An Introduction

  This guide was created for the first-time digital camera user to explain the basic aspects of digital cameras and digital photography.  If you have an intermediate knowledge of digital cameras and photography you may also read this guide as a "refresher" course.  This guide is written by Lisa Lam, owner of Lam Quality Photo.  Visit Lam Quality Photo on our About Me page.  Thank you and we hope you enjoy this informative guide.

Mega What?!

  Choosing the right digital camera for the job can be a daunting task but if you first make a list on what properties you are looking for in a digital camera you will find that it is not as difficult as you originally thought.  In this guide I will explain the different properties of digital cameras so you can have the knowledge available when visiting your local store.

  So, you have heard from a friend that they have a five mega pixel camera and it gives them some great pictures and your co-worker who is an photo hobbyist uses an eight mega pixel camera to capture wildlife.  So what exactly is mega pixels and what does it have to do with digital cameras?  When you take a picture with a digital camera the image is broken down into millions of little light and dark colored squares these little squares are called "pixels".  These pixels are so small that only one can never make a picture but when placed together like a jigsaw puzzle your image will appear.  So for example your friend with the five mega pixel camera has a photo made up of five million pixels aka mega pixels.  And your co-worker now has a photo of eight million pixels and so forth.  But, what of image quality?  If you as a consumer are only looking for a digital camera just for e-mailing photos to family or friends and developing at most four inch prints aka 4x6 then the five mega pixel camera is a decent camera for that use.  But, if your really into developing crisp and occasionally large photos like 8x10's and so forth I would suggest the eight mega pixel camera.  To sum it all up the higher the mega pixel the sharper the quality of photo.  But, beware the higher the mega pixel camera you have the less room you have to hold these on your memory card and in your computer.

Zoom!!

  OK, so you've decided to buy a x mega pixel camera and your at the store and the salesperson then says, "So what type of zoom would you like?" You now stand dumb-founded and confused what does he/she mean by what kind of zoom??  I thought that there was only one kind of zoom but if you thought this you'd be incorrect.  In digital cameras there are two types of zoom and they are called Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom.  Optical zoom is dependant on the lens itself.  Most small portable cameras that are popular with the teen set have an optical zoom of 3x which means that it can zoom three times the normal camera viewing range.  But, larger more professional single lens reflex (SLR) cameras have longer zooms of 12x optical or more.  If your looking for portability then your stuck with limited range and if your looking for range then your stuck with a hefty camera......or are you?  That is where digital zoom comes in.  Digital zoom will use the cameras own image processor to "enlarge" the viewing area but unfortunately the further you go using digital zoom the poorer the image quality.  So, the best bet in purchasing a digital camera is this......

To Sum It Up

  Purchase a digital camera with a decent amount of mega pixels.  Some digital cameras today of six mega pixels are very affordable just browse the web for a decent six mega pixel with the following features.  Zoom of around five optical and fifteen digital which will give you a decent sized camera that's not overly large but not as small as a credit card and perhaps some free items like a memory card so you can store your images for future processing. 

  I hope this guide was of some use to you and I look forward to any input on this guide.  You may visit my About Me page to learn more about Lam Quality Photo.

  Thank you for reading this guide!