Like a lot of things in life when your experiencing something for the first time you are often unsure ways to go at it. The same can be true when purchasing your first digital camera. You may without doubt be deluged with facts, figure and more jargon than you know what to do with. We intend to attempt in this post to help along with some of the jargon and show you what to go looking for when buying a digital camera. Some of the feature may not interest you unless you need your camera to perform specific jobs, however its always worth knowing precisely what you are buying so you can pick a fair deal when you see one.

Megapixels

The resolution of a camera is measured and advertised in megapixels. The idea behind this figure is the amount of pixels the camera has to take an image with. In this situation the higher the number the better quality of picture you’ll be able to take. For instance if you purchase the cheapest digital camera that’s got a resolution of four megapixels, footage that you take with that camera will be able to take images made up of 4million pixels. Its plain when you consider that a camera with a 2 megapixel resolution won’t create as image as crisp or as detailed as the four megapixel one.

If you regularly print out your pictures on your PC or have them sent away to be published then the megapixel rating of your camera can be very important to you. Higher megapixels on your camera will permit you to make prints larger in size while still keeping the quality. If you try to print a picture too large than what you camera was designed for then the image drastically loses quality.

The very last thing to know about megapixels is the higher the resolution you take photographs in the more space on your memory card will be taken up. A picture taken on a four megapixel camera will need twice as much space on a memory card as a picture taken on a 2 megapixel camera. Be certain if you need quality pictures have enough memory on your camera to back it up, Either that or have spare media cards to plug in once your space has been used up.

Digital Zoom and Optical Zoom

No doubt when you are buying a camera youwill need some kind of zoom function to take those in the distance shots. This is a troublesome area for some first time buyers. There are 2 kinds of zoom on the marketfor digital cameras. Digital Zoom and Optical Zoom. The only one that truly matters is Optical zoom, this is true a real zoom function that brings the objects nearer to you using the optics of the camera. Digital Zoom is like using the zoom function on an image modifying software package. It enlarges a section of the image so it looks as if its nearer to you.

Anything you can do with digital zoom you can do with a photograph modifying package so don’t splash a lot of money on a camera with digital zoom only . Occasionally you will also see “total zoom ” advertised this implies the number that is quoted here is the optical zooms magnification added to the digital zooms magnification. Try to find out the magnification level of the optical zoom alone for the true cost of the camera.

Aperture Size

We could be going a little further here than some of you would like to worry about but bear with us as the aperture size can make a big impact on your photos. The scale of the aperture defines precisely how much light is let into the camera when your picture is taken. Think of the aperture like the iris of your eye. No real deal you might imagine, however having more light allows you take better photographs in a selection of lighting condition, clouded days is an ideal example.
With an enormous enough aperture you would be less certain to require the flash, personally I don’t like to use the flash function, the synthesised flash of light does not always do justice to the picture you are trying to take. Also effects like red eye are also common.

Shutter Speed

Great effects can be made to pictures using a spread of shutter speeds. The thing to look for when purchasing a fair digital cameras rated in terms of shutter speeds is the broadest range you can find. This will give you the best probability of manipulating the picture the way that you need it. Mixed with a pro-active aperture the shutter speed can make pictures come to life or freeze images in asecond.

This method is great when you wish to take moving objects exactly how they look like they were still. Setting the shutter speed on a slower setting gives more exposure to the CCD ( charge joined device – the digital equivalent of film ). The effect is that the picture virtually seems to run. Moving objects are a little blurred. You might imagine this is a bad thing but take an illustration of running water leaving the shutter speed on for longer will soften the image creating a delightful image to the eye much like the way a waterfall appears in the real world.

You can take digital photography to the extreme with a camera that’s got a awfully wide range of shutter speeds. With an astonishingly slow shutter speed, you can have a long exposure of light to the CCD and thus receive like the famous traffic scenes where the headlights blend into one another into a constant stream.

Storage Media

Digital cameras feature a slot for a spread of media cards. Check when you purchase your best cheapest digital camera what kind of storage media it requires. There are several popular types including Smart Media, compact flash and xD picture cards. So long as you know what type your is you should be able to safely by the correct type. Always ask at your local store if you are doubtful. If you give them your make and model they deserve to be able to steer you in the right way.

The size of the media card you choose is dependenton your budget but get as much as you are able to afford. More memory means you don’t have to change media cards, and you ‘ll be able to take photographs in the best quality all the time. Youwill soon learn the benefits of having plenty storage space when you start to use your camera continually.

The nice thing about cameras media is that its just like a film if you do run out you can simply insert another one if you have one with you. It can be a bit of a pain when downloading your pictures to your P.C but a lot less more of a pain than having to delete some picture because you have run of space on your media card.