Dec. 12, 2005
A digital camera makes a great holiday gift. Not only do you get
the joy of giving and receiving, but if it's opened right away,
the person who gets it can get some great holiday pictures. And,
of course, there's no need to run out and buy film.
Selecting a digital camera is getting both easier and harder.
It's easier because there are so many good choices but the
multitude of options can also make shopping a bit confusing.
The first two questions you should consider are how much you're
willing to spend and how the person might use the camera. If you
have less than $500 to spend, you're pretty much confined to a
"point and shoot" type camera.
Don't let that discourage you. Today's easy to use basic digital
cameras can take very good pictures. Besides, many people prefer
these compact and easy to use cameras over the larger and more
complex models because they value simplicity and size over the
level of control you get with the more sophisticated models.
If you are willing to spend the money and are buying a camera
for someone who's a serious photographer or someone who either
knows or wants to learn the ins and outs of a manually
controlled camera, you can now get a digital camera that rivals
yesteryear's single lens reflex cameras in picture quality, user
control and quality of lenses.
Of course, most cameras bought as gifts fit into the first
category. You can now find digital cameras for as little as $29
but if you're buying one for someone who plans to actually use
it on a regular basis, expect to pay at least $99 for a camera
with 3 megapixels or higher.
Click here to check out Larry Magid's audio report
on how to buy a digital camera.
Chances are, however, you'll spend $150 to $300 for a good
full-featured digital camera. Megapixels represents the number
of pixels, or dots, that the camera's sensor is capable of
recording. The more megapixels, the higher the resolution, which
in theory translates to better-looking pictures.
But don't get too hung up on the number. Unless you plan to
print images larger than 8 by 10 (which is rare considering the
size of most PC printers), then 4 megapixels is more than
adequate. Even three megapixels is fine unless you plan to do a
fair amount of cropping.
Many of today's digital cameras record five or more megapixels,
which does give you a bit more room to crop, or the option of a
larger print. But anything more than that, for most users, is
overkill.
The quality and type of lens is also important. If you stick
with a well-known brand like Canon, Kodak, Hewlett Packard,
Olympus, Fuji or Sony, the lens should be fine. Photo buffs
will, of course, prefer one over the other but as a general
rule, cameras from these makers have adequate to excellent
lenses.
Zoom is also an issue but pay no attention to digital zoom. Some
of the lower cost cameras (typically $149 or lower) have only a
digital zoom which means the camera has internal software that
blows up an image, giving the illusion that it has zoomed in.
The only zoom worth considering is an optical zoom where the
lens actually does zoom in on the subject.
In most cases, an optical zoom lens protrudes out from the
camera body – similar to the design in film cameras, but Konica
Minolta pioneered a type of optical zoom lens (which is now used
by some other camera makers) using a prism to "fold" the optical
path of the light so that the lens never extends from the
camera. Most point and shoot cameras have a 3X optical zoom.
Memory may or may not be an issue. Most digital cameras have
some internal memory for storing pictures but most also have a
slot for a memory card, typically a tiny card, called Secure
Digital (SD) that slips into the camera.
If you have an SD card, than the internal memory isn't that
important because you can buy cards that store anywhere from 16
megabytes to two gigabytes. The actual number of photos stored
depends on your camera and the way it compresses photos, but on
average, a gigabyte of memory will store more than 400
compressed four megapixel photos or about 275 five megapixel
photos.
You should put some thought into the camera's viewfinder. Just
about all digital cameras have an LCD screen that can show you
pictures before and after they're taken. Some also have an
old-fashioned optical viewfinder that you hold up to your eye
but many of today's digital cameras only have an LCD.
Many people, who use digital cameras, prefer using the LCD to
frame their pictures. You can see them holding the camera out in
front of them, looking at the screen before they snap the
shutter. Some people – especially older folks who grew up with
film cameras – prefer holding the camera up to their eye and
using an old-fashioned optical viewfinder.
In bright sunlight, an optical viewfinder can save the day
if the sun washes out the image in the LCD display. Some camera
makers make a big deal of the size of the LCD display. I'm not
sure that matters much if you're just using the LCD to frame or
review pictures, but a lot of people use their cameras to show
photos to others, so the larger display can add to the enjoyment
of the camera.
Another important issue is the type of battery used. Most
cameras today come with one proprietary lithium ion rechargeable
battery that you either charge inside the camera or by taking it
out of the camera and connecting it to a charging unit. Some
cameras use AA batteries.
The advantage of the rechargeable lithium ion batteries is that
you get more pictures per ounce of battery weight because of the
efficiency of the design. This is particularly important with
some of the ultra-small cameras where there simply isn't enough
room for AA batteries.
Some companies, including Kodak, offer cameras that use both AA
batteries and lithium digital camera batteries. The big
advantage to AA is that they are easily replaceable and you're
not dependent on the manufacturer for your batteries.
My personal preference is a camera that takes AA batteries but I
never use disposable alkaline. I instead use Rayovac
rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries that can be
recharged in 15 minutes. One set (2) batteries can usually get
me through a day or two but if I plan to do a lot of shooting, I
just carry an extra couple of batteries with me.
For many people, size does matter. Most point and shoot cameras
are quite compact but some are smaller and thinner than others.
Casio, Canon, Kodak and others make very small and thin
pocket-sized cameras that are capable of taking just as good a
picture as their larger brethren.
When choosing a camera as a gift, consider how it will be used.
For most people, any compact camera is small enough but if it's
for someone who wants to walk around with the camera in his or
her pocket, then you might want to get one of the ultra-small
models that most manufacturers offer.
The camera's controls can make a big difference. For example,
some cameras require that you use a menu to turn the flash on or
off or control the camera's self-timer while other cameras allow
you to control these functions by pressing buttons on the
camera's body. While too many buttons would obviously cause too
much clutter, having to go to a menu and select your controls
from a screen can add to the time it takes to get your camera in
the right mode.
Many of today's digital cameras can also take video clips. In
the past, this was more gimmick than useful but companies are
now offering 24 or even 30 frames per second video, which means
that your video clips will show the full range of motion without
the choppiness associated with lower frame rates.
Also, video takes up a considerable amount of memory but thanks
to cheaper and higher capacity SD and other memory cards, that's
less of a problem than it used to be.
Still, don't expect a digital camera to fully replace a
camcorder. Digital cameras are great for short clips but you
wouldn't use one to record an entire wedding or graduation
ceremony. You might, however, use it to record the singing of
"Happy Birthday" at a party, or the moment your favorite
graduate gets his or her diploma.
Most people with camcorders take too much video anyway and
there's something to be said about the forced discipline of
having to take short clips. Once you take a video on a digital
camera, you can usually play it back on the camera. If you're
going to do that, make sure your camera plays the sound as well
as the video. Ultimately, you'll copy the videos to a PC or Mac
where you can show them, edit them or even burn them to a CD or
DVD.
Do your research. Although I've reviewed some digital cameras (I
recently gave high marks to
Kodak's C360), there are far too many models on the market
to cover in this overview.
I recommend that you shop around by looking at manufacturer's
websites as well as sites like Cnet.com, PCMag.com and
PCWorld.com. If you find some models that interest you, you can
get detailed reviews and specifications at
Steve's Digicams.
A syndicated technology columnist for more than two decades,
Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst
for CBS Radio News. His technology reports can be heard
several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is
the author of several books including
"The Little PC Book."
