER THE PICTURE TAKEN. TAKEN BY ITSELF, IT IS THE FEATURE OF THE CAMERA THAT ALLOWS YOU TO CAPTURE A SCENE AND SHOW CLOSE UP DETAIL WITHOUT PHYSICALLY HAVING TO STAND CLOSE TO IT. OPTICAL ZOOM LENSES ARE EXPRESSED BY A NUMBER AND THE LETTER “X”. IT REFERS TO THE NUMBER OF TIMES CLOSER THE LENS BRINGS YOU TO THE SCENE.
MOST DIGITAL CAMERAS START AT 3 TIMES OR 3X OPTICAL ZOOM. THE MORE EXPENSIVE CAMERAS HOWEVER CAN HAVE UP TO 10X OPTICAL ZOOM. THIS IS IDEAL FOR CAPTURING SPORTING EVENTS FROM THE SIDELINES OR TAKING INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF PEOPLE WITHOUT GETTING TOO CLOSE. THE FURTHER AWAY YOU ARE FROM THE CLOSE-UP SUBJECT, THE MORE NATURAL AND CALM THEIR EXPRESSION APPEARS.
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| 12. DIGITAL ZOOM |
SOME CAMERAS IN ADDITION TO OPTICAL ZOOM MAY HAVE “DIGITAL ZOOM”. THIS IS A FEATURE WHERE THE CAMERA USES THE MINI COMPUTER INSIDE IT TO BLOW UP OR EXPAND THE SIZE OF THE PIXELS IN THE IMAGE SO THAT IT APPEARS CLOSER. THE CAMERA DOES THIS BY SACRIFICING IMAGE DETAIL FOR IMAGE SIZE.
IN EFFECT, WHEN YOU USE DIGITAL ZOOM, YOU ARE REDUCING THE QUALITY OF THE IMAGE FROM THE ORIGINAL RESOLUTION. THIS MAY NOT BE A PROBLEM IF YOUR CAMERA IS A HIGH RESOLUTION CAMERA, I.E. 6MP. BY USING THE ZOOM IN A 6MP CAMERA, 3X DIGITAL ZOOM WILL REDUCE THE IMAGE QUALITY BY THREE TIMES TO 2MP, WHICH IS STILL A DECENT RESOLUTION TO PRINT A 4X6 PHOTOGRAPH.
HOWEVER, IF THE CAMERA STARTS OUT AT ONLY 3MP, THE FINAL RESOLUTION AFTER USING 3X DIGITAL ZOOM WILL BE EQUIVALENT IN DETAIL TO A BLURRY 1MP PHOTOGRAPH, GOOD ONLY FOR SHARING ON THE WEB.
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| 13. BATTERY - NO POWER, NO PIX |
ANOTHER CONSIDERATION WHEN CHOOSING A DIGITAL CAMERA IS BATTERY TECHNOLOGY. IF YOU PLAN ON TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD AND WANT A CAMERA TO RECORD YOUR JOURNEY, YOU MAY CONSIDER BUYING A CAMERA THAT USES A DISPOSABLE BATTERY FORMAT LIKE AAS. THE REASON FOR THIS IS, IN THE PAST WHEN TRAVELING, ONE OFTEN PREPARED FOR A TRIP BY BUYING LOTS OF FILM FOR THE CAMERA. NOW, WITH DIGITAL CAMERAS, USUALLY ONE RUNS OUT OF POWER BEFORE ONE RUNS OUT OF MEMORY CAPACITY.
IF THE RECHARGEABLE BATTERY IN YOUR CAMERA CAN ONLY BE CHARGED BY THE CHARGER THAT COMES WITH THE CAMERA, YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE PLENTY OF EXTRA BATTERIES AND CHARGERS FOR YOUR TRIP . YOU WILL ALSO NEED A PLUG ADAPTER FOR THE COUNTRY YOU ARE VISITING. THIS CAN BE EXPENSIVE - THE EXTRA RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES CAN BE UP TO $100 EACH.
SO YOU MAY CONSIDER BUYING A CAMERA THAT USES RECHARGEABLE (NI-MH) AA BATTERIES AND BRING ALONG SOME DISPOSABLES ON YOUR DAY TRIPS IN CASE YOU RUN OUT OF JUICE BEFORE YOU GET BACK TO YOUR HOTEL ROOM.
ON THE OTHER HAND, SOME OF THE PROPRIETY BATTERY PACKS THAT COME WITH THE CAMERAS CAN LAST MUCH, MUCH LONGER THAN ANY RECHARGEABLE AAS. ON THE OLYMPUS C-5060, THE LITHIUM-ION BATTERY PACK LASTS FOR DAYS ON A SINGLE CHARGE AND IS FAR LIGHTER THAN A COMPARABLE NUMBER OF AAS TO CARRY.
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| 14. WHAT WILL THE CAMERA BE USED FOR? |
OF COURSE IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO KNOW HOW YOU WILL USE A CAMERA BEFORE YOU BUY IT. HOWEVER, MANY PEOPLE BUY A CAMERA WITH A SPECIFIC EVENT IN MIND. MAYBE FOR AN OVERSEAS TRIP, A SPECIAL HOLIDAY, THE ARRIVAL OF A NEWBORN, THE START OF A CHILD’S LITTLE LEAGUE CAREER, OR TAKING UP A NEW HOBBY IN PHOTOGRAPHY. SOME PEOPLE BUY A CAMERA SIMPLY TO USE ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS AND TAKE PICTURES FOR THE FAMILY ALBUM.
ANOTHER CONSIDERATION IS WHETHER YOU WILL BE USING THE CAMERA IN CONJUNCTION WITH A HOME COMPUTER.
TO HELP YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT THE REASON IS FOR BUYING A CAMERA IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU MIGHT LOOK AT SOME OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS YOU ALREADY HAVE AND DECIDE IF THEY FIT INTO ANY OF THE ABOVE CATEGORIES.
EACH TYPE OF USE WILL REQUIRE A CAMERA THAT EMPHASIZES A DIFFERENT FEATURE. SOME OF THE FEATURES OF A CAMERA INCLUDE: RESOLUTION (MEGA PIXELS), ZOOM, FLASH MEMORY TYPE, FORM FACTOR, BATTERY TECHNOLOGY, SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE, CHASSIS CONSTRUCTION AND WEIGHT.
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| 15. HERE'S A FEW RULES OF THUMB: |
TRAVEL - BUY A PHYSICALLY SMALL CAMERA, WITH AA BATTERIES AND A LARGE MEMORY CARD (OR BUY AN EXTRA LARGER CARD). UNLESS YOU PLAN TO UPLOAD YOUR TRAVEL PICTURES, A 2 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO PRINT 4X6 SNAPS.
FAMILY - IF THE CAMERA IS GOING TO USED TO PHOTOGRAPH THE KIDS AS THEY GROW OR FOR USE AROUND THE HOUSE, THEN YOU MIGHT CONSIDER A SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN NORMAL RESOLUTION. 4 OR 5 MEGAPIXELS WILL GIVE YOU THE ABILITY TO PRINT HIGH QUALITY 8X10S. YOU MAY WANT TO KEEP THE CAMERA SMALLER AND LIGHTER (IF MOM IS GOING TO TAKE THE PIX) AND ENSURE THERE'S A DECENT ZOOM SO YOU CAN GET CLOSE UP.
HOBBY - HOBBYISTS MIGHT CONSIDER A HIGHER RESOLUTION CAMERA SO THEY CAN LATER MANIPULATED THE IMAGES FOR A PHOTO EDITOR ON A COMPUTER. DECENT MANUAL SETTINGS AND A HEALTHY SIZE AND WEIGHT MIGHT ALSO BE A CONSIDERATION. THE ABILITY TO CHANGE LENSES MIGHT ALSO BE A CONSIDERATION.
SHARING - IF YOU JUST WANT TO EMAIL YOUR PICTURES TO FRIENDS ON THE INTENRET (AND RARELY PRINT THEM OUT) THEN THE MEGAPIXEL RATING MAY NOT BE SO IMPORTANT. AIM AT A 3 MP CAMERA (OR LOWER).
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| 16. WILL A HIGH RESOLUTION CAMERA MAKE BETTER PRINTS THAN A LOWER RESOLUTION CAMERA? |
TO BE MORE SPECIFIC: WILL YOU GET BETTER 4 X 6 INCH PRINTS FROM A 3 OR 4 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA VERSUS A 2 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA? POSSIBLY, BUT THE AVERAGE PERSON WON'T NOTICE. THE REAL ADVANTAGE OF A HIGHER RESOLUTION CAMERA IS THAT WITH THE LARGER IMAGE SIZE, THERE'S MORE ROOM TO CROP IMAGES. IN TERMS OF QUALITY THOUGH, IT'S NOT A HUGE DEAL. AT PRINT SIZES LIKE 8 X 10 INCH, YOU WILL NOTICE A DIFFERENCE.
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| 17. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN USB 2.0 FULL SPEED AND USB 2.0 HIGH SPEED? |
LOTS OF CAMERAS CLAIM TO HAVE USB 2.0, BUT READ THE SPECS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU GET TOO EXCITED! THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF USB 2.0: FULL SPEED AND HIGH SPEED. USB 2.0 FULL SPEED TOPS OUT AT 12 MBIT/SEC, WHICH IS THE SAME SPEED AS THE "OLD" USB 1.1 STANDARD. IN OTHER WORDS, THIS IS MARKETING (BORDERING ON DECEPTIVE) AND NOTHING MORE.
WHAT YOU REALLY WANT IS USB 2.0 HIGH SPEED. THIS PROTOCOL HAS A TRANSFER RATE OF 480 MBIT/SEC, WHICH IS 40 TIMES FASTER THAN USB 2.0 FULL SPEED. AND THAT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU'RE TRANSFERRING 2-4 MEGABYTE IMAGES TO YOUR COMPUTER!
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| 18. WHAT DOES A WIDE-ANGLE LENS DO? |
WIDE-ANGLE LENSES GIVE YOU A VIEW "FURTHER BACK" IN THE FRAME THAN YOUR TYPICAL 35MM LENS. THEY'RE ESPECIALLY USEFUL INDOORS, WHERE YOU CAN CAPTURE MORE OF A ROOM IN YOUR PHOTO. A LENS IS CONSIDERED WIDE-ANGLE WHEN IT'S 30MM OR BELOW
I'M HAVING TROUBLE DOWNLOADING PHOTOS TO MY COMPUTER WITH THE SOFTWARE THAT CAME WITH MY CAMERA. WHAT CAN I DO?
FOUR WORDS: BUY A CARD READER. THEN, WHEN YOU INSERT THE MEMORY CARD, IT WILL MOUNT TO YOUR DESKTOP JUST LIKE ANOTHER DISC, AND YOU CAN COPY THE PHOTOS DIRECTLY TO YOUR HARD DISK. YOU CAN THEN USE YOUR FAVORITE PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE TO RETOUCH YOUR PHOTOS.
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| 19. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPTICAL ZOOM AND DIGITAL ZOOM? |
IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THIS DIFFERENCE, AS YOU COULD END UP MIGHTY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULTS IF YOU GET ONE RATHER THAN THE OTHER. OPTICAL ZOOM IS SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'LL FIND IN A REGULAR 35MM CAMERA: WHEN YOU PUSH THE BUTTON TO ZOOM IN OR OUT, PHYSICAL LENS ELEMENTS MOVE INSIDE THE CAMERA, TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED EFFECT.
DIGITAL ZOOM, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS NO MOVING PARTS. USING THE "ELECTRONIC BRAIN" WITHIN THE CAMERA INSTEAD, THE CAMERA TAKES A LOOK AT WHAT IT'S "LOOKING AT", AND DIGITALLY ZOOMS IN, USUALLY TWO OR THREE TIMES CLOSER.
THE PROBLEM WITH DIGITAL ZOOM IS THAT YOU LOSE QUALITY WHEN YOU DO THIS -- YOUR IMAGES WILL TEND TO BE MORE "PIXELATED" THAN THE SAME IMAGE TAKEN WITH AN OPTICAL ZOOM CAMERA. THIS IS DUE TO THE "INTERPOLATION" THE CAMERA USES, WHICH IS A NICE WAY OF SAYING THAT IT MAKES A GUESS ABOUT HOW THE PICTURE SHOULD LOOK WHILE ZOOMED IN. HAVING OPTICAL AND DIGITAL ZOOM ON A CAMERA ISN'T BAD, BUT I'D TRY TO AVOID CAMERAS WITH ONLY DIGITAL ZOOM, MYSELF.
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| 20. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC IMAGE STABILIZATION? |
LATELY, SOME CAMERA MANUFACTURERS HAVE BEEN MISLEADING CONSUMERS, CLAIMING THAT A CAMERA SUPPORTS IMAGE STABILIZATION, WHEN IT REALLY DOES NOT. THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF IMAGE STABILIZATION: ONE REAL, ONE FAKE.
OPTICAL IMAGE STABILIZATION IS THE ONE YOU WANT. WHILE THE BASIC CONCEPT IS THE SAME, THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF OPTICAL STABILIZATION: LENS SHIFT, AND CCD SHIFT. IN BOTH CASES THE CAMERA HAS GYROSCOPIC SENSORS THAT DETECT CAMERA SHAKE, WHICH IS CAUSED BY THE TINY MOVEMENTS OF YOUR HANDS. THE CAMERA THEN EITHER SHIFTS A LENS ELEMENT, OR THE CCD ITSELF (WHICH IS MOUNTED ON A MOVABLE PLATFORM) TO COMPENSATE FOR THIS MOTION. TYPICALLY THIS GIVES YOU A 2-4 STOP ADVANTAGE OVER UNSTABILIZED CAMERAS.
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF ELECTRONIC STABILIZATION AS WELL, THOUGH NEITHER AS EFFECTIVE AS AN OPTICAL SYSTEM. THE FIRST ONE (WHICH HAS MANY NAMES, SUCH AS NATURAL LIGHT MODE, HIGH SENSITIVITY MODE, ANTI-BLUR MODE, PICTURE STABILIZATION MODE, ETC) BOOSTS THE ISO SENSITIVITY UNTIL YOU GET A SHUTTER SPEED FAST ENOUGH FOR A SHARP PHOTO. THE PROBLEM WITH THIS CONCEPT IS THAT HIGH ISO = MORE NOISE.
THE OTHER TYPE OF ELECTRONIC IMAGE STABILIZATION IS WHEN A CAMERA APPLIES SOME KIND OF POST-PROCESSING TO A PHOTO, TRYING TO REMOVE THE BLUR. MOST OFTEN THIS IS LIKE USING "UNSHARP MASK" IN PHOTOSHOP. THIS TOO ADDS MORE NOISE TO YOUR PHOTOS.
SO, YOU WANT AN OPTICAL IS SYSTEM, SINCE IT GIVES YOU SHARP PHOTOS WITHOUT AN INCREASE IN NOISE.
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| 21. WHY DO ALL MY INDOOR PHOTOS COME OUT BLURRY? |
THIS IS A VERY COMMON QUESTION AND NINE OUT OF TEN TIMES IT'S THE SAME SCENARIO: PEOPLE TAKING SHOTS INDOORS WITHOUT THE FLASH. JUST BECAUSE THE CAMERA IS DIGITAL IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE LAWS OF PHYSICS DON'T APPLY! IF THE SHUTTER SPEED YOU'RE USING IS SLOWER THAN 1/30 OR 1/60 OF A SECOND, ODDS ARE THAT THE SHOT WILL BE BLURRY! A LOT OF PEOPLE MIGRATING FROM FILM CAMERAS SAY "WELL MY PHOTOS WERE ALWAYS SHARP WITH MY FILM CAMERA IN THESE SITUATIONS", AND A LIKELY EXPLANATION FOR THAT IS THE USE OF ISO 400 FILM.
SO WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
HERE ARE A FEW SUGGESTIONS:
USE THE FLASH. ADD MORE LIGHT TO THE ROOM, IF POSSIBLE USE A TRIPOD. TURN UP THE ISO SENSITIVITY A NOTCH OR TWO. NOTE THAT DOING THIS WILL INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF NOISE IN YOUR IMAGE. IF YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT A CAMERA YET, CONSIDER ONE WITH IMAGE STABILIZATION (THIS IS STILL A RARE FEATURE, THOUGH).
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| 22. DO MORE MEGAPIXELS TRANSLATE INTO BETTER PHOTO QUALITY? |
NO. DESPITE WHAT THE SALES PERSON AT THE ELECTRONICS STORE MAY HAVE TOLD YOU, MORE PIXELS DOES NOT MEAN BETTER PHOTO QUALITY. INCREASING THE MEGAPIXELS (RESOLUTION) OF THE CAMERA MERELY INCREASES THE SIZE OF THE PHOTO. THIS MEANS THAT YOU CAN MAKE LARGER PRINTS, OR CROP A LARGE AREA WITHOUT LOSING TOO MUCH DETAIL. SINCE EVEN A 4 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA CAN MAKE A NICE 8 X 10 INCH PRINT, THERE'S NO NEED TO SPEND MORE MONEY ON AN 8 OR 10 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HIGH RESOLUTION CAMERAS MAY EVEN HAVE WORSE PHOTO QUALITY THAN THEIR LOWER RESOLUTION COUNTERPARTS. THE MORE PIXELS ON A CAMERA'S SENSOR, THE MORE TIGHTLY PACKED TOGETHER THEY ARE. THAT MEANS MORE NOISE, LESS SENSITIVITY, AND POTENTIALLY MORE PURPLE FRINGING.
SO DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE MEGAPIXEL MYTH!
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| 23. WHAT KIND OF CAMERA DO I NEED TO PRINT OUT 4 X 6 INCH IMAGES? WHAT ABOUT 8 X 10'S? |
HERE'S A SIMPLE WAY OF ANSWERING THIS QUESTION:
PRINT SIZE |
MINIMUM RESOLUTION NEEDED |
4 X 6 IN. |
3 MEGAPIXEL |
5 X 7 IN. |
8 X 10 IN. |
4 MEGAPIXEL |
HUGE |
5+ MEGAPIXEL |
A 4 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA WILL NOT MAKE BETTER 4 X 6 INCH PRINTS THAN A 2 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA. HOWEVER, IT DOES CAPTURE A LOT MORE DETAIL, ALLOWING YOU TO CROP YOUR IMAGE WHILE STILL MAINTAINING ENOUGH RESOLUTION FOR A HIGH QUALITY PRINT.
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24. WHY IS THERE A DELAY AFTER I PUSH THE SHUTTER RELEASE BUTTON BEFORE I CAN TAKE ANOTHER
PICTURE? |
THERE ARE MANY REASONS FOR THIS DELAY... HERE'S A FEW... (THANKS TO THE PEOPLE WHO WROTE IN FOR THIS ONE..)
THE CAMERA MUST:
SET THE FOCUS, EXPOSURE TIME, WHITE BALANCE, ETC.
CHARGE UP THE CCD (APPARENTLY IT CAN'T HOLD THE CHARGE FOR LONG, SO IT DOES IT RIGHT BEFORE YOU SHOOT)
COPY THE IMAGE OUT OF THE CCD INTO RAM.
COMPRESS THE IMAGE AFTER IT'S BEEN TAKEN
WRITE THE IMAGE TO THE FLASH MEMORY.
AS WE KNOW, NEWER CAMERAS ARE GETTING FASTER AND FASTER!
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25. WHY DO SOME OF YOUR NIGHT TEST PHOTOS SHOW REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER, WHILE OTHERS
DON'T? IF I DON'T SEE REFLECTIONS, DOES THIS MEAN THAT THE CAMERA IS BAD AT NIGHT SHOTS? |
NO, NOT AT ALL. CONDITIONS ON THE JUHU BEACH VARY NIGHT TO NIGHT, AND THE REFLECTIONS ARE ACTUALLY A RARE SIGHT. IF A CAMERA CAPTURES THESE REFLECTIONS, IT'S MERELY A COINCIDENCE, AND NOT AN INDICATOR OF THE QUALITY OF THE CAMERA.
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| 26. WHAT IS INTERPOLATION AND DOES IT EFFECT THE QUALITY OF MY PHOTOS? |
HERE'S A NICE EXPLANATION FROM JUSTIN KARNEGES:
INTERPOLATION IS A FANCY WORD FOR A COMPUTER "GUESSING". THE ONLY TYPE OF INTERPOLATION THAT ANYONE SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT IS WHEN AN IMAGE IS ENLARGED. BASICALLY, WHEN AN IMAGE IS ENLARGED, YOU END UP WITH MORE PIXELS. BUT WHERE DID THESE PIXELS COME FROM? BACK IN THE OLD DAYS, IF YOU ENLARGED A 320X240 IMAGE TO 640X480, THE PROGRAM WOULD JUST DOUBLE-UP EACH PIXEL. THUS, THE IMAGE LOOKED BLOCKY. NOWADAYS, WITH MORE ADVANCED PROGRAMS LIKE PHOTOSHOP, INTERPOLATION (SOME EVEN USING ADVANCED CALCULUS) CAN BE DONE ON THE PHOTO WHILE ENLARGING. THE INTERPOLATION CALCULATIONS ALLOW THE COMPUTER TO PICK BETTER PIXELS TO ADD TO THE IMAGE RATHER THAN JUST USING THE PIXEL NEXT TO IT. THIS WAY, WHEN YOU ENLARGE AN IMAGE, THE IMAGE LOOKS A LOT SMOOTHER AND CLEANER. NOTE THAT THE AMOUNT OF PHOTO INFORMATION HASN'T CHANGED. IF YOU LOOK AT AN ENLARGED INTERPOLATED PICTURE, YOU WILL SEE THAT IF A PERSON WAS A WHITE DOT BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO FAR AWAY, THEN THEY WILL STILL BE A WHITE DOT ONLY BIGGER. IF YOU HAD AN OPTICAL ZOOM THEN THEY WOULD HAVE LOOKED MORE OF LIKE A PERSON. BUT IF YOU DON'T OPTICAL ZOOM, AND THEN INSTEAD INTERPOLATE TO GET A CLOSER VIEW, IT ISN'T GOING TO CHANGE MUCH.
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THE MORAL OF THE STORY? WELL, YOU CAN'T SUBSTITUTE A 320X240 CAMERA FOR A MEGAPIXEL CAMERA BY USING PHOTOSHOP TO ENLARGE ALL YOUR STUFF TO 1280X960. IT JUST DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT. YOU STILL ONLY HAVE 320X240 WORTH OF PHOTO INFORMATION.
NOW, AS FOR CAMERAS WITH INTERPOLATION. FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, A CAMERA DOESN'T NEED INTERPOLATION. IF THE LENS ONLY BRINGS IN X AMOUNT OF PIXELS, THEN SO BE IT. IF I WANT IT BIGGER, I'LL USE PHOTOSHOP. THERE ARE THREE REASONS I'D DO IT THIS WAY:
1) PHOTOSHOP PROBABLY HAS A BETTER INTERPOLATION ROUTINE CONSIDERING IT'S A MULTI-MEGABYTE PROGRAM RUNNING ON A PENTIUM (OR MAC OR WHAT HAVE YOU).
2) BY NOT HAVING THE CAMERA INTERPOLATE TO A LARGER SIZE, THE PHOTO DOESN'T TAKE AS MUCH SPACE AS IT WOULD HAVE, YET YOU STILL HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF DIGITAL INFORMATION. DOESN'T WASTE SPACE.
3) YOUR CAMERA WILL OPERATE FASTER BECAUSE IT WON'T HAVE TO SPEND TIME INTERPOLATING A LARGE IMAGE.
YOU CAN SEE MY PHILOSOPHY IN THE OLYMPUS D-400 ZOOM. ONE OF IT'S FEATURES IS A 2X DIGITAL ZOOM. THE NORMAL LENS OF THE D-400 IS 1280X960. WHEN IN 2X ZOOM MODE, IT TAKES THE CENTER 640X480 SECTION OF THAT 1280X960 IMAGE. NOW, ALL DIGITAL ZOOM CAMERAS DO THAT. BUT WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE OLYMPUS IS IN THE NEXT STEP. AT THIS POINT, MOST DIGICAMS (LIKE THE COOLPIX 900) WILL INTERPOLATE THE 640X480 CROPPED SECTION UP TO 1280X960 TO SIMULATE A 2X ZOOM (WHICH IS ALL DIGITAL ZOOM REALLY IS.. JUST A SIMULATION) AND SAVE IT TO THE CARD.
WHAT THE OLYMPUS DOES THOUGH, IS SAVE THAT CENTER-CUT 640X480 SECTION. THIS KINDA MAKES IT SEEM LIKE IT DIDN'T ZOOM AT ALL. LIKE, ALL IT REALLY DID WAS TAKE A 1280X960 IMAGE AND CROP IT TO 640X480. WELL, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. IT DID!
SO WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE WAY THE OLYMPUS HANDLES THIS? IT DIDN'T HAVE TO TAKE THE TIME TO INTERPOLATE IT AND WRITE A HUMONGOUS IMAGE TO THE FLASH CARD! THE SAME AMOUNT OF PHOTO INFORMATION WAS SAVED TO THE CARD AS THE OTHER CAMERAS EXCEPT THAT THE OLYMPUS IS WRITING A SMALLER FILE. I CAN THEN LATER ENLARGE THE 640X480 IMAGE TO 1280X960 (IF I REALLY WANT TO) USING PHOTOSHOP AND I'LL HAVE THE SAME IMAGE AS THE COOLPIX DID IN 2X DIGITAL ZOOM MODE.
SO BASICALLY, INTERPOLATION IS NOT THAT GREAT. YOUR IMAGE SOFTWARE WILL USE IT BEFORE PRINTING TO YOUR PHOTO PRINTER (SINCE MOST OF THE TIME, YOUR IMAGE IS NOT EXACTLY THE SIZE THAT YOU'RE PRINTING) WHICH IS FINE. HOWEVER HAVING IT IN A CAMERA REALLY DOESN'T HELP YOU AT ALL UNLESS YOU DON'T OWN ADEQUATE SOFTWARE FOR RESIZING YOUR IMAGES YOURSELF.
SHOULD I HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT PUTTING MY DIGITAL CAMERA THROUGH THE X-RAY MACHINES AT THE AIRPORT?
NOPE, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT PUTTING YOUR CAMERA THROUGH THOSE MACHINES CAUSES ANY HARM.
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