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Community Newsletter: Q&A: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo
- 4/6/06 4:13 PM
Great Advice with one cavaet...
by ptctom - 4/7/06 8:25 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Lee,
Aric W, gave you great advice concerning your search for a digital camera. I would like to add a few items.
When looking for megapixels, what Aric said is mostly true. However, an 8x12 is 96 square inches which is four times the size of a 4x6 24 square inches, and an 8x10 is 3 and a third the size of a 4x6, therefore a 4 megapixel
image inan 8x12 would have the same resolution as a 1 megapixel 4x6, all other things being equal.
Also, what Aric W. mentioned about carrying your equipment around is so very true. If you opt for a DSLR with a zoom lens which gives you excellent images, but do not carry it around, because of the size, apoint and shoot which is easily carried will give you good images and a good images is inferior to an excellent image, bu a good image clearly beats no image at all.
One final note, if you coose an all in one, not only is optical zoom size important, but perspective is important also. There are a number of cameras which now give good wide angle perspective, 24mm or so and those which have better telephoto 200+ perspective. First decide if wide angle or tele is more important to you.
Good luck and happy hunting,
Tom
Mistake
by ivan.icin - 4/7/06 9:05 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
2MP is twice as 1MP, and it can't print with the same quality image with both dimensions doubled, as it is for times as big.
Don't forget about physical CCD size
by dilbert_wannabe - 4/7/06 9:20 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Reading through several of the responses, I didn't see anyone bring up the issue of the physical size of the CCD chip as something to keep in mind. If you compare many of the 5MP and 8MP CCDs that are on the market today in non-SLR digital cameras, you'll find that the chips themselves are the same size. The good news (from the manufacturer's point of view) is that the same optical system / lens can be used because the imaging area is the same. The down size is that the individual pixels are now physically smaller. This can result in higher noise as well as less dynamic range for the higher megapixel arrays.
Another thing to point out is to compare the physical CCD size of a typical digital camera compared to that of a digital SLR. You'll find the SLR chip size will be much larger (although typically still smaller than the active size for 35mm film). So, even if the megapixel count is the same between the two, the SLR should have better dynamic range and less noise (based on chip size, excluding other potentially siginicant factors).
One last note... cameras with smaller imaging areas (CCD or film) require less complex optical systems to maintain the same level of abberations in the image. This is because abberations (chromatic or otherwise) typically get worse the farther you move "off-axis" from the focal point of the system. In simple terms, the corners of the image experience more distortion than the center of the image, so it makes sense that if the corners are farther away from the center, they will see more distortion unless properly corrected with the optical system.
Great report Aric!
by ridgehardball19 - 4/7/06 9:44 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I'm pretty familiar with digicams and even moreso with Film SLR's; but picked up some very useful information from your report. Thanks.
Ross T.
Error in Aric W's response
by BLaVeau - 4/7/06 9:49 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Aric, a good response except for error in your third paragraph. You state "increase size of image proportionally to the resolution of the camera...", and then give examples of linear size increases vs # of pixels. The proportionality is with the AREA of the produced image vs # of pixels. Thus going from 4x6 to a 8x12 print requires FOUR times the # of pixels, not double as you state.
Did like your emphasis on the preference & quality of optical vs. digital zoom (imagine a lot of people go "Wow!" when they see a 10-15x digital zoom spec...), and also the value of good optics with larger lenses (can only capture so many photons per area no matter how good the sensor is).
Bruce L
dSLR aren't the only ones with interchangable lenses.
by flipper35 - 4/7/06 9:53 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The Canon A series (610, 620, etc) have interchangable lenses for less than the cost of a dSLR. Canon and Nikon also have better optics and CCDs than other cameras when comparing similar models. www.anandtech.com has some reference pictures from different models to show you the differences also.
The lenses for the Canon are about $100 each.
I was just as lost, too
by lorrwill - 4/7/06 10:08 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My first camera was an utter piece of crap purchased strictly based on price. When I could no longer stand it, I went to How Stuff Works (http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/digital-camera.htm) and read that very technical explanation of how digital cameras work and why some are so much better than others. Then armed with that knowledge, I read a lot user reviews on various sites for cameras in my price range. Steve’s Digicams (http://www.steves-digicams.com/) was extremely helpful.
I actually have purchased 2 cameras since then, an inexpensive 2MP (to give you an idea how long ago this was - now cameras that small are pretty much only in cell phones!) that I carry everywhere (fits in your pocket) and a better 6MP one that I call my real camera. It is a bit cumbersome, looks like an SLR (but alas, is not a digital SLR – I do dream of such a prize, however) and I guard it judiciously when I take it out of my flat.
(NT) Lorrwill, what 6 meg. camera did you buy?
by wolfcreek - 4/7/06 11:17 AM In reply to: I was just as lost, too by lorrwillCorrection to effect of more pixels
by hleusch - 4/7/06 10:35 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Most people make the mistake to linearly extrapolate the number of pixels. In the case of a 4 x 6 picture with 1 Megapixle, you get the same resolution with more megapixles when you multiply each side with the square root of the megapixle ratio. In the example you get the same resolution with 2 Megapixels for a 5.65 x 8.48 or with 3 Megapixels for a 6.9 x 10.4. In contrast, a zoom number refers to the enlargement of the linear dimensions. A camera with an optical 10x zoom allows you take a picture of an object with a resolution which would require 100x more pixels if you would obtain the same area by cropping. With a high zoom you really need a very steady hand or a tripod.
Another thought
by jkeenan - 4/7/06 11:12 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I thought that Aric's message was well thought out. I would only add that when thinking about the camera's size and weight, smaller is not always more convienient! I have found that as I got older I needed a heavier camera in order to keep it still and focused.
Ron
I sell digicams at my local Best Buy
by l0gar - 4/7/06 12:27 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Love us or hate us, most of us do know our stuff.
First, the resolution recommendation is way off in this article. Its simple math, an 8x12 (96 sqr in) has four times -- not two times -- as much area as a 4x6 (24 sqr in) and requires an equivalent increase in pixels.
That mistake aside, most of the rest of the recommendations are solid. Decide a price first; its the only decent way to narrow the field. Then look toward your use and which slight differences between brands fit what you want better.
One thing too, and I'm trying to stop doing this myself, don't fall in love with one brand. Yes, Sony, Canon, and to a certain extent Kodak will always make good digital cameras. However, as technology changes, so does each brands position in the market. Right now, for example, I usually show people the new Olympus Stylus cameras if they want ease of use. Olympus has created the best interface I've seen yet for teaching new photographers how to use their cameras (I'm thinking specifically of their "Guide" shooting mode).
Cool?
Congratulations
by ElysianForce - 4/7/06 1:03 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Just wanted to say that I was very impressed with your answer.
You have deciphered the mumbo jumbo for those of us who are still just a little unsure about some features, just as well as you have helped the beginner.
I was particularly impressed with your analogy using the pin board.
Many many thanks for your help from all of us.
Gary
Real world camera test
by jrprip - 4/7/06 1:10 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Just FYI-Best Buy charges a 15 percent restocking fee of 15% on any open camera-even if you just want to exchange.
5-6MP and 12x Optical Zoom
by mmatorin - 4/7/06 1:24 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
That's probably all you need, unless you plan to blow the pictures up to huge dimensions on a regular basis. 3MP is sufficient for excellent 8x10's and very good larger pics. 5-6 is sufficient for most people. A friend has an 8MP digital SLR, but he has it dialed all the way down to 4MP because the file sizes are huge at 8MP (requiring large amounts of storage space and reducing the number of pics that will fit on a memory card), and there is no noticeable quality difference. Optical zoom is what you should be focusing on. There are a number of relatively new "megazoom" cameras out that get excellent reviews. I have the Sony DSC-H1, which has 5MP and a 12x optical zoom, and it has been excellent. You can buy that for less than $400; they have an H2 coming out soon that will have 6MP. Panasonic has three excellent 12x optical zoom cameras out now. Kodak has a 10x optical zoom. All can do burst photography for at least a few frames. All are very fast. Research them at dpreview.com, steves-digicams.com, and http://www.digitaladvisor.com/digital-cameras/.
Don't worry about memory format or price. You'll buy one or two cards and it just won't matter which format they are.
There are good reasons to get a DSLR if you are a serious photographer, but the megazoom cameras are capable of much more than most people will ever use, are much less expensive and bulky, don't require extra lenses, and are much easier to use. Plus, the megazoom cameras all have image stabilization, which is critical to getting clear pictures at high zooms, because camera shake is more pronounced then (i.e., you can't hold it still enough). Unless you want to lug a tripod around, you won't be able to get clear high zoom pics without it. The DSLRs do not - as far as I know - have image stabilization.
Bottom line: Optical zoom is far more important than MP once you get to 5-6MP.
Re: "a digital zoom in essence just enlarges the picture."
by rwwww - 4/7/06 3:04 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Not my understanding; I think "digital zoom" crops a picture. "Digital zoom" is misleading marketing (there are harsher descriptions); digital zoom is no more "zoom" than fresh frozen chicken is "fresh".
dick w
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