Digital Camera Basics

Digital photography is growing in popularity as the quality of digital imaging technology rapidly approaches that of traditional film and as more people become both computer and web savvy. Digital images can be easily uploaded to your computer; from there they can then be manipulated using a variety of software, e-mailed to friends, or posted on a web site. The "film" used in digital cameras (i.e. storage media) can be used over and over again (and sometimes, depending on the format, can be used in different types of products such as MP3 players), so there's no need to run out and buy a roll of film every time you want to take pictures. 

Digital photography also provides a certain level of instant gratification, as you are able to immediately view your images, either on the LCD panel found on most cameras, or on your computer or TV screen. Note that the both Mac and PC enthusiasts can use virtually all of these cameras, since the manufacturers make software for both platforms now, and removable media card readers will transfer pictures to either platforms effortlessly (these readers usually cost between twenty and thirty dollars). Listed below are descriptions of the key characteristics differentiating digital cameras. 

Price
Prices range roughly from $50.00 to $2,500.  Most of the digital cameras fall within $200 to $900 with a median price of $450.

Delay Between Shots
The amount of time (measured in seconds) it takes the camera to process and store an image when shooting in normal mode (non-burst), at the camera's maximum resolution setting (also known as Recycle Time or Lag Time).
Why is it important? The delay between shots ranges from approximately 1 - 20 seconds. To some, this may not be much of an issue. For others, having to wait a while before being able to take another shot may be frustrating.

Flash Type
The flash makes a burst of light for shooting inside or in low-light conditions.  Why is it important? The type(s) of flash available vary from camera to camera. The flashes built into most digital cameras have limited range and adjustibility (on average, these flashes do not work well beyond 10 feet), in comparison to external flash options which can provide a much more powerful and versatile flash. Keep in mind that a camera with a "Hot Shoe" or "Flash Sync," will often come with the standard built-in flash as well.

Flash Options:

Off/On/Auto - This refers to the basic flash functions, where the flash is always off, always on (for fill-ins, for example), or set to fire automatically when needed.
Red-Eye Reduction - This refers to a mode of flash that helps prevent the appearance of people with red eyes in the picture.
Flash sync - allows you to use more powerful flashes, and/or place the flash strategically, by attaching an external flash unit to the camera. Typically, a camera with flash sync will also offer the more traditional forms of flash as well, such as auto flash.
Hot Shoe - This is a structure found on some digital cameras, to which an external flash unit is attached. Some cameras offering hot shoe capability also offer the more traditional forms of flash, such as automatic.

Resolution
The resolution of a digital camera refers to the sharpness of its pictures.  Why is it important? The higher the resolution, the better the picture. Resolution is expressed in pixels, and refers to the "true" (i.e., non-interpolated) resolution of the camera.

Resolution Range:

640 x 480 Pixels = Minimum Computer Resolution
1280 x 960 Pixels = Film Resolution of 4"x6" print
1600 x 1200 Pixels = Film Resolution of 8"x10" print
1920 x 1600 Pixels = Very High Resolution

Print Sizes 
The maximum print size that a digital camera can produce is directly related to the number of pixels on the camera's CCD (the resolution).  Larger image resolutions are desirable if you are planning to print images in photo quality and also for some editing operations where cropping the image is involved.

• A 1.3 Mega Pixel Digital Camera, produces a screen size image of 1280 x 960 and can print in sizes up to 5 x 7 inches in photo quality. 
• A 2.1 Mega Pixel Digital Camera, produces a screen size image of 1600 x 1200 and can print in sizes up to 8 x 10 inches in photo quality.
• A 3.34 Mega Pixel Digital Camera, produces a screen size image of 2048 x 1536 and can print in sizes above 8 x 10 inches in photo quality.

Storage Options
This refers to how the camera stores pictures.  The resolution of the images you'll be capturing determines how much storage space you'll need.  

    More pixels (higher resolution) = Larger image size, Larger print size, Larger file size 

 3.5" Floppy - With this feature, the camera stores its images on the same floppy disks that you use in your PC or Macintosh. To transfer the images to your computer, you would remove the floppy from the camera and put it into your Macintosh or PC's floppy drive.  Sony's Mavica cameras have won fans by storing images to standard 3.5-inch floppies. The obvious downside to this approach is the maximum 1.44MB capacity of each disk, though floppies certainly cost little enough to allow you to carry plenty of spares.  The delay between shots can be several seconds with a floppy-based camera.

Removable Media, a.k.a. Flash Memory
The market for flash memory cards evolved with the advent of digital cameras in the mid-1990s. At the time, Sony Mavica cameras, which have floppy disk drives in their back panels, were vastly preferred over those with proprietary serial cables. But once cameras surpassed 1 megapixel, the need for smaller, high-capacity, removable memory became clear.

SmartMedia (SM). The first standards-based memory cards to appear, SmartMedia units are about as thick as playing cards. But the deck is stacked against the SmartMedia card, because it has the biggest footprint (about 2.7 square inches, compared with Secure Digital's 1.2 square inches), and its flexibility makes it vulnerable to damage. It has no controller to let your PC treat it as a standard hard drive, so you must pay extra for a PC Card adapter (about $25). Also, some devices won't work with cards larger than about 16MB or 32MB.

SmartMedia's design limits it to 128MB. Fuji and Olympus used to be the biggest backers of SmartMedia, but now they are making the transition to their own format called xD-Picture Card. Expect to see few if any new devices using SmartMedia.

SmartMedia card dimensions: 1.8 by 1.5 by 0.06 inches (HWD). Maximum capacity: 128MB.

MultiMediaCard (MMC). Along with SmartMedia, MMC was the other early memory standard. It's less damage-prone because of its rigid plastic shell. It has the same footprint and pin-out as its successor, the Secure Digital (SD) card. MMCs fit in SD devices but not the other way around (because SD cards are thicker). SD music players typically won't play audio from an MMC, because SD players require encrypted music. Most companies are currently phasing out MMC devices. MMC loyalists are backing a format called RS MMC, which is essentially miniSD (see below) but half as thick; its fate is uncertain.

MMC dimensions: 1.2 by 0.9 by 0.05 inches. RS MMC dimensions: 0.7 by 0.9 by 0.05 inches. Current maximum capacity: 128MB. Projected capacity by 4Q 2004: MMC, 256MB; RS MMC, 512MB.

CompactFlash (CF). CF is the aging but far-from-dead flash memory champion. More devices currently use CF than any other media type. Its future likely lies in professional digital cameras that need massive capacity—4GB CF cards are becoming available—and whose users don't mind the size of CF cards (roughly half of a PC Card). Makers of consumer and advanced amateur cameras—led by Kodak—are moving to smaller SD cards, but pros will stick with CF. Most CF cards are Type II, which are as thick as PC Cards.

CompactFlash card dimensions: 1.4 by 1.7 by 0.2 inches. Current maximum capacity: 4GB. Projected capacity by 4Q 2004: 8GB to 16GB.

PC Card memory. Type II (standard-thickness) PC Cards had some popularity among users who wanted more capacity than CF cards supply. But these cards were never used in cameras or audio devices, and now that CF and USB keys have adequate capacity, there's not much call for PC Card flash memory outside of specialized markets. The highest available capacity is 2GB (for $1,000 to $2,000); CF cards are already there and headed for 4GB.

PC Card dimensions: 3.4 by 2.1 by 0.2 inches. Current maximum capacity: 2GB. Projected capacity by 4Q 2004: 4GB.

Memory Stick. Sony created and supports the Memory Stick format across its vast product line, and several other vendors offer Memory Stick products as well. Memory Stick was introduced in 1999 and quickly grew to constitute about a quarter of the flash memory market. The standard has resulted in a confusing array of devices all called Memory Stick.

First, there is Memory Stick, which is limited to 128MB. It comes in regular and OpenMG (Magic Gate) versions; only the latter can handle audio files. A tinier version, Memory Stick Duo, is currently used in cell phones, and there are plans to include compatibility with digital cameras and music players. The Memory Stick Duo is only a bit smaller than an SD card.

To address the limited capacity of Memory Stick, Sony offers a bank-switched Memory Stick with Memory Select, two banks of 128MB you access by flipping a switch. To reach beyond 128MB of contiguous memory, Sony offers Memory Stick Pro—now at 1GB—but it's generally not backward-compatible, even though it physically fits in the Memory Stick slots of older devices. (Every kind of Memory Stick works in a Memory Stick Pro slot, directly or with an adapter.)

If you live in an all-Sony world, the convenience is outstanding: You can off-load video clips and stills from a Sony DV camcorder and show them on a Sony TV or carry them on a Sony Clié handheld.

Memory Stick (original, Select, and Pro) dimensions: 2.0 by 0.8 by 0.1 inches. Memory Stick Duo dimensions: 1.2 by 0.8 by 0.06 inches. Maximum capacity: original, Duo, 128MB; Select, 256MB; Pro, 1GB. Projected capacity by 4Q 2004: Duo, 512MB; Pro, 2GB.

Secure Digital (SD). Secure Digital has the broadest support and brightest future. The cards are very small, however, so they're easy to lose. For audio buffs, the biggest drawback is that SD players, like Memory Stick players, require you to check out music from your PC, and the conversion process can be slow.

SD is second only to CF in capacity, with projections of 16GB by the end of 2005. A number of notebooks have added dedicated SD slots as well. An even smaller miniSD card is also available, primarily for use in cell phones, with cameras and music players coming later. Stick it in an adapter and it fits in any SD slot.

Secure Digital dimensions: 1.2 by 0.9 by 0.07 inches. miniSD: 0.8 by 0.8 by 0.05 inches. Maximum capacity: 512MB; miniSD, 256MB. Projected capacity by 4Q 2004: 2GB; miniSD, 512MB.

xD-Picture Card. Camera makers Fuji and Olympus have gone from the bulkiest memory card standard, SmartMedia, to the smallest, xD. xD-Picture Cards do not have controllers, which adds to the cost of a PC Card adapter, but they offer faster read and write times. xD is unlikely to surpass SD sales or to have the broad cross-device support of SD or Memory Stick, but Olympus is a major player in digital photography. If your interests lie only with digital photography, there's no downside to xD other than capacities currently lower than CF and SD.

xD-Picture Card dimensions: 1.0 by 0.8 by 0.06 inches. Maximum capacity: 512MB. Projected capacity by 4Q 2004: 1GB.

Download Options
This refers to how the camera downloads images to your computer or printer.  The resolution of the images you'll be capturing determines how much storage space you'll need.