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Camera buying guide

What to look for in a digital camera

Camera Resolution - Megapixels (1 million pixels)

All digital cameras nowadays are advertised with the number of megapixels or MP they possess. This number gives you the number of pixels the camera has on its digital image sensor. The higher the number of pixels the sensor has, the higher the image quality will be, as more information can be stored per exposure. This number is an important factor when choosing a digital camera, as it tells you whether your photos will have the quality they deserve. Point and Shoot (P&S) digital cameras have come a long way since their introduction to consumers. The average resolution on currently manufactured cameras is 4.5 MP, making them suitable for everyday shooting and printing.

File Compression

Once the digital camera captures the image, the file must be transferred to the memory card, the digital film. Most point and shoot cameras will compress the image file prior to storing on the memory card in order to shrink the size of the file. Higher end digital cameras allow the user to select which compression method to use. Higher compression level also means more information is lost from your images prior to storage, resulting in lower quality images. This is most troubling with low resolution cameras and not so much of a problem with the current cameras. If you're thinking about enlarging your photos, it's best set the camera to do as little compressing as possible.

Optical and Digital Zooms

Digital camera specs usually indicated the amount of optical and digital zoom the camera is capable of delivering. What's the difference between optical and digital zoom? Optical zoom is the true zooming, which is achieved by moving the camera's lens elements. This is done without any loss of image quality. Digital zoom, on the other hand, is achieved by croping the image in the camera. This means that the camera will remove some pixels from the sides and digitally enlarge it. Digital zoom is not a true zoom and will ultimately result in loss of image quality, so it's best not to use it.