Digital Cameras Buying Guide

It's easy to see why digital cameras have grown in popularity. You still 'point and shoot' in the normal way, but there's no need to buy a film or to wait for it to be processed - you just download the images onto a computer, send direct to a printer or email them instantly to friends.

And it's easy to get creative! Digital pictures can be edited so you can adjust colours, reduce 'red eye', crop the picture or add artistic effects. You can even use the images to create calendars, greeting cards and enlargements.

What are the choices?

Point & Shoot

Entry-level digital cameras are ideal for personal or family use, and fun for sharing memories with friends via e-mail. Good value and easy to use, resolution can be anything around 5 MegaPixels - good enough for printing as well as web viewing, although printed images may look a little 'blocky' with some 5 MegaPixel resolution cameras.

Pocket Sized

Compact digital cameras which are lightweight and portable, often offering 5 or more MegaPixels. These modern digital cameras can be slotted into a small bag or pocket and offer high quality images, suitable for printing as well as web viewing, and will do justice to a range of occasions and events.

High Zoom

Digital cameras offering either an extended optical zoom lens (e.g. 10x or 35-350mm equivalent) to capture vivid images from distance or powerful digital zooms (e.g. 8x) to enhance detail of images during playback. High zoom capability can also be found in pocket sized and high performance digital cameras.

High Performance

Digital cameras and digital SLR cameras designed for professional use, often featuring over 7 MegaPixels or including powerful zooms, extended features or a combination of quality photographic elements. Digital SLRs offer the features and functionality found on a conventional SLR camera such as interchangeable lenses, designed to cope with the demands of professional photoshoots and media coverage.

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What to look for - 5 easy steps

1) Resolution

(expressed as Megapixels, or MP)

Resolution is one of the most important ratings of a digital camera - the higher the resolution, the sharper the image. Below is an approximate guide to maximum print size by resolution, based on prints at 150ppi acceptable photo quality (pixels per printed inch):

2) Memory

A digital camera's internal memory can usually only store a few pictures at any one time - its maximum image rating will tell you how many images it can hold at the lowest possible resolution (usually 640 x 480). The number of pictures you can store depends upon the compression settings you choose when saving the files, as well as on how an individual camera compresses. Higher compression allows you to fit more pictures on a card, but image quality will suffer.

A typical 5 megapixel camera with 64MB of memory can hold about 24 high resolution JPEG images, however if you buy a 7 megapixel camera you should be aiming for at least 512MB of storage. If you’re going on holiday you might not have access to a computer and you might wish to take a number of movie clips which take up more memory.

For this reason, and the fact that memory cards are becoming cheaper, a one gigabyte (GB), or 1000MB of memory, is now a popular choice. Choose from Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory Stick, SD/MMC memory cards or xD-picture cards. (see More on memory cards for more information).

Here’s a quick guide to storage capacity (in number of JPEGs), based on that of a typical Memory Stick PRO DUO.

3) Lens

Lenses on most entry-level and mid-priced digital cameras are smaller than on their traditional counterparts. For an idea of a camera's range, check the '35mm equivalent' lens rating.

• Anything shorter than 50mm is considered wide-angle - for landscapes and shots where you want to include as much as possible.
• Lenses longer than 50mm will give you a telephoto picture, suitable for close-ups and zooming in on distant objects.

4) LCD screen / viewfinder

Many digital cameras come with a traditional optical viewfinder, but most also have an integral LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen which can be used as a viewfinder.

• Many now consider a large LCD screen one of the most important purchasing factors.
• Check what your shot will look like before you take it and review photos you have already taken, giving you the option of deleting those you are not completely happy with.
• Bear in mind that the screen is a very power-hungry element which can drain the batteries if used excessively.

5) Battery life

All cameras are supplied with a mains power supply - but because functions such as zoom, flash and computer downloads are a major drain on batteries, it is worth considering a model with a lithium or nicad rechargeable battery and keeping an extra battery with you if you anticipate taking lots of shots.

• Lithium batteries offer the shortest recharging times.
• Plan on recharging batteries at least every other time you use your camera.

Other digital camera features to consider

Optical zoom: If you will be taking a lot of long-range telephoto pictures, optical zoom magnifies the image using a traditional multi-focal length lens. Combined with digital zoom, this allows you to take more detailed pictures of distant objects. For example, if the magnification level is measured as 3x optical zoom, and the camera's minimum focal length is 50m, then it has the ability to zoom up to 150m.

Manual settings: In addition to the automatic controls, some digital cameras come with manual over-ride, allowing you to set the shutter speed, aperture size and ISO speed exactly as you would do with a traditional camera. Available on some mid-level digital camera, Manual focus is useful for close-ups as it lets you focus on exactly what you want - also handy for certain special effects (e.g. out of focus lighting).

Remote control / self-timer: This delays a picture, so you can include yourself in the shot. Also useful for low-light photos, combating the 'camera shake' effect sometimes caused as a result of pressing the exposure button.

Shutter speed and aperture priority: Shutter-speed priority mode lets you select the shutter speed to control exactly the amount of motion blur. Aperture priority mode lets you adjust the camera’s F-value, which controls how much of your scene is in focus (a low 2.8, for example, will put the background out of focus, a high 8 will put lots of the scene in focus).

Image stabilisation: An unsteady handgrip will blur the still image - especially in dim conditions or if you’ve zoomed in a lot. If you don't have a tripod, many top-end digital haves have Image Stabilisation which steadies the picture so the shake is largely eliminated. This involves the optical lens or digital sensor moving ever so slightly to compensate for hand movements.

Continuous shooting / Burst modes: This lets you take multiple rapid-fire shots with one touch of the exposure button - a useful feature when photographing motion, such as sporting events.

Face detection: When taking pictures of friends or family this setting will automatically detect your loved-ones faces, ensuring the focus is firmly on their smiles and not on the scenery behind them!

More on memory cards

Although this memory is released once images are transferred to computer, additional memory can often be used across a range of portable equipment, such as handheld computers, MP3 players and even mobile phones, so it is worth considering a format that will be compatible.

Secure Digital (SD) or Multimedia (MMC) cards are currently the most popular type as they're compatible with most brands and offer advanced copyright protection. Check which type of memory is compatible with your camera manufacturer here:

• CompactFlash - Still the cheapest format, this uses an extremely small card about the size of a matchbook that provides high capacity storage. CompactFlash is the most popular memory format for cameras (particularly digital SLRs) and is also widely used on other portable equipment such as MP3 players. Capacities range from 16MB to 4GB. Supported by; Canon, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus and Sigma.
• Microdrive - Similar to CompactFlash cards but with increased speed and storage capacity (2GB or more). Also supported by Hitachi.
• SmartMedia (also called Solid State Floppy disc Cards, 'SSFDC') - SmartMedia cards use Flash memory which helps keep costs down, but the format is ageing and less widely used in other portable equipment so compatibility can be an issue. Capacities range from 16 MB to 4GB. Supported by; Fujifilm, Olympus, Lexar and Samsung.
• Memory Stick - A removable, chewing gum sized smartcard produced by Sony. Compatible with most of Sony's extensive portable digital range, but not with equipment produced by other manufacturers. Capacities range from 16MB to 4GB. Supported by; Samsung, Lexar and Sony.
• Secure Digital and Multimedia - Often abbreviated to SD and MMC, both are about the size of a stamp. Capacities range from 64MB to 4GB. Supported by; Canon, Casio, Concord, Contax, DXG, Epson, HP, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Leica, Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax, Lexar, Samsung and Toshiba.
• xD-Picture Card - Stamp-sized and durable, xD cards are the only storage format that can support the Panorama function found on most Olympus digital cameras. Capacities range from 64MB to 4GB. Supported by; Fujifilm and Olympus.

Video-clip recording

Most medium-priced digital cameras are able to take short clips of film in AVI (Audio Video Interleave) format, which can be viewed on a computer and emailed. The best video-clip quality currently available from a digital still camera is 30fps VGA (640 x 480 resolution) with sound. Some cameras allow you to record a continuous clip up to the capacity of your memory card, while others shoot only 30 seconds or so at a time. Check whether the camera is able to take clips with sound.

• With voice / sound: Some cameras let you record brief voice annotations to accompany photos. A few double as voice recorders, allowing you to record hours of audio if your memory card is large enough. Look for a camera with a built-in speaker in addition to the microphone.
• Webcams: Some cameras may be used as Webcams and come with the requisite videoconferencing software. Look for a camera with a built-in microphone so that you don't have to attach a separate one to your computer.
• usic playback: A few cameras can play MP3 and other audio files and come with earphones, but currently the quality and flexibility can vary.

Creative effects, editing and connectivity

Scene modes: Most mid-range digital cameras can be automatically set-up by selecting one of many ‘scene modes’ to offer you a range of options, such as shooting in black and white or sepia, and as panoramic or macro shots. Choosing ‘sport’ mode to take a photo of a football match, for example, freezes movement so a ball and player appear still. Without it, you might get motion blur in your shot. Some cameras even have special shooting modes to capture stop-motion animation, 3D pictures, and other special types of images.

In-camera editing: Many cameras allow you to resize, copy, or make other changes to your images before you download them to a computer. Some even let you edit video clips in-camera on a small timeline.

Image-editing software: To edit digital images on a computer most digital cameras arrive with software that lets you crop, enlarge, correct colour and add effects to your pictures.

Viewing images on your TV: A 'video out' function gives the option of hooking your camera up to a television to view your pictures. You can also use a DVD player to view your pictures on-screen, if you have one that plays JPEG files - most players do. After you’ve transferred your photos to your computer, record them onto a CD or DVD, put the disc in your player and play. You can also directly create a disc, or tape, by linking the camera to a DVD recorder or video recorder.

Wireless transfer: A few digital cameras allow you to send images wirelessly to a compatible device. Some professional SLRs are compatible with wireless transmitters that you attach to the camera.

Digital SLR cameras

A growing phenomenon amongst photography enthusiasts, the digital SLR marries together the modern features of digital camera technology with the shooting flexibility of traditional SLR cameras. Compact digital cameras are designed for maximum portability so they’re made to be small and light - the digital SLR's design places top priority on shooting ease and flexibility.

Advantages of ‘D-SLR’ cameras;

• Autofocus (AF): A digital SLR is designed to shoot quickly and obtain top-quality shots. Autofocus on a digital SLR camera employs a special, high-performance motor and built-in microcomputer for high-speed focusing. The camera can thereby focus faster than you can turn the focusing ring.
• Viewfinder: Through the viewfinder, you can see the scene as it will be photographed – so you can clearly see what the camera sees. In the centre area, there are AF points that focus automatically. You can also select any one of the AF points to focus at that point. At the viewfinder bottom, shooting information is displayed. Through the viewfinder, you can see the subject's detail, colours, facial expressions, etc. with more clarity than on many compact camera's LCD monitor.
• Live View LCD: Some D-SLRs, such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 include a full-time Live View function through its LCD. This offers a viewfinder style focus through the LCD screen, offering a shooting style different from conventional digital SLRs.
• Interchangeable lenses: The digital SLR can use various lenses to take wide-angle, telephoto, or close-up shots, to shoot a wide variety of subjects. The shorter the focal length (measured in mm), the wider the view will be - the longer the focal length, the more telescopic the picture.
• Speed: You can shoot multiple shots per second, an advantage for capturing fast-moving subjects.

	View our range of Digital SLR cameras

Direct printing

Some digital cameras will allow you connect directly to a compatible printer so there's no need for a PC. You can select the pictures you want to print on the LCD screen and simply press print.

Some printers have slots for memory cards so you can slot the memory card from your camera directly into your printer and print the pictures. Look out for cameras which are PictBridge compatible - this is a standardized technology that lets you print images from the memory card in a digital camera directly to a printer regardless of brand.

Although direct printing methods mean no picture editing facility, some top-end digital cameras allow extensive in-camera editing, so they’re ready to print. Many mid-range photo printers also provide a sizeable LCD screen with which to perform editing tasks. Click here to see our buying guide for printers

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So how do digital cameras work?

Instead of processing pictures onto film, digital cameras transfer them onto a light-sensitive chip known as a Charged Couple Device (CCD) and store them in the camera's memory as thousands of minute, coloured dots called pixels (short for 'picture elements').

The images are stored as RAW (unprocessed) data, TIFF (Tagged Image File) files or, to save space, as compressed JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) files. Either way, you are at liberty to review these images and edit, accept or delete them at every stage.

Image files are stored on some kind of removable storage media. SD/MMC cards are currently the most popular type as they're compatible with most brands and offer advanced copyright protection. The number of pictures you can store depends upon the compression settings you choose when saving the files, as well as on how an individual camera compresses. Higher compression allows you to fit more pictures on a card, but image quality will suffer.

Glossary

Technical Term	Description
Absence of noise	Noise is seen as random speckles in an image, especially in areas of even colour (e.g. the sky). When a higher sensitivity (e.g. ISO 400 and above) is used, these get more prominent.
Absence of distortion	Distortion sometimes occurs when you’ve zoomed right in or right out. Straight lines near the edge of the image might look slightly bent.
Aperture rating	As with traditional cameras, the maximum aperture rating indicates how much light can be let in. The lower the aperture rating, the more light sensitive the camera is and the better it can take photos in low light.
CCD	Charged Couple Device - the light-sensitive chip in a digital camera used to store images.
CD ROM	A memory format. Miniature recordable CD discs with a capacity of 256MB. Not in widespread use at the moment, but this format is being rapidly adopted.
Colour reproduction	The ability of a camera to record colours that are true to life.
CompactFlash	A memory format that uses an extremely small card about the size of a matchbook that provides high capacity storage. CompactFlash is the most popular memory format for cameras and is also widely used on other portable equipment such as MP3 players.
Compression	Compression is the process that shrinks a photo's file size. The majority of digital cameras take photos as compressed JPEG files, which means more images can be stored on the memory card. Compression makes for speedier saving and downloading of pictures and also means it is easier to email them. Because compression results in a small amount of data loss, it is best to buy a camera which takes uncompressed photos if you want only the sharpest possible results.
Continuous shooting	Allows a camera to take several rapid-fire exposures when the shutter button is held down. This feature is useful for shots where there is quick action and you want to take multiple shots.
Digital Print Order Format (DPOF)	Lets you send images directly to the printer, and to control the quantity and order of the images being printed.
Digital zoom	This works by enlarging the central 50% of the image. Digital zoom allows you to zoom in on a specific part of your picture during playback, however, resolution quality may be affected by higher increases in zoom.
Docking stations	Plug into your computer and enable you to hook up a digital camera quickly and easily for simpler downloading.
FireWire/IEEE 1394	A fast method of file transfer (even quicker than USB 2.0). Both your camera and PC must have FireWire ports in order to transfer footage.
Fixed-focus	Most digital cameras come with a lens preset to focus at a certain range. However, most medium-range digital cameras have autofocus which automatically focuses the camera at your subject's distance.
FPS (Frames Per Second)	A measure of how much information is used to store and display motion video. Each frame is a still image; displaying frames in quick succession creates the illusion of motion. The more fps, the smoother the motion appears. In general, the minimum fps needed to avoid jerky motion is about 30.
Hot shoe	A device found on some digital cameras to which an external flash unit is attached.
Image capacity	A camera's memory capacity for images shot at high resolution using the amount of memory shipped.
ISO-equivalent rating	Indicates how light sensitive a camera is according to standards defined by the International Standards Organisation. For example, a camera rated ISO 100 is perfectly acceptable for everyday use, with approximately the same light sensitivity as a conventional camera loaded with ISO 100 film. Higher ISO ratings indicate the camera is more sensitive to light and can take pictures in darker settings.
JPEG files	Joint Photographic Experts Group) files - the file format used to store compressed images.
LCD view screen	(Liquid Crystal Display) Large viewfinder screen offering high resolution images.
Macro	A lens feature for taking 'close-up' at 12" or less from your subject.
MegaPixels (MP)	One million pixels. The greater the number of pixels, the better the resolution (see above). Usually expressed as the number of horizontal and vertical lines of pixels, e.g. 1280 x 960. The total resolution is found by multiplying the two figures together. If the result is above a million it is termed a 'MegaPixel' resolution.
Memory card slot	Allows you to easily store still images in JPEG and MPEG formats and transfer them from your camera to your PC. Often an 16MB MMC (Multimedia Card) or 32MB SD (Secure Digital) Card, which offers advanced copyright protection.
Memory Stick	A memory format. A removable, chewing gum sized smartcard produced by Sony. Compatible with most of Sony's extensive portable digital range, but not with equipment produced by other manufacturers.
Optical zoom	For long-range telephoto pictures an optical zoom focusses the real image without the need for additional lens attachments, such as on a traditional SLR.
Pixels	Short for 'picture elements', the minute, coloured dots used to store images. The greater the number of pixels, the better the resolution (see below).
Resolution	The resolution of a digital camera refers to the sharpness of its pictures and refers to how many pixels make up a photo. The higher the resolution, the better the picture. Most cameras provide a choice of resolutions and which one you choose will be determined by what you plan to do. If you will be e-mailing photos to friends or putting them up on the web, a lower resolution of 640 x 480 will be fine. However, if you plan to print out your photos or work with enlargements, a minimum resolution of 3 or 4 megapixels will produce better results (see ‘5 easy steps’ for resolution/print size chart).
Rotatable lens	Lets you to change the angle of the lens - as much as up to 360 degrees in some cases, permitting self-portraits.
SD card	‘Secure Digital’ storage media which offers advanced copyright protection. About the size of a stamp, supported by most leading brands.
SLR	(single-lens-reflex):A user looking through the viewfinder on this type of camera actually looks through the picture-taking lens, thanks to a series of mirrors and prisms within the camera. This is a very improved type of viewfinder, because what you see is what is in the actual picture frame.
SmartMedia	Also called Solid State Floppy disc Cards, 'SSFDC', - A memory format. SmartMedia cards use Flash memory which helps keep costs down compared to CompactFlash, but the format is less widely used in other portable equipment so compatibility can be an issue.
TIFF files	Tagged Image File files - the format used to store uncompressed images.
Wide-angle lens	A camera lens with a short focal length, such as 24mm or 28mm.
xD-Picture Card	Stamp-sized storage media supported by Fujifilm and Olympus.