Consumer Reports – Digital Cameras
Digital cameras, which employ reusable memory cards instead of film, gives you much more control creative film cameras. With a digital camera camera can transfer images to your computer, then crop, adjust color and contrast, and add textures and other special effects. The final results can be done in the cards or shirts, or sent via e-mail, all using the software that normally comes with the camera. You can make copies in a printer color inkjet, or leave the memory card into one of a growing number of photofinishing. You can upload the file to a photo sharing site for storage, display and share with others.
Like the video cameras, LCD digital for viewers. Some camcorders can be used to take still pictures, but the resolution of a typical video camera is no match for Still a good camera.
What's Available
The leading brands are Canon, Fujifilm, HP Kodak, Olympus and Sony, other brands come from consumer electronics, computing, and traditional camera and film companies.
Digital cameras are classified by the number of pixels, or picture elements, the image sensor contains. One megapixel equals 1 million picture elements. A 3-megapixel camera can do Excellent 8x10s and pleasing 11x14s. There are also 4 – to 8-megapixel models, including point and shoot, which are very suitable for larger prints or for maintaining sharpness if you want to use only part of the original image. Professional digital cameras use as many as 14 megapixels.
Price Range: between $ 200 and $ 400 for 3 megapixels, $ 250 to $ 400 for 4 and 5 megapixels, $ 300 to $ 1,000 for 6 to 8 megapixels.
IMPORTANT FEATURES
Most digital cameras are highly automated, with features such as automatic exposure control (which manages the shutter speed, aperture, or both as the available light) and autofocus.
Instead of film, digital cameras tend to burn your photos on flash memory cards. CompactFlash and Secure (SD) are the most used. Once quite expensive, these cards have tumbled in price – a 128MB card can now cost less than $ 50. Other types of cards memory used by cameras include Memory Stick, Smart Media and xD-Picture Card. A few cameras, especially certain models from Sony, use 3 1/4-inch CD-R or CD-RW.
To save the images transferred to a computer, usually by connecting the camera to the computer's USB port or FireWire port or insert the memory card in a special reader. Some printers can take memory cards and make prints without putting the images on a computer first. image manipulation software, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, Jasc Paint Shop, Microsoft Picture It, and ACDSee, lets you size, edit and crop digital images using your computer. Most cameras digital work with Windows and Macintosh machines.
The most widely used file format for photos is JPEG, which is a compressed format. Some cameras can save photos in uncompressed TIFF format, but this results in huge configuration files. Other high-end cameras have a RAW file format, which gives the image data without processing of the camera.
Digital cameras usually have both an optical viewfinder and a small LCD color display. LCD viewers are very precise in drawing real image to get – better than many of Optical – but use more battery power and can be difficult to see under the sun. You can also view photos has been placed on the LCD. Many digital cameras offer a video output, so you can view images on a TV.
Some cameras can record an audio clip with a picture. But these clips to use additional storage space. Some let you record limited video, but the frame rate is slow and the resolution of the poor.
A zoom lens offers flexibility in the development of vaccines and closes the distance between you and your subject – ideal if you want to change quickly to the fore. The typical 3x zoom cameras will stream from a moderately wide angle view (35mm) to moderate telephoto (105 mm). You can find cameras with extended zoom ranges between 8x and 12x, giving added versatility for outdoor photography. Other new cameras go down to 24 or 28 mm wide-angle end, for making it easier to take in an entire scene in close quarters, like a crowded party.
Optical zoom is superior to digital zoom, which magnifies the center of the frame without increasing picture detail, resulting in a slightly thicker view.
The digital camera sensors are so sensitive to light as ISO 100 film, although some allow you to increase that value. (At ISO 100, it is more likely to use a flash indoors and outdoors in low light.) Flash range a camera tells you how far from the camera, proper flash exposure: If the subject is out of range, you'll know to close the distance. But digital cameras can tolerate some underexposure before the image suffers noticeably.
Red Eye Reduction shines a light into the subject just before the main flash. (A unit of the camera flash is farther from the lens reduces the risk of red eyes. Editing Computer image can also correct red eyes.) With automatic flash mode, the camera fires the flash whenever the light entering the camera registers as insufficient. A few new houses have been built the ability to correct red eye.
Some cameras have lenses powerful telephoto now come with image stabilizers. These compensate for movement chamber, which supports a slower shutter speed than they could to track the movement. However, an image stabilizer will not compensate for the movement of subjects.
Most of the new 6 – to 8-megapixel cameras come with full manual controls, including independent controls for shutter and aperture. That gives serious photographer control over depth of field, shooting action or shooting scenes with tricky lighting.
HOW TO CHOOSE
The first step is to determine how it will use the camera more often. Consider the following two questions:
How much flexibility to enlarge the images are needed? If you want to do mostly 4×6 photos, a camera with a 3 – or 4-megapixel resolution will be fine. This camera also make an 8×10 print of a complete image without altering that looks as sharp as one from a 6 – or 8-megapixel model. But for larger image more or enlarge only a part of it, you'll want a 6 – to 8-megapixel camera.
What control you want over exposure and composition? Houses for automatic point and shoot photos with a 3x zoom lens, "Snapshot photographers will, and dedicated fans much of the time. The full-featured cameras in the 6 – to offer 8-megapixel capacities range devoted most photographers want to have. Two of the capabilities most important are a zoom range of 5x to 10x or more, which allows you to remotely open near the subject and lets you shoot candid portraits without a hit in the face the subject, and a full complement of manual controls, which determines the shutter speed and lens opening. '
Once you have established performance priorities that you need a camera, you can narrow your choices further by the appropriateness of considering these factors:
Size and weight. The smallest, lightest models are not necessarily cheap 3 megapixel cameras. And the bigger and heavier is not necessarily in the top. If possible, try to cameras in the store before buying. In this way, you know what fits you best hand and can be well grasped. In our tests, we found Some of the smaller ones may not leave much space even for small fingers.
Battery type and life. All digital cameras can run on rechargeable one of two types: an expensive battery pack or a set of AA batteries. In our tests the camera or battery type had an advantage clear performance. The cameras offer better results upwards of 300 shots on one charge, while the worst manage only about 50. We believe it is more convenient to have a camera that accepts AA batteries. You can purchase inexpensive, rechargeable batteries (plus a charger) and drop in a set of disposable lithium or rechargeable alkaline batteries if the race in the middle of shooting the day.
Speed camera. With point and shoot cameras like the ones we tested, you must wait after each triggering the camera processes the image. Most models allow you to take a picture every few seconds, but a few make you wait 5 seconds or more. They can frustrate when you're taking pictures in a sequence.
His other cameras. If you add a camera to their lineup or trade to a more versatile model, first place to one that is compatible with other cameras. If so, you can share memory cards and batteries. The designs within a line of camera brand are often similar. So I stay wit the brand has a low learning curve of the new camera for family members to switch from one camera.
Copyright © 2002-2006 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.
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