6 Important Digital Point-And-Shoot Camera Features
April 12, 2009
By DeeDee Dobson
You're ready to go out (or online) and buy a brand new compact camera, but how do you know which features to look for? To some extent, it depends on your preferences of course, but make sure you look at all the specs closely to get the camera that best suits your needs.
Make sure you take a closer look at these 6 features before adding that camera to your shopping cart:
Type of Battery This might not seem like a big deal, but when you're standing in front of the Taj Mahal and your battery is dead, it is. Your best bet is a camera that accepts more than one type of battery. Rechargeable proprietary batteries are great for everyday use: they last for years, and if you buy an extra battery and make sure you keep it charged (and in your bag), you have instant backup. However, you might forget to recharge them, and if you're traveling, you may not always have access to an electrical outlet, and this is when backup AAs can save the day. Sure, you can use AAs all the time, but the drawback is that they don't last for a huge amount of shots or movies, the cost adds up, and to keep buying and throwing them out, well, that's not exactly environmentally friendly.
Zoom The more zoom the better, I say. The photos you can get with a good zoom can be spectacular, but make sure you look at the specs for the optical zoom, not the digital. The optical zoom works like the zoom on an "old fashioned" 35mm camera - it actually brings the lens closer to the subject. Digital zoom, however, takes your picture, blows it up and crops it, all inside the camera, resulting in a fuzzier image with far inferior picture quality.
Memory Even though all cameras these days accept a variety of memory cards, built-in memory is always an added asset. Imagine standing in front of the perfect shot with full or malfunctioning memory cards: internal memory to the rescue. Many of the compact cameras currently on the market have anywhere from a few MB to several GB of internal memory, so make sure you look for that in the specs when deciding on a new camera.
Megapixels These days, most cameras have enough megapixels for the majority of users. Even if you are making 16x20 prints, a good quality point and shoot will give you nice, crisp results. However, if you are planning to sell your photos as stock, check with the agencies - some have a minimum mp requirement (for stock, you probably also want a camera that can capture RAW files, which can be converted to tiffs, jpgs and more - see below).
Aperture & Shutter Priority Most digital point and shoots produce great pictures in Program or Auto modes, but having a bit more control over what's going on inside the camera can really take your photography to new levels. I almost always shoot in aperture priority, with the lens wide open (f2.8, 4 or 5.6) for a short depth of field, which results in images where the subject is sharp and everything else is blurry. Slow shutter speeds are great for creating dreamlike, flowy photos of moving water and clouds, or to really showcase movement in an image (people, cars at night, Ferris wheels, etc.).
File Format Most point and shoot cameras produce jpgs, which are great for uploading to the web, online printing services, etc. In the past few years, however, several compact cameras able to capture RAW files have appeared on the market. RAW images are not photos you can use straight out the camera, they are really just data files, and require post-shooting processing to "become" photos. You can either use the manufacturer's own RAW conversion program, Photoshop, or my personal favorite, Lightroom, to convert your images to tiffs or jpgs (you can download a free trial copy of Lightroom at Adobe if you want to give it a go).
The pros of RAW files are that since they contain pure data, the image quality is much better, it's a "non-lossy" format, and you get to control everything about the photo in the post-processing (whereas with jpgs, the camera usually applies sharpening, noise reduction, etc.). The cons are that you can't use the images right out of the camera, you need to have access to a computer and learn the software to convert them, and the file sizes are bigger than jpgs. If you're someone who likes to experiment with your pictures (and don't mind learning new programs), a camera that can shoot RAW is definitely something to consider.
Make sure you take a closer look at these 6 features before adding that camera to your shopping cart:
Type of Battery This might not seem like a big deal, but when you're standing in front of the Taj Mahal and your battery is dead, it is. Your best bet is a camera that accepts more than one type of battery. Rechargeable proprietary batteries are great for everyday use: they last for years, and if you buy an extra battery and make sure you keep it charged (and in your bag), you have instant backup. However, you might forget to recharge them, and if you're traveling, you may not always have access to an electrical outlet, and this is when backup AAs can save the day. Sure, you can use AAs all the time, but the drawback is that they don't last for a huge amount of shots or movies, the cost adds up, and to keep buying and throwing them out, well, that's not exactly environmentally friendly.
Zoom The more zoom the better, I say. The photos you can get with a good zoom can be spectacular, but make sure you look at the specs for the optical zoom, not the digital. The optical zoom works like the zoom on an "old fashioned" 35mm camera - it actually brings the lens closer to the subject. Digital zoom, however, takes your picture, blows it up and crops it, all inside the camera, resulting in a fuzzier image with far inferior picture quality.
Memory Even though all cameras these days accept a variety of memory cards, built-in memory is always an added asset. Imagine standing in front of the perfect shot with full or malfunctioning memory cards: internal memory to the rescue. Many of the compact cameras currently on the market have anywhere from a few MB to several GB of internal memory, so make sure you look for that in the specs when deciding on a new camera.
Megapixels These days, most cameras have enough megapixels for the majority of users. Even if you are making 16x20 prints, a good quality point and shoot will give you nice, crisp results. However, if you are planning to sell your photos as stock, check with the agencies - some have a minimum mp requirement (for stock, you probably also want a camera that can capture RAW files, which can be converted to tiffs, jpgs and more - see below).
Aperture & Shutter Priority Most digital point and shoots produce great pictures in Program or Auto modes, but having a bit more control over what's going on inside the camera can really take your photography to new levels. I almost always shoot in aperture priority, with the lens wide open (f2.8, 4 or 5.6) for a short depth of field, which results in images where the subject is sharp and everything else is blurry. Slow shutter speeds are great for creating dreamlike, flowy photos of moving water and clouds, or to really showcase movement in an image (people, cars at night, Ferris wheels, etc.).
File Format Most point and shoot cameras produce jpgs, which are great for uploading to the web, online printing services, etc. In the past few years, however, several compact cameras able to capture RAW files have appeared on the market. RAW images are not photos you can use straight out the camera, they are really just data files, and require post-shooting processing to "become" photos. You can either use the manufacturer's own RAW conversion program, Photoshop, or my personal favorite, Lightroom, to convert your images to tiffs or jpgs (you can download a free trial copy of Lightroom at Adobe if you want to give it a go).
The pros of RAW files are that since they contain pure data, the image quality is much better, it's a "non-lossy" format, and you get to control everything about the photo in the post-processing (whereas with jpgs, the camera usually applies sharpening, noise reduction, etc.). The cons are that you can't use the images right out of the camera, you need to have access to a computer and learn the software to convert them, and the file sizes are bigger than jpgs. If you're someone who likes to experiment with your pictures (and don't mind learning new programs), a camera that can shoot RAW is definitely something to consider.
About the Author:
DeeDee Dobson adores the color pink. On her blog, she writes about brilliant pink digital cameras and helps you choose the best camera for you .
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