Digital Camera

This article presents the reader with some digital camera basics for beginners.

A digital camera can be used the same way as a film camera. Instead of the camera shutter opening to expose light onto the film to create an image, it exposes light to a sensor inside to capture the image on a memory card. Fill up the memory card and transfer the images to a computer to process them however you want.

If you are shopping for a digital camera, you’ll be presented with a choice of “auto” or “fixed” focus. The better digital cameras have auto focus that sends out an invisible beam that is aimed at the subject being photographed. Press the shutter button halfway down, allowing this to happen, then, finish pressing the button to take your photo.

Most of the less expensive digital cameras will often have a “fixed focus” lens. This camera feature doesn’t focus on the subject, because the lens is preset; the focal length from 2 to 3 feet to infinity. The photo taking process is much quicker with a fixed focus digital camera, however, your digital photograph will not be as sharp.

Keep in mind the flash option on digital cameras. Most good digital cameras have a flash, but some inexpensive models do not. If you don’t have flash, your indoor photographs are nearly impossible.

Do you know about “mega pixels”? Mega pixels refers to the maximum number of pixels making up the largest photo size for that particular camera. The more mega pixels you have, the better your printed photos will look when printing them out in larger sizes.

Most all digital cameras today have what are called “removable memory cards”. A memory card can be referred to as the “film” of a digital camera. The size and shape of the memory card depends on the make or model of the digital camera. The cards come in different memory capacities. The larger the memory card is in “mega bytes”, the more photos it will be able to store. You can load up the memory card, or not, and empty (or download) the photos into your computer. You will then have the option to erase the same memory card and start over.

Pixels…are what an image is made of. You will hear this word a lot. Also “resolution”, which is basically the size of the photo in pixels. Don’t be confused. The higher the resolution, the larger the physical size of the photograph in pixels, and the more space (file size) it will take up. Its just easier to remember that the more pixels, the better the resolution.

These are only a few things to be aware of when shopping for your first digital camera. If you have read this article down to here, then you are probably doing your recommended research. Consider also, shopping at a reputable digital camera dealer. Keep in mind what you are mostly going to use your digital camera for. It will help you decide on how much you want to spend.

Tom Watson has authored another article on digital photography. You can visit his Digital Photography website at http://www.topamarketing.com He is also the owner of Black Iron Junction, and you can visit his website at http://www.blackironjunction.com

Written by: Tom Watson

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