Digital cameras have been around for since the early 1950's. It was then used to capture live images from television cameras. By 1960's, the US government and NASA began to use digital imaging for spy satellites and space exploration, respectively. In 1991, Kodak, a premier multinational corporation recognized for its innovation and expansion in the field of photography, released the first professional digital camera which was intended for photojournalists. It was only in the mid-1990's that digital cameras were available for the ordinary consumer. More than a decade has passed and the best rated digital camera, or digicam as it is now often called, has not only been advanced in technology but have also been more accessible and affordable.
Types of Digital Cameras
Though for the same purpose of taking pictures, the types of digicams vary in specifications and price.
Point-and-Shoot Cameras
This type of camera is relatively small, inexpensive, and easy to use because of its fixed lenses and built-in flash. As its name suggest, this is very ideal for those who want to produce high quality pictures at absolutely minimum effort. Perfect pictures are easier to capture because of the liquid crystal display (LCD)-based viewfinder. Older cameras do not have an optical viewfinder which makes it quite difficult to accurately frame an image. Though there are some models that have limited user control over the camera, there are now several models that have high-resolution optical and digital zoom, movie and video option, and special image effects.
Digital Single-Lens Reflex Cameras (DSLR)
DSLR cameras are often used by professionals and are an outright replacement for the almost-phased-out film-based SLR cameras. These cameras have optical viewfinders, removable lenses, external flashes, and adjustable focus and exposure. With these added features, DSLR cameras are likely to be more complicated to use and expensive than point-and-shoot cameras. Though earlier DSLR cameras weigh heavier, are bulkier, and more expensive, today's DSLR cameras are now cheaper, lighter, and more compact with each successive generation.
Finding the Best Compact Digital Camera
For some, as long as it is cheap and can take pictures, it's good enough. However, even if one is on a tight budget, this should not be a hindrance in finding a sleek and compact digital camera at an affordable price.
Resolution
This is often associated with the megapixels that a digicam has. The more megapixels, the sharper or higher is the quality of the image. Stores usually sell digicams that have 1-11 megapixels. However, as the number of megapixels increase, so is the price of the camera. One tip for a casual user: a 2-Megapixel camera works good and gives high quality images for online use and prints.
Lens Focus
Digicams usually have the lens focus or "zoom:" feature. Though most cameras have digital zoom and optical zoom features, it is the latter that produces the best picture quality. Digital zoom tends to reduce the resolution of the image making it fuzzy and pixelated when printed.
Memory
A compact digital camera usually has two memory features where images are stored, internal or built-in memory and removable memory, also referred to as memory cards. Higher sized memory cards hold more images rather than just depending on the internal memory of the digicam.
Buying a Digital Camera- Features You Need to Consider
Buying a digital camera is simple task if you understand basic features and prioritize the feature you want according to your budget. The primary trade-offs for digital camera buyers are between features and price. If you plan to enlarge photos or print them, be sure to buy a camera that can provide the image quality you will need. Fortunately, for the budget-minded camera shopper, cameras that can capture high resolution picture with essential features have become very affordable. On the other hand if you are more sophisticated photographer and need a camera with feature such as interchangeable lenses, you will need a digital SLR camera. Here are few basic features that should be considered to buy a digital camera .
Megapixel is not an as big of an issue anymore for casual photographers as virtually every new model offers at least 8 megapixels, which is plenty for high-quality online images and standard-size printsnless you're a expert photographer or image quality is very critical for your photography need , any camera between 7 and 14 megapixels will offer excellent images. Most displays and printers can't deliver resolutions that are anywhere nearthe resolutions these digital cameras can capture. Manyof these cameras are priced below $250.00. A small number of of these cameras are even priced below $100.
Common complain about many of the lower priced digital cameras has been the slow performance particularly the long shutter lag. Shutter lag is defined as the delay between pressing the button to take a picture and its actual completion. If you're a budget-conscious camera shopper and don't mind few performance issue these maybe the camera you are looking for. Many of these cameras take brilliant pictures.
The next thing that should to be considered is optical zoom.For the best quality digital pictures, a camera that has at least 3X optical zoom ought to be considered. The less expensive cameras have digital zoom, but that zoom is limited by the camera's resolution, and higher digital zoom images may look fuzzy or pixilated. Another valuable factor that needs to be taken into accountis shutter speeds. The slower the shutter, the blurrier your pictures could be. If the shutter speed is 1/30, you may need to use tripod. When shutter speed is closer towards 1/125, you can take nice photo of a moving car .
If you are planning to take a picture of large objects you should consider to buy a camera with wide-angle lens. A wide-angle lens digital cameras will allow you to capture the whole interior or exterior in just one click, without stepping so far back that the details get lost in the picture.
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