Digital Cameras, Pro's and Cons

Do I really want a digital camera?

Many people naturally think that digital is good, its something that the consumer industry has been carefully nurturing for at least the last 15 or 20 years. What digital does give you is a guaranteed quality, you don't get any worse than that specified but you don't get any better either, this is as true with digital photography as it is with music CD's or telephone connections. With digital photography the primary measure of quality that we use is resolution (although you can use number of colors too) and using that measure the quality that you get is almost certainly many times worse that what you are used to even with a cheap throw away camera.

So given that the resolution of a digital camera is awful why do I and many others have one? The answer is quite simple, my pictures are always destined for the computer screen and since the resolution of a computer screen is awful too, the lack of resolution is less of an issue. What does however become an issue is the process of getting a picture from the lense of my camera onto the computer and it is here that the digital camera excels. Its also cheaper per photo since it doesn't require you go pay someone to get them developed.

Or in summary:

Unless your pictures are destined for a computer screen (or you are prepared to spend a lot of money) don't even think about getting a digital camera

Considerations when buying a digital camera

When considering features the rules for a traditional camera still apply, there are however several features unique to digital cameras which need to be considered and several features from a traditional camera that have added value in a digital camera.

Features unique to a digital camera

• Storage (size), this is usually quoted as a combination of raw megabytes and the number of pictures that can be stored. Be careful of the second figure, this is usually calculated using the lowest resolution picture, always ask how many pictures it can store when used at the highest resolution only this may be up to 50 times fewer than at the lowest resoltion. Both CompactFlash and SmartMedia come in many sizes, so even if you camera comes without much memory you can usually increase it.
• Storage (media), this is the digital camera's equivilent of film, its a race between many options and the industry doesn't seem to be standardizing on any particular one. Storage cards are considerably more expensive than film, however they can be reused again and again. The most common formats seem to be SmartMedia and CompactFlash, there isn't much between them, although CompactFlash is a little larger, a little more robust, and seem to be available in larger capacities. Remember generally you will need enough storage so you can keep your pictures until you transfer them onto your computer.
• Picture screen, picture screens are nice but they can use up lots of battery, early digital cameras with picture screens were notorious for only letting you take one or two pictures before the picture screen eat all the battery. Avoid cameras that have a screen, and no viewfinder, you tend to end up holding the camera a long way from your body, and this causes extra camera shake.
• Resolution, in general the higher the resolution the better. Higher resolution gives you bigger pictures and thus more room for cropping. If you need to reduce the size of the picture at a later date most packages can do this without affecting the picture dramatically. Resolution is normally measured in megapixels, at around 3 or 4 megapixels a picture printed at normal holiday snap size is almost as good as that taken from a normal camera.
• Picture storage speed, some cameras are rather slow at storing large images and in general you can't take one photo until the previous one is stored. Many cameras now have an extra area of memory in order to allow you to take many pictures quickly without having to wait for each one to be stored.
• Battery, although traditional cameras often have a battery, its considerably more important in a digital camera. The act of actually taking a photo use quite a lot of current, especially with the flash on, this makes cheap and rechargeable batteries run out quickly, however good batteries will generally last quite a while. Picture screens can also use lots of battery, especially if used in "video" mode to view the shot before you've actually taken it. Also be careful of cameras that take non-standard batteries, or need rechargers. Rechargeable batteries tend to have a longer life, however generally you can't pop into the nearest newsagents and replace them. On a long holiday remember to take your charger with you, and an international adapter if needbe.

Traditional Features that are especially useful

• Zoom, framing is especially important in digital photography since you can't blow up part of a picture after having taken it, without it looking pixelly and any cropping is lost picture. A zoom allows you to blow the picture up before taking it, so that it almost fills the frame, reducing cropping and removing the need to blow the picture up.
  In digital photography zooms come in two flavours, optical and digital. An optical zoom uses a traditional zoom lense before the picture is digitized, while a digital zoom takes the picture normally and then blows it up digitally. In practice most digital zooms simply take the picture at the highest resolution and crop the picture to half the size. You can spot this when the camera says that the digital zoom doesn't work in the highest resoluton.
• SLR (single lense reflex). These are very expensive, however they are what all professionals use. Lenses can be interchanged, filters can be used, and the control of the camera is far better.

Considerations when taking a photo

• Wide landscape shots, they tend to need a lot of resolution.
• Shots where detail at a distance is important. I have a classic shot of trafalgar square being taken over by a mob. The main feature was intended to be a banner drapped over Canada House. However the banner is further enough away that you can't actually read what it says.
• Shots with lots of people in them. The classic school class photograph doesn't work since when you look at it closely you sometimes can't work out who anybody is.

• Frame the shot properly, get the person or object you are photographing filling the frame as much as you can, this may mean you need to get closer. If photographing a person its often better to tip the camera 90 degrees and take a portrait shot rather than a landscape one.
• Follow the normal photography rules, the optics of a digital camera are no different from a regular camera, most of the normal rules of photography still apply.

Using a photo on the web

• Crop your photo, so that it only contains what you are interested in.
• Reduce the resolution of the picture so that it loads faster, this is much more important if the picture is to be inline image.
• Use a link not the photo. It is often better to display a just a link or a thumbnail of a picture with a link to the full size picture rather than the full picture directly.
• Tell your viewers how big a photo is, especially if its to be downloaded via a link.

• A picture taken digitally can be digitally enhanced, however major changes will make the photo look wrong. I find sharpening the picture, and minor changes in contrast to be particularlly effective. Trying to edit out parts of picture that shouldn't be there generally doesn't work.
• Pictures generally don't make good backgrounds, unless they are mainly one color, or you modify them to make them mainly one color. (You can't read the text on top of them).
• Perform all edits on a copy of the picture, you might need the original.
• For professional use a watermark is a good idea, this can be digitally hidden into the photo, or simply your name printed on the bottom.
• If the picture is not your own check you are allowed to use it.
• Ask friends before using a picture with them in it, some people do not like their photos published.