|
|
Whether you
are in the market for your first digital camera, or you're shopping for
someone else, here are a few pointers to keep in mind.
HOW DO YOU INTEND TO USE THE PICTURES?
If you expect to frequently print your digital photographs, choosing a
camera with resolution up to the task is crucial. For instance, if you
want to make 11 x 14 inch size prints from time to time, a 1.3 megapixel
camera will not meet your needs. The conservative rule for print output
is 200 pixels per inch of output. So, if you want 8 x 10s and larger,
you will need 1600 x 2000 pixel resolution (the closest resolution to
this is a 3.34 megapixel camera, or 2048 x 1536 pixels). Think of a digital
image as a mosaic of little colored squares. The greater the number of
colored squares that comprise the image, the less apparent any of the
individual squares are, and the larger the image is printed or viewed,
the more apparent they become.
If your primary use for the camera will be on-screen graphics and expect
to make only small prints, a 1 megapixel camera is adequate for this type
of use. High camera resolution is not critical e-mail, web design, or
for graphics projects like business cards, greeting cards, or photo letters.
A 2 megapixel camera will be fine for these same uses and will produce
nice 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 photos.
COMPUTER TYPE.
What type of computer and/ or operating system do you have? Older computers
may not have the operating system, memory capacity or USB port to support
a digital camera. A good cutoff line for determining ability of a PC to handle
digital images is a Pentium processor with at least 16 megabytes of RAM. Computers
with a pre-Pentium processor or less RAM than that will be badly bogged down,
possibly to the point of crashing with digital images, especially intermediate
to high-resolution digital images. Check the system requirements for the digital
camera you're considering if your computer is more than 2-3 years old to make
sure it will be compatible. |
