Community Newsletter: Q&A: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo
- 4/6/06 4:13 PM
purchasing of camera
by kat6228 - 4/7/06 3:25 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
the message was very useful and informative and I just want to knnow which brand is good and for personal use is it enough 1.5 megapixals and normal zoom? I want to buy a new one and my budget is about Rs.20000/-Indian rupees and I am living in India.
Megapixels
by jorgefox - 4/7/06 3:29 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I guess it was a moment's aberration, but the following paragraph is seriously misleading:
"There are standards when it comes to resolution and picture size. The specifics could be argued, but a basic rule of thumb is a 1MP camera can print a 4x6 or 5x7 picture at 100% with a decent quality. Of course, as technology gets better, our idea of "decent quality" increases, so these days, you may actually notice lower quality in a 1MP and some say you need 2MP at least for this size. In any event, just increase the size of the print proportionally to the resolution of the camera. If 1MP will print 4x6 ok, then a 2MP should print 8x12 (8x10 in photo world) ok. A 3MP could print 12x18 ok and so on..."
This could hardly be more wrong or more misleading. If 1MP prints 4x6 OK, an 8x12 will cover FOUR times the area (twice as large in EACH direction) and will therefore need FOUR times (2x2=4) the number of megapixels - that is 4MP. Similarly, a 12x18 is THREE times as large as a 4x6 in each direction, so covers NINE times (3x3) the area and will need 9MP. That's why professionals use SLR digital cameras with at least 9MP, and why a 3MP picture enlarged to 12x18 (or even 8x12) looks grainy.
It's a shame that this fundamental error lets down the rest of the reply, but it's vital to understand this relationship if you're camera-shopping.
megapixel X quality
by erley - 4/7/06 5:26 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I disagree totally with the answer. The quality of a 1 megapixel picture is exactly the same of a 7 megapixel, the only difference is its size, the one megapixel is much smaller. So, if you try to print this tiny picture in an A4 paper, it will expand and the print quality will get poorer. This won't happen with the 7 megapixel. This is so true that you can take a picture with a 1 megapixel definition and when it's still in the memory, you can expand it to 7 megapixel, the same picture. So both are exactly the same quality and the same picture only the size varies
From a Digital Photography teacher
by genius55 - 4/7/06 5:50 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Kudos to Aric W. for a great guide to deciphering the techno-details of digital cameras. If I may I'd like to add a few practical insights.
First of all, I agree with Aric regarding optical zoom over digital zoom. In my opinion, digital zoom is a useless feature as the image degradation just isn't worth it. I would advise a camera with at least a 10x optical zoom. It is a great advantage when trying to get a shot where it is impossible to get closer, such as a zoo or live performance of some sort.
However using digital cameras at extreme zoom settings can be a disappointment if you are not aware of two factors: First, almost all digital cameras weigh next to nothing when compared to the old film cameras. While the weight makes them ever so convenient to carry it also makes them very susceptible to camera shake when taking a photo. Next, the LCD viewfinders on the back of your digital camera is great for viewing photos you've taken but I don't recommend using it to frame your subject when taking a photo. Why? Imagine trying to hold a rifle steady and on target while holding it at arms length extended away from your body. The movement of the rifle held this way would surely result in your missing a target. The same holds true for a very light digital camera except that the camera shake results in a dramatic loss of sharpness. Cameras with image stabilization systems help, but holding your camera to your eye with your arms tucked into your body while composing through the viewfinder will result in a sharper picture. Many of my high school students have learned this the hard way, probably because they imitate what they see adults doing. In addition, the LCD screen is sometimes difficult to see when using the camera in bright sunlight.
Many newer digital cameras include bright electronic viewfinders that have a diopter adjustment to enable you to fine focus the viewfinder screen to your eyes, especially if you wear glasses.
Secondly, with the proliferation of image editing software, many of which are bundled with cameras, it is very easy for users to crop and adjust their photos. As Aric pointed out, excessive cropping results in negating all those megapixels you paid for. I teach my students to crop the image WHILE they are making the photograph - not after. Cropping should be used judiciously.
Finally, practice breath control and slowly squeeze the shutter release button. Many pictures are ruined because people jam the button quickly, which can shake a light weight camera.
I hope these practical tips will serve to give you the tyes of photos your friends will rave over.
fotoguru
Digital cameras
by MIRRASAM - 4/7/06 6:44 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The article is very informative and impressive.Congratulations.
Too Many Errors and Omissions Reduces Credibility
by pattonjb - 4/8/06 12:15 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The glaring error on megapixels versus quality of printed image is a fundamental mistake and has been hammered on enough. There were so many other over-simplications and ommissions that also reduced the author's credibility.
Lens size was not really discussed and seemed to be confused with optical. A larger lens collects more light and focuses it on the collector, resulting not only in a faster camera but better color and better pictures. My old Olympus C-2000 has a large lens and a 3x optical zoom and takes better quality images than my Canon A70 with the same 3x zoom but smaller lens.
The author appears to have little experience with film cameras and SLRs. Leica and others mades some excellent range finder film cameras over the past century.
The author talks about card speed but does not talk about actual card speeds. In my Canon S2, I have the SanDisk 512 Mb Sd card and the 512 Mb Ultra II SD. I have not been to get definitive numbers on the actual speed of these cards or other brands such as Kingston. The author never addressed image compression or the varied types of image files that can be selected. One of my gripes on the Canon S2 is that it only produces compressed images; no tiff or raw files.
The author ommitted my favorite source for reviews of digital cameras--dcresouce.com. They have the most comprehensive reviews I have found. Another good source is Circuit City's web site. CC's customer reviews are usually pretty good.
The author was right on when he said to try out a camera. Best Buy and Circuit City have 30 day, no questions asked polices. Read the reviews and keep trying cameras until you find one that suits you. Before you buy, determine what is important to you in a digital camera. Write it all down. During your thirty day trial, you can find out if the camera you are trying can accomplish what you want the way you want.
I am engineer by profession and have learned that you have to read the manual and take the time to learn the features of the camera. Skim the manual first, note the features, then go back and learn to use the features you like.
One last comment, the Canon S2's viewfinder is acutally an lcd screen that shows the image on the chip. This is a high end feature that took me a while to become proficient and comfortable with. You will find that if you read the manual and practice with your camera, your level of satisfaction will be much higher
re:pattonjb
by strimby - 4/8/06 7:56 AM In reply to: Too Many Errors and Omissions Reduces Credibility by pattonjbThe url given should be dcresouRce.com the 'r' was left off in the typing.
digital camera
by hrmays - 4/8/06 8:57 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
1. money 2. pixels 3. you don't need a PHD to use 4. lens that will accept filters 5. Bulb to 1/2000 at least 6. zoom within reason 7. money 8. If you can't try one don't buy it. 9. Shot bursts cost 10. A good usable digital camera will not be cheap.
Megapixels vs. print size
by uglyascyn - 4/9/06 8:20 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The article was great and very helpful. There was, however, one miscalculation that stood out to me and that might influence a persons choice of cameras. If 1 Megapixel is adequate for a 4x6 in. print (24 square inches), that equates to 1,000.000/ 24 or 41,667 pixels per square in. An 8x12 print is 96 sqare inches of area (4 times the area of a 4x6 in. print) so to get the same resolution, it would require 4 megapixels (not 2 mp).
Also, not enough emphasis is placed on lens quality. A high number of pixels doesn't do much good if the image received is no properly focused due to poor lens quality.
Mega-pixels question
by TJvanAarde - 4/9/06 1:35 PM In reply to: Megapixels vs. print size by uglyascynMy panasonic FZ1 I had was only 2MP however it took very clear photos even when resized to 100% in photoshop they looked good. However the pictures have a dpi of 72. My calculations work this out to be a very low 803 pixels a square cm. I then worked out how many pixels I'd need to take a picture of A1 size the answer is 4MP. Thats a lot less than any of the other calculations I've seen in this Thread. Also the FUJI S5100 also uses a dpi of 72 photo-shop says a 4MP picture is 80cm X 60cm.(This is approximately A1 poster size) Is there a difference then between how good it will look at 80cm X 60cm on a screen and when it is printed?
WHOOPS
by DoctorJerry - 4/9/06 5:52 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In the article a "there was a slight misstatement. "If 1MP will print 4x6 ok, then a 2MP should print 8x12 (8x10 in photo world) ok. A 3MP could print 12x18 ok and so on... " An 8x12 picture is 4x as large as a 4x6 picture and therefore requires 4MP to yield the same quality (MP per square inch of image) as a 1MP 4x6 picture. In my own experience, I find that 3MP will yield a "satisfactory" 8x12 shot but a lot of things have to fall into place.
In another section the author talks about cropping an owl that is 1" high so as to leave a 1" space but then comes up with some goofy measurements and comparisons.
IMHO your editor needs to reread the articles a little bit better.
This question was an ideal vehicle to discuss the relative comparisons between resolution and zoom. Questions such as is a 7MP camera with a 3x optical zoom better to get than a 5MP camera with 5x optical zoom? and then how to figure the math to make the comparison.
Digital Cameras
by dahinkel - 4/9/06 11:31 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would suggest the Nikon 8700.It's a little pricy,but it is worth every penny.It is an 8 megapixil camera,with 12 scene modes,between 8-12 optical zoom.The only thing I do not like about this camera is the amount of hard drive memory,e mailing a picture takes a while.Other than that you can get telephoto,and wide angle lenses with a screw in adaptor.We had one,Hurricane Katrina ruined it,but we bought the second one without looking at another brand.I hope this helps. D.A.Hinkel
What Do You Want to Photograph
by Donaldsc - 4/11/06 8:32 AM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have not checked all of the messages on this topic but so far I have found one very basic question missing - WHAT DO YOU WANT TO PHOTOGRAPH. We all can explain the technical answers to your questions and this has been done very well by those who have replied.
However, a good recommendation as to a specific camera or even type of camera depends upon what you want to use it for. I own 2 cameras - a Nikon D70 which is my good camera and a Canon S2 which is my daily carry camera. I bought the Canon because it has excellent macro features, a 12x optical zoom, and good image stabilization. It has a really lousy eye level viewfinder and a small screen at the back that is not really very bright. However, it fit what I was going to do with it.
Until you define your photographic needs, any advice that we can give you is based on our needs, not yours.
DON
More for your money
by B5Ranger - 5/3/06 6:06 PM In reply to: 4/7/06 Need help deciphering the digital camera mumbo jumbo by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Not trying to sound like an advertisement but the High res. 6 megapixles F-10 that is rated high on the review site talked about in the answer. They rate it as high as the Nikon 8 megapixel SLR with better asa 800. The Fuji F-10 is a small camera with optical zoom but the new F-11 coming out soon will really kick but with even more manual settings. My camera F-10 was charged on Feb. 5th and it is May 3rd and still on the same charge some 550 photos later and one Cruise Ship vacation later. Guess I will charge it in June.
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