Compact Digital Cameras – Demystifying the Technology

November 20, 2009

If you are a new compact digital camera user you might be mystified about a number of features of digital camera equipment and terms. We have put together this guide to help you find a way through the confusion in order for you to start to grasp this subject better. We also hope that we can help in buying your new digital camera. Some of the important terms you will need to comprehend include white balance, sensitivity, pixel and ppi and we will attempt to explain each of these below.

What are Pixels?

The term derives from picture element and every photo is made up of several million of these tiny pixels. Taken all together the result is of a smooth and continuous image. One method to describe digital camers is by their pixel count, the number of pixels in the photo. ppi refers to the number of pixels per inch. The number of pixels is directly related to the image quality and the larger the image can be blown up. In most modern cameras the pixel count is generally between 1 million and 14 million. Cameras are designated as 1Mp ( one million pixels) or 3Mp (3 million pixels) for example. The majority of the popular cameras will have anything from 2 and 5 million pixels for each image.

Very good prints of four by six inches can be made from a three Mp camera whereas large five by seven inch prints will probably be a little poorer in quality. For larger 8″ by 10″ prints a 4 or 5 Mp digital camera would be a better choice. For much larger prints choose a camera with more pixels. Sometimes total pixels and effective pixels are quoted for a digital camera. Consider the total pixels as this is the number of pixels you will actually see in the photo.

Sensitivity Settings

The sensitivity settings on a digital camera are similar to film ISO ratings. Nearly all digital cameras have settings similar to film ratings of ISO 100 or 200. Some have settings that are similar to film’s ISO 400 rating. Pricier SLR digital cameras may have setting even higher, even up to ISO 6400. Quite a few cameras will adjust automatically to the most suitable sensitivity setting for the mode and the lighting.

Digital or Optical Zooms

Nearly all digital cameras have the choose of optical or digital zoom. Digital zoom will result in lower picture quality as the way ot works is to crop the image then enlarge the picture to the the size needed. This is similar to the method an image editing program uses. Optical zooms work in the same way as the zoom on a film camera by varying the magnification and focal length. This has no effect on the image quality so this will always be a better choice than a digital zoom.

White Balance

The white balance can be adjusted for different light sources. This lets you ensure, in different lights, that white looks white, and not yellow or blue. Nearly all cameras adjust automatically depending on the source of light but you can generally change this by hand if you wish. The white balance can be adjusted for fluorescent lighting, tungsten lighting, shade, electronic flash or sunlight.

For more information and lots more articles on photography and compact digital cameras please visit Best Canon Compact Digital Cameras