Buy Digital Cameras (Part 1)

How to Buy a Digital Camera

Executive Summary about Buy Digital Cameras from PCWorld.com

Higher-resolution images, sophisticated but easy-to-use controls, higher optical zoom levels, and better technology all make taking great pictures--and shooting video with the same camera--easier than ever.

The Big Picture
A camera with no manual controls may take fabulous shots in bright sunlight, but lousy ones in more challenging situations.

Key Features
Megapixel count/resolution: If you intend to take pictures only to e-mail them to distant friends or to print at snapshot size, a camera of most any resolution will do. Small cameras are convenient, but they frequently have tiny dials and few buttons, which make changing settings somewhat trying. Smaller cameras usually don't have many manual controls, either.

Zoom lens: Inexpensive cameras often lack a powerful optical zoom lens. Cameras now offer zoom ratings of up to 20X. You should try a camera's autofocus at full zoom: We've tested some models that were slow to focus at full zoom in low light.

Optical zoom gives you all the benefit of the camera's maximum resolution, combined with the ability to focus in tight on faraway action.

Low-end cameras often omit manual focusing or allow only stepped focusing, which forces you to choose from a few preset distances.

Storage: At its highest resolution, a typical 5-megapixel camera can store six to eight images on a 16MB "starter" memory card. Make sure that the camera you choose supports SDHC cards if you plan on buying one of them.

If you're torn between a digital SLR camera and an advanced point-and-shoot model, keep in mind that digital SLRs don't shoot video.

Exposure settings: All digital cameras let you shoot in fully automatic mode--just press the shutter release and you get a picture. Most cameras also offer aperture- and shutter-priority modes, in which you adjust the size of the lens opening or how long the shutter stays open, and the camera automatically controls the other variable to give you the proper exposure.
Usually, cameras that offer priority modes also provide full-manual exposure control, in which you set both variables. These modes make a camera adaptable to almost any situation.

Menus: When evaluating a camera, consider how easily you can reach common settings--resolution, macro mode, flash, and exposure adjustments--and how easily you can play back just-taken images. Some single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras offer multiple positions on their control dial for storing customized settings. Some point-and-shoots allow you to store customized settings as a mode within the scene modes menu.

One potentially helpful feature offered by many point-and-shoot cameras is facial recognition. In detecting people's faces, the camera aims to optimize both focus and exposure for the subjects, presumably to better effect than the more traditional portrait mode that almost every camera offers. White balance: Almost all digital cameras allow you to choose a white-balance setting via presets. LCD and viewfinder: All digital cameras have an LCD screen; these vary in size from 1.8 to 3.5 inches. The smaller size limits your ability to review just-taken images on the camera. If you're thinking about getting a camera with a touch-screen LCD, make sure you account for the screen-smudge factor.

If you can, try a camera outside before you buy it. Image stabilization/antishake: Some cameras offer antishake (also called image stabilization) as a shooting mode or as a feature that can be turned on and off. Most point-and-shoot cameras use software to sharpen the resulting images. You don't have to buy a Wi-Fi-enabled camera to send photos directly from your camera, however. The Eye-Fi card (2GB, $100) enables any camera with an SD Card slot to send photos wirelessly to your computer and to photo-sharing sites.