How to buy a digital camera Part 2: The right type

Part 2: The right type

In part two of our Christmas guide to buying a digital camera, BRIAN KOPING offers a breakdown of the main types of camera that the salespeople will try to push into your hands.

Yesterday we looked at the hype surrounding digital cameras How to buy a digital camera Part 1: No such thing as the best

and the key factors in making a choice. Today we start looking at the different types of digital cameras, focusing on five of the seven major categories:

Video cameras

Most still cameras have a video facility and many video cameras have a still facility.

A word of warning here. If you decide to shoot videos, bear in mind that pleasing videos do not just happen. Take the time to acquaint yourself with shooting and editing techniques and adding additional sound to your video. If not, you will land up with a selection of boring moving stills that nobody will want to watch!

Dual cameras

The dual camera is a video and still camera, taking both with equal facility. Some can even take stills while filming video.

Pocket cameras

The pocket cameras have virtually everything being offered, as this is the most fiercely contested arena of the industry.

The three to four times zoom range with close-up facility will cover most family picture needs. Most people who want prints of their images have 10 x 15cm jumbo prints and an occasional 20 x 30cm print made. These little machines are often surprisingly good. Some manufacturers offer models that are dustproof and waterproof to a depth of three meters. An absolute win for pictures on the beach or round the pool.

A built-in flash is adequate for most indoor requirements. As people tend to use these cameras one-handedly, an image stabiliser facility is a good option. For the rest, nice to have but not essential. A number of new models have a wide-angle lens equivalent of 28mm in 35mm terms as opposed to the more usual 38mm option. This is great for adding impact by creating a dominant foreground in your images. Another useful property in Sony and Fuji cameras is the panoramic setting that stitches a number of frames together resulting in one panoramic image.

Super zoom pocket cameras

The pocket super zoom, pricier than the former category, offers an extended zoom rang. It is still compact, but has a zoom range of 6x or more. This is good for those occasions where it is not easy to get close to one’s subject. Beware however of purchasing a lens of impressive length as, if there is no viewfinder, it is almost impossible to handhold and without a tripod or some sort of support disappointing results are easy to achieve. Image stabilization ‚ if present ‚ is an aid, not a cure-all, for excessive camera shake.

3D cameras

The 3D camera is relatively new on the market. About the size of a pocket super zoom, these cameras have two lenses and the images are viewed through purpose-designed spectacles when played on a TV set. Really a fun option.

In the next part of this series, we will examine the Prosumer or Bridge

Read the rest of the series by clicking on the links below:

How to buy a digital camera Part 1: No such thing as the best

How to buy a digital camera Part3: Bridge the digital camera divide