PC Tutor Times
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Winter 2002, Volume IV, Issue 1, Page 2 |
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(Note: Links valid at time of first publication may not be valid today.) Happy New Year Digital Photography Reference Winter Olympics (Feb. 8-24) International Olympic Committee Monthly Tools PC
Tutor Web Site Past Newsletters
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Buying a Digital Camera When shopping for a digital camera your primary use for the camera will determine what kind to get. MegapixelsOn page 3 I will define what a megapixel is but for now all you need to know is that if you plan to take photos for the Internet, e-mail and web sites and print only up to 4 x 6, then a 1 megapixel camera should be fine. If you want to print your own photos up to size 5x7 then get a 2.1 megapixel camera. And if you want to print your own 8x10's then get a 3.3 megapixel camera. Memory CardsThere are many different kinds of memory cards, all with varying capacities. The larger the memory card the more photos you will be able to store on it. Memory cards work just like other computer storage mediums, like hard disks, floppy disks, zip disks and re-writeable CD's. Memory cards can be used over and over again. After you transfer your pictures to your computer the memory card can be erased and you can store new pictures on it. Most memory cards come in capacities of 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 MB (megabytes). Sony even makes a digital camera that will use a regular floppy disk to store pictures, but beware, floppy disks hold only 1.44 MB which is not very much when storing digital photos. If you are going on a long trip and will not be able to transfer your pictures to your computer until you get back home then you will want to purchase additional memory cards. Another option on a long trip is to take a notebook computer with you and every night transfer your pictures to it.
If you have any other devices that use memory cards you may want to stay with the same type of memory card. Memory cards are interchangeable among digital cameras, digital video cameras, MP3 players, notebook computers, etc. Below are the typical digital camera memory cards.
The connection to your computerThe easiest, but not necessarily the fastest, way to transfer pictures from the camera to your computer is through a cable that connects to both your camera and your computer. Most cameras come with the cable and you will want to make sure that your new camera does. The two main cables are serial and USB. All desktop computers and most notebook computers have a serial port, but it is slower than USB. All new computers, built in the last 3-4 years, have a USB port and this is the preferred cable connection, but it is not essential. Memory disk manufacturers also sell adapter kits that allow you to remove the memory card from the camera and place it in the adapter. The adapter then connects to the USB port and you have virtually the same connection as an original USB camera cable. Actually, it turns out to be even better because you do not have to use your camera (i.e. drain the batteries or plug in the AC adapter) to transfer your pictures to the computer. Below is a picture of adapters.
BatteriesDigital cameras eat up batteries very quickly. Look for a camera that comes with rechargeable batterers and an AC charger, or at least one that can use them if purchased separately. Next, lets take a look at the image quality vs. file size issue.
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