Lately there has been a lot of questions regarding digital cameras.
Since this will be a popular item this Christmas season I've put together some links to help with your camera selection.
The first thing to remember when buying a camera for someone is "how technically savvy" are they? Is that person looking for a hobby or something to take snapshots with? You camera choice will depend a lot on that.
Take into consideration the lifestyle and personality of the person you are buying it for. Are the meticulous or are they always looking for their keys? The camera size will then play a role in the satisfaction level.
Don't be brand blind. All of the major camera makers make good camera's but some are better than others at many different things. You will have to do some research to find out what camera does what you want the best. Don't rule out any brand until you've done just a tiny little bit of research.
Don't expect a point and shoot camera to deliver high quality flash pictures. They don't. Period. Think of the on camera flash as a flash light pointed directly into your subjects face..not pretty huh? Well thats what the flash does. SO look at the ISO number the camera has. The higher the ISO number the better the camera will record low light situations. Won't be perfect and you might get some blur but a higher ISO is good..think 1600!
Don't get caught up in the mega pixel battle! The more mega pixels a camera can capture, the better the pictures, right? Wrong. Here comes the long form explanation..scroll down to the short one if you don't care!
The logic seems reasonable: Since a digital picture is made up of dots (pixels), the more the camera can record, the finer the detail should be. Of course, you'll get better pictures with an 8-mega pixel camera than with a 2-mega pixel camera.
But many cameras whose resolution (that is, ability to reproduce detail) is lower than you'd expect from their pixel count -- 10MP cameras that resolve only at the same level as 6MP cameras, for instance. And the reverse: 5MP cameras with the resolution of a typical 6MP camera.
The fact is, photographs are more than dots and details. They are the sum of their color, contrast, exposure, grain, and dynamic range. These qualities come not just from pixel count but from the design of the individual pixels and the camera's image processing -- in particular, how it deals with color reproduction and noise suppression. I've seen cameras that have spectacular resolution but atrocious noise levels that made for ugly, mottled pictures. The reason? The extreme sharpening used by such cameras to accentuate resolution also sharpens the noise. Ya ya..I know yer nodding off!
Thats the long explanation..the short one is this. If you usually print 4x6 and 5x7 photo's you really do not need more than a 6 mega pixel camera.
Yea it's nice to brag, but the output of the digital file is related directly to the size and quality of the printed photo. If you aren't doing posters..stick with anywhere from 4-8 meg pix. You'll be fine.
I can show you some pics taken with a 3.3 camera that would blow you away in terms of the photo. Why did I use it..it wasn't heavy!
It was in the Andes and my Canon gear was too heavy for a 3 week hiking tour. Did I sell the shots..you bet! Mega pixel wars are better left for geeks. Just get a camera that feels good in your hands and has a menu you like. Now hope your gift fits the recipients hands the same way!
The links in Post 2!
M2
Since this will be a popular item this Christmas season I've put together some links to help with your camera selection.
The first thing to remember when buying a camera for someone is "how technically savvy" are they? Is that person looking for a hobby or something to take snapshots with? You camera choice will depend a lot on that.
Take into consideration the lifestyle and personality of the person you are buying it for. Are the meticulous or are they always looking for their keys? The camera size will then play a role in the satisfaction level.
Don't be brand blind. All of the major camera makers make good camera's but some are better than others at many different things. You will have to do some research to find out what camera does what you want the best. Don't rule out any brand until you've done just a tiny little bit of research.
Don't expect a point and shoot camera to deliver high quality flash pictures. They don't. Period. Think of the on camera flash as a flash light pointed directly into your subjects face..not pretty huh? Well thats what the flash does. SO look at the ISO number the camera has. The higher the ISO number the better the camera will record low light situations. Won't be perfect and you might get some blur but a higher ISO is good..think 1600!
Don't get caught up in the mega pixel battle! The more mega pixels a camera can capture, the better the pictures, right? Wrong. Here comes the long form explanation..scroll down to the short one if you don't care!
The logic seems reasonable: Since a digital picture is made up of dots (pixels), the more the camera can record, the finer the detail should be. Of course, you'll get better pictures with an 8-mega pixel camera than with a 2-mega pixel camera.
But many cameras whose resolution (that is, ability to reproduce detail) is lower than you'd expect from their pixel count -- 10MP cameras that resolve only at the same level as 6MP cameras, for instance. And the reverse: 5MP cameras with the resolution of a typical 6MP camera.
The fact is, photographs are more than dots and details. They are the sum of their color, contrast, exposure, grain, and dynamic range. These qualities come not just from pixel count but from the design of the individual pixels and the camera's image processing -- in particular, how it deals with color reproduction and noise suppression. I've seen cameras that have spectacular resolution but atrocious noise levels that made for ugly, mottled pictures. The reason? The extreme sharpening used by such cameras to accentuate resolution also sharpens the noise. Ya ya..I know yer nodding off!
Thats the long explanation..the short one is this. If you usually print 4x6 and 5x7 photo's you really do not need more than a 6 mega pixel camera.
Yea it's nice to brag, but the output of the digital file is related directly to the size and quality of the printed photo. If you aren't doing posters..stick with anywhere from 4-8 meg pix. You'll be fine.
I can show you some pics taken with a 3.3 camera that would blow you away in terms of the photo. Why did I use it..it wasn't heavy!
It was in the Andes and my Canon gear was too heavy for a 3 week hiking tour. Did I sell the shots..you bet! Mega pixel wars are better left for geeks. Just get a camera that feels good in your hands and has a menu you like. Now hope your gift fits the recipients hands the same way!
The links in Post 2!
M2
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