[PCWorld]

Post your comments for How to Buy a Digital Camera here

[yyseco]

It's a great article but it seems wanting as regards to the importance of having a larger lens. It's true that people associate quality with higher megapixel count, but lenses are far more important if one wants great photos. People should really avoid cameras with tiny lenses irrespective of megapixel count. Tiny lenses are built only for convenience. If one wants a decent point and shoot camera, they should pay a premium for larger lenses rather than higher megapixel count. The main function of a lens is to "capture light" and small lenses are inferior to larger lenses in this aspect. Go for lens size rather than megapixel count. My 3 megapixel camera with a 20mm lens takes far better photos than my sister's new 5 megapixel camera with a 5mm lens. ANd of course, they cant compare to the photos using my digital SLR.

[NormrBrooks]

I love my digital camera but miss out on the depth of field capabilities I used to have with my 35 MM Camera. I don't see any reviews about the fstop capabilities on digital cameras. Pretty soon we will be seeing how many songs I can store on my digital camera and games we can play on the display screen rather than reviews of what the camera is for. Much like what we are seeing on cell phones. I want to know how well the item works for what it is intended. All this other stuff is just baggage.

[Stickman]

Why do these articles about buying digital cameras always miss one VERY IMPORTANT point? I bought a $1900 Canon SLR but the shutter noise scared away the deer I was shooting with it. I had to take the camera back and get a Panny DMC-FZ20 which makes NO SHUTTER NOISE.

[yrrallezr2]

Well written and informative. Will definitely help in my next purchase to upgrade my current 3 mega pixel dinosaur.

[kareno]

I agree, lenses are underplayed in the camera market! People are so concerned with size, they don't realize that they're actually losing out on a better lens by going super small.Also, as far as zoom goes, yeah, you can get a 15x optical zoom, but it's going to be bulky. The best I've seen on pocket sized camera is 7x optical, and most have about 3x. Don't go shopping expecting to find a tiny camera with a lots of optical zoom, it's not going to happen.AA batteries are going to crap out on you. People don't realize how fast they deplete, rechargeable or not. If you are going to buy a camera that takes AA batteries, be prepared to buy the disposable lithium batteries ($20 for 8), if you don't want to change your batteries every 30 minutes. Otherwise, go with the rechargeable proprietary batteries, they last exponentially longer.SLRs are the only way you can manipulate depth of field. Depending on what 35mm camera you had, you might be able to use the old lenses on a digital SLR.

[anyer]

plain and detailed, any newbie should read it

[blackcross]

Sorry Karano, you are promoting more FUD. Camera power draw and battery capacity (mAh) are the only ways to determine battery life. I had a Nikon which drained the proprietary batteries much faster than the Canon with AAs that i switched to. Look to see if the IS and AF can be turned off until the shutter button is partially depressed: that will save huge battery power, likewise, turn off the screen and use the viewfinder: better stability, batter battery life and you don't look like a dork (IMO) holding the camera 2 feet away from your face.
plus try finding yourself in the jungle with used-up batteries: most local jungle shops will sell AAs but not your $60 expensive proprietary batteries.
A quick search found AA NiMH (recharchable) at 2300 mAh and Nikon Lithium and 1500 mAh. So research the power draw and your power sources: Everyone is entitled to an INFORMED opinion, not an opinion.

[freyeng]

How come no mention about shutter lag? I read the whole article looking for this to be an important consideration. I have an older camera and the shutter lag is awful and this has prompted me to start looking for some advice towards purchasing another camera with this being the major issue.

[mcbarker]

The shutter lag time on most newer digital cameras is so short that it is no longer considered worth mentioning. You might still be able to find some extremely cheap cameras on which it is still an issue.


One thing about magapixels that doesn't seem to be mentioned in the article... Yes, more megapixels, in theory, mean higher resolution, but there's no mention of sensor size. Too many megapixels on the smallest APS sensors (which describes most small pocket sized point and shoot units) will cause more noise on the images, even at low ASA (ISO) levels of 100 to 200. For relatively noiseless images at those ASA (ISO) levels, you have to look for a camera with a larger sensor, which generally means buying a bigger camera. That's one of the advantages of digital SLR units.

[Tech4me]

[~157951] . This should give you much more details for the latest D/cams.

read this...: www.dpreview.com/reviews/ Have fun.

[mjd420nova]

I have read so many articles on buying a digital camera and read close to a hundred reviews of the latest and greatest that I'm ready for it but not ready to pay the price. To get the abilities of the 35 mm SLR I presently own, I need to fork out over $600. I have also found that I cannot get a large 500 mm lens for any of the units for anything under $1,000. As some have pointed out, none of the units have the depth of field that a large lens with a low aperature setting can achieve. I've tried to use a lot of digital units for my favorite events and fond all to be lacking in fast action response to get the best shots. I am an avid motor sports enthusiast and find that any SLR with a 135mm fixed telephoto with a one thousandth of a second shutter speed will capture those shots that a digital can never get. Even the cheapest SLR with only a 4.5 aperature setting will yield a depth of field that can never be matched on all but the very expensive digitals can capture. Until they stop making 35 mm film, I'm not about to set my stuff aside in favor of an inferior camera.

[mcbarker]

Aperture is a feature of the lens, and is controlled from it, and not the camera. Lens cost is partially based on how "fast" it can take a shot. An example of a "fast" lens would be one which can open up to an aperture of f/2.8 (professional grade lens... smaller number means wider aperture), and is priced accordingly. A lens with the same focal length, but having a smaller maximum aperture... say f/5.6, will be much much cheaper, but you won't be able to use faster speeds (1/1000 sec) in lower light or heavily overcast days.
500mm lenses are not cheap, and never have been, unless you're talking about 500mm mirror lenses, which display all out-of-focus objects as little donuts or hexagons. With lenses, you generally get what you pay for. An image from a professional grade lens, say a Nikkor f/2.8 80-200mm Zoom costing around $1600 will produce noticeably sharper clearer images than a Vivitar f/5.6 70-200mm lens costing around $250.



Digital SLRs are no more expensive than their film counterparts any more. One advantage on most cheaper and mid priced units is the 1.5X magnification factor caused by the sensor size. A 400mm lens which isn't designed specifically for a digital camera, will become a 600mm lens on such a camera. It took me a long time to make the jump from film to digital, but honestly, I'd never go back to film now. The technology enables image resolution to be as good, and sometimes better than that of film... and there's always the fact that you can see your results instantly. No more disappointments when you pick up your prints or slides.

[shiprock520]

The review for the Sony a700 is not quite right about the availability of lens as most Minolta and quite a few Tamron as well as Sony lens fit this camera.

[hmelnick]

A friend recently asked me for suggestions on purchasing a megazoom camera for an African safari. The "how to buy" article here, and the August issue on megazoom cameras, lack information on two important characteristics for wildlife and sports photography: Boot-up (first picture) time, and shutter lag (next shot time). Also important and lacking, since he'll often be shooting in low light (dawn and dusk), is ISO range, and highest ISO range with good picture quality. Finally, why does PCW use "superior" in its ratings? Superior to what? Is "superior" better than "very good"? If it is, why not say "excellent"? Everyone recognizes a range of "poor, fair, good, very good, excellent"; where does "superior" fall in this range?

[mcbarker]

"Shutter lag" is the time between pressing the shutter button, and the time when the image is actually recorded in camera. As I mentioned earlier, it's not really an issue on most modern digital cameras. The "next shot time" you mentioned comes under the classification of "FPS" (frames per second).

Your friend isn't going to have a lot of luck shooting long range pictures using a digital P&S (Point and Shoot) camera in low light. Most P&S units start to show noticeable noise in images at an ISO of around 400. This is a difficult situation even for digital and non digital SLRs with fast telephoto lenses. Unfortunately, even with image stabilization technology, shooting such images often produces disappointing results because of motion blur. That's why professional sports and wildlife photographers spend many thousands of dollars on their equipment, and almost always use a tripod to get sharp images when the situation allows it.

By the way... For anyone going on a safari... Make sure that you know how to use all of the features on your camera that you'll need, without having to look at the manual. Animals won't hang around while you look up "Changing the ISO", or "White Balance adjustment". Don't buy a camera a week or two before going on such a trip, and hope that you can learn how to use it in time... You will probably be somewhat disappointed with the resulting photos if you do.

[dvongrad]

From the article: "...keep in mind that digital SLRs don't shoot video." Hmmmmm, perhaps this should be updated or you need to do more research. Can you say "Nikon D90" or "Canon 5D Mark II"?

[Stubbs]

Great article, well written and very useful, I like PENTAX and CANON products.