Article commissioned for eCommerce web site, 2001.

Thinking about digital cameras?

These wonderful new gadgets are right up there with the advent of cell phones and microwaves. But beware! You can quickly be drowned in the ocean of technological jargon that goes along with digital photography. And rightly so. These cameras are just as complicated as desktop computers. And can be as expensive. That’s because at their heart, they are computers. They have memory, drives, monitors, sound, data storage, cable connections, and a heavy learning curve. A very heavy learning curve. Pixels, RGB, Megs, CCDs are all part of the jargon of the world of the digital camera.

But don’t let that put you off. We’re here to give you a quick primer, introduce you to the joys of owning a digital camera, and point you in the right direction.

First of all, you’ll want to ask yourself why do you need a digital camera? Why spend $200.00 to $1,500.00 on a digital camera when you have a perfectly functional, and not that old, film camera?

Well, if you don’t own a computer, or a color printer or have Internet connection, you might not need a digital camera.

BUT, if you are reading this, you probably have a computer, an Internet connection, and with any luck, a decent color printer.

Therefore, we predict that you will be in the market for a digital camera in the foreseeable future.

Digital photography will open up a whole new world to you. It takes photography to the next level of fun, creativity, and excitement.

For example, you can:

No more buying, and carrying around, rolls of delicate film. Do you remember keeping film in the refrigerator so it would stay "fresh"? From now on there’s no film, period. With a digital camera you can carry around the equivalent of more than 50 of rolls of film on a reusable chip roughly the size of large postage stamp.

Review your pictures instantly using the camera itself.

Did you get the picture you wanted? Should you take another one? Now you will know instantly. No more "insurance shots." No more guessing if the light was right, or if Mom blinked. Most camera models let you review your photo right on the camera’s little LCD screen. Don’t like it? Take another one at no extra cost. Decide which photos to print before they leave the camera. Hate having to pay for 36 prints from a roll of film when only 5 of them were worth printing in the first place? Now you control which pictures make it to paper.

Retouch your pictures.

A variety of computer software comes with many camera models to let you enhance, manipulate and retouch your photos like a professional. Get rid of wrinkles and pounds. Put your head on the quarterback’s body. Correct the color, change the background, re-crop and resize. Change them to watercolors, line drawings, or even jig saw puzzles. Create your own works of art, or greeting cards, or screen savers. Make letterhead and business cards with the pictures you took of yourself, your home office, or even your dog.

Print those pictures.

Send 100 pictures.

Don’t keep your photos all to yourself. Share them with the universe. Send them by email. Put them up on your website. Enter them in online photo contests. Use them to document the pothole in your street when you email Street Maintenance.

Neatly store your 100 pictures.

No more piles of prints, boxes of prints, closets of prints waiting to be sorted and filed "somewhere." Create folders on your hard drive and sort the pictures by date, by topic, by relative, by event and then make duplicates and cross file them. Burn it all to your very own CD.

If you aren’t up for learning a whole new technological interface, digital cameras function very much like your standard film camera. You frame your subject and the camera automatically focuses, decides if it needs a flash, and takes the picture. Most of these new digital cameras also feel to the hand just like film cameras. Viewfinders, buttons, lenses are just where you would expect them to be. They are actually quite easy to use, so have no fear.

Just pick one, pay for it and start taking great pictures!

Well almost. First you have to decide which camera to purchase.

If you think desktop computers are changing rapidly, digital cameras are changing at warp speed. Every few months camera manufacturers dump their old technology and bring out new and improved models. If you were to try to keep up with the changes happening in the industry it could be a full time job. At last count there were over 15 major manufacturers, all vying to produce the latest and greatest camera.

In order to get the most out of your new camera, you need to know at least some of the technical stuff. So grab a cup of Joe and settle down for Digital Cameras 101.

As mentioned above, digital cameras are computers and are just as different from film cameras as word processors are from typewriters. Although the final product might look the same, how it got there is way different.

Digital cameras don’t use film to capture the light from an image, they use a little something called a Charged Coupled Device (CCD). This has more to do with a TV screen than a piece of film. Think of it as a postage stamp sized grid of tiny semi-conductors each of which records a dot’s worth of picture information. These dots are commonly called pixels. CCDs come in different sizes which relate directly to the quality of the final product and with their cost. The more pixels that make up the postage stamp sized grid, the more information a camera can store, the larger the picture and the more the camera costs. However the amount of pixels on the CCD keeps going up. And the corresponding prices just keep going down, just like any other computer product. Cameras are commonly grouped according to their pixel size: under 1 Meg, and 1, 2, 3 or 4 Meg cameras.

But why spend the money on a camera that can store 3,000,000 (a 3 Meg camera) pixels over one that uses only 307,000 pixels (also know as a 640 x 480 camera)? Well, it has all to do with size and quality.

The number of pixels per inch that are in a given picture determines how sharp the resultant picture is perceived. But after a certain point, it does not matter how many pixels make up a 5" x 6" picture because the human eye can’t tell the difference.

So what more pixels really get you is the ability to produce a bigger picture. More pixels equal bigger prints, period. All the rest is talk.

Here are photographic quality prints you can expect from different CCDs:

Camera Pixel Capacity of the CCD / Size of photographic quality print

Great Very Presentable

307,000 pixels 3" x 4" 5" x 7"

(CCD size: 640 x 480 pixels)

1.3 megapixels 5" x 7" 8" x 10"

(CCD size: 1280 x 1024 pixels)

3 megapixels 8" x 10" 11" x 14"

(CCD size: about 2000 x 1500)

So, if you want to be able to produce a great 3" x 4" print, you can get an older or low end camera, and with a decent printer and you will be delighted with the results. Just don’t to expect to get as good a quality when you print that same picture at 8" x 10." For that you need to invest in one of the high end cameras.

You should also keep in mind that since most computer screens are configured to show around 800 x 600 pixels, a low end camera will work just fine as far as viewing pictures on a computer screen. The high megapixel cameras are needed only when your goal is to print your photographs on paper.

The bottom line about pixels: a 1-2 megapixel camera will get you great prints up to 8" x 10"s and give you all the sharpness you will need for viewing on your computer.

Now for some of the bells and whistles that come with these cameras:

Zoom.

Zooms are cool. The more you can zoom in or out on a subject, the more versatility you have in cropping your image. Cameras can zoom anywhere from 2x to 24x. But do you really need to zoom in 24 times? If you can get by with less, you will pay less. A 4x zoom would most likely be enough for the average user.

A word of caution here: you should understand the difference between "digital" zoom and an "optical" zoom. . Digital zooms enlarge your image by adding extra pixels so that it looks like it has zoomed in, but it really just gives you less accurate pixel information. A "digital" zoom is also called a "fake" zoom.

Cameras can store the pixel information a couple of ways. At first, cameras stored all current pictures on their internal "hard drive." When that internal hard drive gets full you must make space for new pictures by either deleting pictures or downloading them to your computer. Now most cameras augment their onboard storage capacity with a removable media of some kind. Just as you use floppies or CDs on a desktop computer, digital cameras currently use memory chips like SmartMedia® or CompactFlash® cards. Each camera manufacture tends to use the same type storage format for their entire line. Exception to the rule: Sony has it’s own proprietary storage format called the Memory Stick (which looks like a stick of gum and is lockable) and some of its cameras use mini-rewritable CDs. How cool is that?

Historical note: Some older camera models use standard 1.44MG floppy disks to store pixel images, but since they are limited in the amount of pictures they can store, floppy disk cameras seem to be going the way of the dinosaur. Which is a shame because Sony offers several very nice models that still use floppies disks.

News Flash

IBM’s new MicroDrive® storage format is going to blow everything else out of the water. Where an 8MB SmartMedia® might store around 30 images, the MicroDrive® will store (hold on to your hat) over 900 images. Casio is currently using this technology, so be sure to check out their cameras!

The next step is to transfer the pictures from your camera to your computer, either through the camera’s docking station (which can also server as a charger for the battery), or by a serial or USB cable, or even Infrared Port. Serial cables are more unwieldy to use and are being phased out. USB is current technology and the easiest to use. USB cables also let you move seamlessly between IBM and MAC platforms. But if you are a MAC user be sure to check that the camera model offers MAC software in its package. Infrared Port transfer downloads images without all those cables or wires, but needs some additional hardware. Infrared transmission is also known as IrDA.

Adapters are now being sold that allow you to slip your SmartMedia® or CompactFlash® chip into a special floppy disk that then goes right into the floppy drive of any computer for quick upload. This is handy if you don’t have access to your docking station or cables.

Additional storage media can be bought separately and varies greatly in price and size. Of course the more information you can store on any media, the more it will cost. On the other hand, the mini-rewritable CDs that some Sony cameras use are very economical.

Just about every camera comes with some kind of built-in flash. Options include red-eye reduction, fill flash (a gentle flash used to soften shadows), and Auto flash and "forced" flash. Some of the high-end models feature a "hot-shoe" for attaching an external flash.

Digital cameras tend to take their time recording a picture to memory and there can be considerable downtime between shots. Some cameras can make you wait up to 10 seconds before it is ready to take the next picture. It’s just the nature of the beast. This can be important when you want to take pictures in rapid succession. If this is an important consideration for you, be sure to check with the manufacturer. Some cameras offer "Burst" mode which allows multiple pictures to be taken when continually holding down the shutter button. It’s definitely something to look into if you plan to take a lot of action shots.

LCD (Liquid-Crystal Display) screens are the new way to view and frame your pictures. It looks like a tiny TV screen which allows you to view your subject as you take the picture, and afterwards, to view the pictures that are currently held in the cameras memory. Some cameras have even done way with the eye piece entirely. Most LCDs range in size from 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide.

Digital cameras use a lot of energy. So while you won’t be lugging around a bunch of film canisters, you might be hauling around bags of batteries. Digital cameras can use AAA, AA or even lithium batteries. Some cameras provide rechargeable batteries that come with a charger.

Unbelievable as it may sound, many of these digital cameras record short videos (many of them also record sound). These movies tend to be very short – 5 to 30 seconds.

Okay, enough talk. Here’s the chart.

The following chart lists the major players in the digital camera arena and the cameras that fall in the below 1 Meg to 3 Meg range. Anything more than 3 Megs is for the very serious or professional photographer. Where available we have listed Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price and the best price we found on the internet (not including auction site prices). There are always better deals to be found, but they take a bit of searching especially as prices change on a daily basis and new and improved models keep coming out.

Insert CHART

Quite a bit of information, eh? But what does it mean to you? Not much, until you have the final piece of the puzzle. You need to know one more thing before you jump into a purchase. "Who Am I, And What Do I Want To Do With My Camera?"

To help you focus, we have created 4 "types" and made suggestions for each:

Casual Home User.

You want to take the family pictures, mostly around the house, and be able to email and print pictures with the least amount of fuss and muss. You want a camera that you can grab and take quick shots of the baby’s first step or the antics of the new puppy. A camera that will fit in purse, or large pocket, looks neat and has clean lines. You plan to take pictures that will wind up in National Geographic. You don’t need a 12x zoom or 4 Meg resolution or a $1,500 price tag. You will be near your own computer most of the time, so you can easily use the USB cable to do the download and don’t want to fiddle with the memory chip/floppy disk conversion.

For the casual, first time digital camera user we would suggest looking at the Olympus Brio Zoom D150. As you can see from the chart, it is a 1.3 Meg camera, uses SmartMedia®, has a 3x optical zoom, and a nice little swiveling LCD. At under $300.00 it’s a steal! The Brio is a fully automatic 'point and shoot' camera and has a feel very much like that of a compact 35mm film camera. This camera is relatively fast and delay times from one shot to the next are low for a camera in this price range. It’s your basic, basic reliable, down to earth camera.

Another consideration is the Kodak DX3500. It has all the basics, and at 2.3 megapixels, gives a great print. Its optical zoom of 3x is just enough for most users and its LCD is on the large side, which makes it easier to see. The DX3500 uses the CompactFlash® card, but you may not need it as it can use the optional docking station to both download images, and recharge the camera’s batteries. So, you take a few shots, replace the camera in the docking station, it recharges the batteries, and you download the pictures later on. It you are basically a homebody, this is a great option. The Kodak DX3500 is priced right for a first time user at under $299.00.

You want all the bells and whistles. You like a bit of a challenge. You want the swivel LCD, the movie, the combination zoom and the best 8" x 10" prints possible.

If you’re looking for something just a bit jazzier. Still simple, with a bit more kick, you might look at the Casio QV2900UX. At $399.99 it is a bit steeper in price but as a great super charged camera it’s hard to beat. It has a 2.11 megapixel resolution with a great 8x optical zoom lens, but in combination with it’s digital zoom, you can push that to 32x! For the first time user it has over 26 preprogrammed settings that let you shoot in all kinds of conditions and not worry if the "white balance" is set correctly, with settings for situations like "Night" or "Fireworks." It has a swivel lens so, like the Olympus D 150, you can see your subject at any angle, and the camera feels comfortable in the hand. And, last but not least, it uses the new IBM MicroDrive memory, although it comes packaged with CompactFlash®. It also has a movie feature that lets you record the past. Yes, you read right, the past. This you gotta see.

Another great camera in this category is Sony’s MVC-CD1000 which uses mini-rewritable CDs which can store up to 1,000 images. These CDs cost less than $5 each, so the sky is the limit. This is a 2.1 megapixel camera with a 10x optical zoom (with a 20x digital). It has a great lens and has the look and feel of the finest model SLR camera. The Sony MVC-CD1000 can automatically save a smaller email file so you don’t have change the resolution of pictures before emailing them, and the InfoLithium battery keeps this camera alive for hours. It has playback, trim and resize right in the camera, and makes short movies, with sound. You can make 3:2 ratio shots 4" x 6" shots, and you can do In Camera Picture Effects such as making sepia and solarization images. You can even add voice memos to your shots. The Sony MVC-CD1000 is loaded with all these bells and whistles and can be had in some stores for just over $600.00.

Looking for a quick and easy camera, one you can take to college or on a camping trip, and not be devastated if you lose it? Want the fun of zooming in on your subjects? Want to view your pictures on whatever computer you’re near? Want the camera that looks cool? And want to be able to view the pictures on whatever computer you’re near?

Take a look at the Olympus D 370 or the Fuji FinePix 1400 Zoom. Both have 1.3 Megapixel resolution and both are around $200.00 . The Olympus has a shutter cover which is nice for casual use. On the other hand, the Fuji, which is slightly higher priced, has a true optical 3x zoom. Both cameras are portable and low enough in price to be a great gift idea for a student.

A bit less expensive is the HP PhotoSmart 215 which can be found for $130.00. It is also has a 1.3 megapixel resolution.. However it has a digital 2x zoom instead of an optical one.

Another fun camera for the younger user is the Polaroid PhotoMax. Not only does it take nice pictures for viewing on computer screens (640 x 480) and emailing, it also plays MP3 music files and comes with earphones. With a price of around $150, it’s another great gift.

Going out in the elements? Trekking to the Sahara or the rainforest? Here’s the camera for you: The Kodak DC 5000. It eats weather conditions for lunch. Dust and humidity that would spell disaster for any other digital camera are of no concern for this baby. It has a rugged, weatherproof design. Perfect for camping, real estate, construction sites, and vacations. It is still a great 2 megapixel resolution camera in it’s own right and can be found for around $525.00.

And what about the 10 year old? The responsibility of a $300 camera could be a bit nerve wrecking. How about a $50 basic, basic camera. One that he or she can play with, and learn on?

The KB Gear Interactive Jam Cam at $59.99 is made just for kids. It’s maximum resolution is 800 x 600, with a 10 second self-timer, automatic flash, and USB connection. It’s as cute as a bug and great for kids.

As is the Polariod Izone. It’s 640 x 480 resolution is fine for email and computer viewing and it has 1M of internal memory which downloads through a Serial cable. With a $50 rebate the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail of $89 comes crashing down to a very affordable $49.

Wrist Camera

WristTechnology by Casio is the world’s first wrist-type wearable digital camera that can be used anyplace, anytime. It has everything needed to take a picture while it sits on your wrist: lens, shutter and mode buttons, forward and back buttons, and a tiny LCD for viewing the pictures. Around $200.00, and it even tells the time.

3D Pictures

The Minolta 3D 1500 is a digital camera that takes 3D images. Not surprisingly, it costs over $4,000.

Instant Prints

The Olympus 211 Zoom (2.11 megapixel resolution) produces instant prints right out of the body of the camera, plus saves the images for later download to your computer. It comes with a 3x optical zoom and a price tag of around $550.00

Palm Pilot as camera

Kodak’s PalmPix attaches right to your Palm Pilot and turns it into a full-fledged digital camera taking 800 x 600 prints. Priced at $130.00 it could be a handy conversation piece at your next business meeting.

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