"What You MUST Know To Get
The Right Digital Camera" Free Digital Camera Buyer Guide
Lesson 1
I'm Rufina James and I'd like to extend a warm welcome to you for joining me in "What You MUST Know To Get The
Right Digital Camera!"
Throughout these lessons, I'm going to give you specific, usable information that will help you understand digital cameras better and help you make a better buying decision right away — whether you want to buy a pocket point-and-shot or a pro model.
We'll be discussing the 17 most important questions people
have about digital cameras... The kind of information you
need to know BEFORE you purchase, such as:
- How Many Megapixels Should I Get?
- How Easy Is A Digital Camera To Use?
- What Types Of Digital Cameras Are There And How Much Do
They Cost?
- How Many Pictures Can I Put On A Memory Card?
- What Size Memory Card Do I Need?
- What Type Of Memory Card Is Best?
- How Easy Is It To Get My Pictures Out Of My Camera And
Into My Computer?
- What Happens If I Print An 8x10 From Only 1 Megapixel?
- What Is White Balance And How Does It Work?
- Is There Any Difference Between A Digital And An Optical
Zoom?
- How Much Do I REALLY Need To Spend On A Digital Camera?
- Is It Worth Getting An Extended Warranty?
- Do I Need A Special Photo Printer?
- Does The Type Of Battery I Use Make A Difference?
- Which Digital Camera Should I Buy?
- How Can I Make Sure I Take Good Pictures?
- Digital Camera Terminology — What Do All Those Strange
Words Mean?
That's a lot of information! So let's get started...
Digital cameras are so popular today because they're so
much fun to use and so versatile. Just pick up the camera,
point and shoot — and in a matter of seconds you have a
high-quality photo you can print out, email to a friend or
relative, post on a website, or copy.
But being a new technology, many people have questions that
deserve to be answered. So let's start with the first
question...
When considering getting a digital camera, here's the top
question in most people's minds:
HOW MANY MEGAPIXELS SHOULD I GET?
The answer depends on what you're going to do with your
pictures. Let me explain what I mean by that. The first
thing to understand is that a megapixel simply refers to a
million pixels.
That naturally leads to the question — "What is a pixel?"
Pixels are very small dots of color that make up the images
in your digital photographs. They're the most basic (and
smallest) elements of digital pictures.
"Pixel" stands for "picture element." Using the abbreviation
Pix for picture and El for element, the two are put together
like this: Pix + Element = Pixel.
It takes a lot of pixels to make a picture. Remember, it
takes a million pixels to make one megapixel.
Pixels also make up what is called the resolution. The more
pixels in the image, the higher the resolution.
That simply means more information can be captured in a
larger data file. It's kind of like a big, fat file folder
stuffed full of papers and documents vs. a skinny little
file with only a few papers. Obviously the fat file contains
more information and details.
It's the same with resolution. You get more information and
details in a higher resolution image than a lower resolution —
and it results in better colors, more definition, clarity
and smoother color gradations. That's why higher resolution
usually means a better-looking picture. Of course, the
quality of the lens and sensor also influence the image
quite a bit.
But generally, when you have more megapixels, not only can
you get more details, but you can also print bigger pictures
or make enlargements.
For example:
- 5 megapixels will look great from a thumbnail all the way
up to a 16x20 poster.
- 4 megapixels will print up nicely as an 8x10 and will still
look good up to 11x17 inches.
- 2 megapixels will just barely print an 8x10 — but will do
a better job with smaller pictures like 5x7's or 4x6's.
- 1 megapixel — Don't even try printing an 8x10 with 1
megapixel. Stick with a 4X6 or smaller or email the picture.
Putting up a picture online or sending it by email doesn't
require a lot of megapixels. In fact, you're better off
with less. If you have too many, you might crash your email
or have a webpage that takes forever to load.
So, you see, the way you plan to use your pictures determines
how many megapixels you should get.
If all you want to do is email your pictures to friends and
family, one MG (or even less) is enough. But that's NOT
enough if you want to print out 5x7 or 8x10 prints.
However... storing pictures with higher megapixels takes a
lot more space. You have to have lots of storage in your
hard drive and lots of RAM. Or you'll need to put your
pictures onto some sort of permanent storage like CDs to
make sure you don't use up all of your computer's hard drive.
For most people (and most families) 3.2 megapixels is
just right. It gives you nice detail without taking too much
space on your computer. And you can print out nice looking
5x7s and 8x10s.
But there are so many different types of digital cameras. Are they really easy to use, like the ads say? And what about prices? Click here to find out about the different types of digital cameras and how much they cost.
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