|
|
Demystifying Digital Camera Jargon
Want to buy a digital camera but confused by the sales jargon? Talk of pixels, LCDs and ELVs, digital zoom verses optical zoom driving you crazy? Then stress no more, here are all the basic terms and their meanings in simple, easily understood terms.
Mega pixels:
Pixels are just the tiny dots that make up a digital picture. Each mega pixel is a million pixels so the more mega pixels a camera has the more dots will make up your picture. The more mega pixels or dots your picture has, the better quality it will be. Digital cameras can be bought with one to six mega pixels. The higher mega pixel your camera is the larger size photo you can take and the more you can enlarge and print photos without sacrificing picture quality.
LCD
LCD means Liquid Crystal Display or in simple terms, it is the display screen used in digital cameras. These screens vary in size depending on the camera. It allows you to preview what you are photographing by giving you a 'through-the-lens-view'. It can also be used to preview photos, delete unwanted photos and some will allow you to magnify your photos to look at details.
Optical Viewfinder
This is simply the viewfinder you look through to take your photos (if you aren't using the LCD screen) as you would with any camera. They will show the full area of what you are photographing but the only drawback is they won't show you if the picture is in focus. Many cameras have an ELV ?Electronic View Finder, instead of an Optical Viewfinder, which shows the same view as on your LCD screen but has the advantage of screening out the sun. You can also see your camera settings and functions in the ELV just as you would on the LCD.
Digital and Optical Zoom
Digital zoom allows you to enlarge the size of a photo by doubling the size of the pixels. The problem with this is that as the pixels are made larger they become fuzzier thus leading to a decrease in photo quality. An optical zoom however actually magnifies the subject of the photo so retains the quality.
Memory Cards/Sticks
Memory cards/sticks are just the storage device for digital cameras. Most cameras have a small amount of built in memory but if you want to be able to store a reasonable number of photos you will need to purchase some extra memory. Memory comes in a range of sizes (measured in megabytes or gigabytes) and the more memory you want, the higher the cost. Ensure the memory you buy is compatible with your camera.
Obviously there is a lot more to know about digital cameras but understanding these basic terms will go a long way toward helping you find the digital camera that is right for you without being lost in the digital dialogue spouted by salespeople.
Raelene Hall is lives in Outback Western Australia. She has written non-fiction articles for magazines, newspapers and the Net on a variety of topics, including education, Outback life, communications, nature, spirituality, families, technology, and the environment.Raelene is a regular columnist for a regional newspaper. Contact Raelene at nedscreekstn@bigpond.com or check out her website at http://www.outbackwriter.com
![]() Wired News | In Digital Age, Sourcing Images Is as Legitimate as Making Them Wired News Photo: Paul Shambroom For decades, photographer Paul Shambroom has trained his lens on the infrastructure of America, from nuclear weapons storage facilities to manufacturing plants; local council meetings to emergency response teams. |
The 5 Best New Apps This Week Mashable Everpix automatically stores and organizes all of your photos in one spot. As of Wednesday, it has an iPhone app that will automatically add your mobile photos to the same spot. In addition, the app gives you access to all of your photos on the go. |
I feel a need to document my life in photographs Hattiesburg American I got my first camera, an Instamatic, when I was a child and I was proud of the grainy and blurred photos I took with it. In high school my father gave me a more sophisticated 35mm, and that is when my love of the art truly began. |
Workshops focus on digital photography Daily Mail - Charleston by From staff reports Charleston photographer Thorney Lieberman has scheduled two digital photo workshops at his East End studio. "Intro to Photoshop and Lightroom" takes place 6:30 to 8:30 pm for three Thursdays beginning Feb. 9. |
![]() evertiq.com | Kodak fell behind evertiq.com Kodak pioneered the research and development of digital photography in the seventies, but the company let Japanese companies go ahead with its introduction into mass markets. A mistake as it turns out. Kodak could not catch up. |
Understanding Photography Manipulation and Its Ethical Applications GroundReport Whether you obtained it from the web, purchased from a photographer, or clicked it you every image has some digital drawback in it that need to be manually removed by using the means of photography manipulation. It may include a wide range of things ... |
Nikon's imminent D800 could offer high-sharpness option CNET ... PST Follow @stshank It looks like Nikon's highly anticipated D800, a large-sensor SLR that supplants the three-year-old D700, will cater to photographers who want to leave behind that mixed blessing of digital photography, the antialiasing filter. |
Organizing Photos, Fixing Dark Prints, Solving File Format Problems, and More PCWorld (blog) I have a question about organizing my photos. Many times I have started to organize them, and while I have some already organized, inevitably things get messed up. I have original photos, copies, resized copies intended for a digital photo frame, ... |
Few negatives seen in digital photo boom Timaru Herald I converted to digital four years ago and I appreciate the convenience and value for money that is associated with digital photography." She said the digital age was definitely here to stay especially with the increase in sharing photos with family and ... |
![]() New Straits Times | Convenience won over analog New Straits Times Today, only a speck of that era lingers on as the more flexible and convenient digital technology engulfs the photo industry, writes Chandra Devi Renganayar Jamaludin Ahmad swears by his trusty old Yashica and Agfa analog film cameras which have served ... |
| Photography site map Photography Information New Homes Photos Ridgefield Washington Photos - Phuket Thailand |