Hi There, I've had a couple of my friends asking me help on picking up new digi-cams.  Most of us are ignorant of many features and aspects that we should be looking for about a digicam usualy just being swayed by flashy ads and sexy models (both the camera and the human ones )  So, I thought i will put my views here on iland. In this post I will discuss three features that, in my view, are most important to know before you pick your model. The zoom, the battery and the MegaPixel..

Zooooooom!!!                  You may have seen digital cameras being advertised as having 12x zoom or even 300x zoom (usually found in handycams). Whenever you are buying a digital camera, never be fooled by the phenomenal zoom levels in the advertisements or told by the salesman. Read the fine line. Does it say ‘Digital Zoom’. If it does, don’t even listen to it. Digital Zoom is just going deeper into a photograph and will always lead to pixellations. The effect of Digital Zoom is same as zooming in a picture in your pc. What you should be concerned about is the Optical Zoom. Optical Zoom is dependent on actual lenses in a camera and it will give you the true magnification.   Total zoom of a camera is given by multiplying optical and digital zoom levels. Eg if a camera has 3x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom, the camera would invariably be advertised as having 3 x 4 = 12x zoom.

Deciding Factor                  Do you want to shoot wildlife, the moon?? You would need a mega-zoom ie at least 10x to 12x Zoom. Usual day to day photography is well handeled by a 3x zoom which is available on most consumer digicams. And remember, I have only spoken about optical zoom!

The Mega Maze of Mega Pixels.                How many of you are swayed by those 5 MP,7 MP and the likes? Now here.. whats more important is the size of the sensor rather than number of pixels.   Usual size is 1/2.7 inches. Yes you read it right. 1/2.7 inches – measured diagonally. That’s smaller than half the size of the nail on your little finger. About 5 MP is kind of optimum pixels that is placed on this chip. Manufacturers have placed upto about 8 MP on the same chip. How do they pack so many pixels on the same size chip? They interpolate. Interpolation can increase the resolution to interpolate and use a 5 MP chip to produce a 10 MP image. The quality will be not be as good as if the picture was taken with a true 10 MP chip.

Deciding Factor.                 OK .. if all that was Greek and Latin, here it is in simple language:

Lets say if you have two cameras of which you will pick one. One of the concerning factors happens to be pixel count. Paying a thousand bucks extra for extra 1 MP on same sensor size does not appeal to me. But if the difference is under 500/-, its not bad either. Idea is not to go blindly on MP count and compromise on other vital features.

Batteries.             These are by far the last thing that people check while buying a digicam. Hardly one month of good use, and they start realizing this one part they should have taken care of. In this age of slick and thin models of cameras, batteries also need to be scaled down in size. That obviously means compromise on battery life as well. Usually, these small cameras also suffer from another limitation when it comes to battery –  if you have a Sony, you cant use a Canon battery in it and vice-versa. Whats worse? These proprietary batteries are costly enough to prevent you from keeping one spare. Whats even worse?? Such cameras would generally boast of a 2.5 or even 3 inch LCD screen. Now this guy is a real power hogger and eats up the battery in no time. So if you are that outdoor enthusiast who cant stay home on Sundays and wants to bring back pictures as well.. You know what are you heading for. 

Deciding factor.                    If you are going to use the camera extensively, especially outdoors, look for a camera that uses regular AA size batteries. These let you use rechargeable batteries and even if they run out, you can buy a pair (or two) at almost any place without burning a hole in your pocket. If you are gonna be just a casual user at home, that slick ‘n’ sexy miniature digicam pretty good.

I will continue this series as and when I get time. And hope someone will benifit from my posts.  If there are any questions, clarifications or suggestions, please feel free to put them as comments.