Communications and Marketing
What to look for when purchasing a digital camera
(3 minutes: 22 seconds)
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Audio/Video Script:
Kevin Quinn
Extension Videographer
Digital Cameras like this one make taking pictures fun, inexpensive and
nearly fool-proof. And there are hundreds of models of digital cameras in a
range of styles and price from which to choose. With so many choices purchasing
a digital camera can be confusing. But choosing your next digital camera can be
a snap if you focus on what is important.
There are two major categories of digital cameras on the market today, single
lens reflex and point-and-shoot.
D-S-L-R, as they are sometimes known, are expensive, ranging in price from
five-hundred dollars up to several thousand dollars, and they are engineered to
meet the demands of serious and professional photographers.
Point-and-shoot cameras, on the other hand, are designed to meet the needs of
casual photographers. Point-and-shoot digital cameras range in price from under
one-hundred dollars up to around five-hundred dollars.
Manufacturers and retailer stress megapixels as a chief selling point for
their digital cameras. You should know that megapixels determine the size of a
printed picture that a digital camera can produce. Megapixels do not determine
the quality of a camera’s image. Simply stated, the more megapixels a camera has
the larger picture it can print. Also, in general, cameras with more megapixels
produce higher price tags.
The good news for consumers is that even a small four megapixel camera like
this one can produce large 8x10 prints. Spending more money for a camera with
more than four megapixels might be unnecessary for the casual photographer.
The caliber of a camera’s components is more important for producing quality
prints than its megapixels. Precision lenses and image sensors inside the camera
is what’s important to produce crisp, colorful images. Therefore, you should buy
a camera with a known reputation in the field of photography to ensure you’re
getting a quality instrument.
Digital cameras are equipped with optical and digital zoom. Zoom magnifies
distant images and allows those images to fill the frame. Most point-and-shoot
digital cameras are fitted with modest 3X optical zoom. A small percentage,
however, are fitted with large optical zoom lenses up to 10X magnification. You
should ignore digital zoom claims when choosing a digital camera to buy. Digital
zoom is inferior to optical zoom and often results in murkey, undesirable
pictures.
Batteries are often overlooked, but are an important concern in digital
photography. Some cameras use household disposable or rechargeable double-A
batteries which are available anywhere batteries are sold. Some cameras utilize
specially designed batteries which can be expensive to replace and difficult to
obtain as the camera ages.
Digital cameras vary in shape, size and features, but all function and
process images in much the same manner. Before deciding on a camera to buy, you
should read product reviews and visit camera retailers. You should talk with
camera store workers and operate demonstration models to determine the digital
camera that best fits your needs and budget.
Announcer
To learn more,
contact your county Extension agent, and follow the links in this section.
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