Digital Photography Tips – How to Choose the Best Camera
Technology and innovation has placed digital photography into the forefront in such a fast phase. Today the price of cameras are better, meaning it very common for adults and children to own digital cameras. This is not only because they are easy to use but also because many of these cameras are quite affordable. They are convenient to use and require no film. Due to the big number of consumers of digital cameras and prospective aficionados of digital photography, the number of companies and manufacturers of various brands of digital cameras has become quite numerous. It is no longer a problem of ‘where to buy’, but ‘what to buy’. The huge selection available on the market can make your choice quite confusing. When choosing the best digital camera, here are some important tips to take into consideration.
- Price
When buying anything, it is usually the price that is first considered, unless the buyer is filthy rich. With the large number of brands of digital camera available, you will surely find one that will fit your budget. Obviously the more expensive the camera is the better the quality is likely to be. Therefore, if you intend to make a living out digital photography, putting more money in it becomes an investment and will be more beneficial to you in the long run. If you intend to use the camera for fun or a hobby, then look for something a little less complicated which in turn will be cheaper.
- Intention for Buying
In connection with the price, you need to first think of your main reason why you wanted to buy the camera. As mentioned already, if it is to seriously take up digital photography, a good quality one will be the ideal choice. When using for everyday basic photographs possibly a lower megapixel camera would be a cheaper choice.
- Durability
If buying, whatever amount of money is involved, you will of course want something that is durable. Technically, the more you spend, the more durable the camera should be. Find out about the durability of your camera from the store clerk so that you will know what to expect. Also look at products with a money back guarantee.
Aside from the abovementioned factors, there are still a lot of other important details to consider when buying a digital camera. Digital cameras are highly technical products, but it is indeed these technical features that require consideration. Below are some of the most vital features for consideration:
- Megapixel
Many of today’s camera is bought according to the number of megapixel the camera is capable of handling. Before buying some thought into how you want to use the pictures must be considered. If you are into professional digital photography, then you may opt for the higher megapixel types since you may enlarge the photos taken without compromising the integrity of every shot. While for hobby and fun, there is no need for high cost, high resolution cameras.
- Lens Quality
Optical zoom lens of various cameras of today range from about 3x to 18 times optical zoom lenses. Largely, it depends really on your future intentional use of the camera.
- Feel of the Camera
It is important to make an actual test of the camera by putting it in your hands and testing its familiarity. Do not simply rely on the look of a camera. It is best that it will feel right in your own palms to ensure great shots when already doing some digital photography.
- USB Capability
Today’s gadgets are now almost always linkable to the computer, making it easier to transfer, modify, print and do many other things with it. Most cameras today will be fitted with USB capabilities but always check to be sure. Be sure that what you are buying has this feature present.
- Manual Focus
Although optical zoom features are highly important, it would be handy to also have one with both zoom lens and manual focus. This allows you to have more control over your photos.
- Tripod Feature
Although some may not find it important, it would be useful to have a camera that can be screwed to a tripod. This helps to stop camera shake and prevent blurred photographs. You won’t always need to use this, but it is convenient to have it when needed.
- Macro Setting
This feature, most especially in digital photography, will allow you to take photos of anything at a proximity of 3 to 4 inches. Not having this feature will be a quite frustrating particularly for a photographer to be.
Other important features can be considered before buying a digital camera that will surely help you produce great photos. All of these will depend largely on how you intend to use your camera. It is up to you then which feature is better that the other if the camera for your budget does not contain all of the above in just one.
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Canon A Series Cameras Keep Getting Better
Today’s digital camera technology offers consumers an irresistible range of camera options coming from different top brands. From point and shoot compact digital cameras to large and bulky DSLRs and mid-sized cameras in between-the choices can be overwhelmingly endless. Shopping for a new camera can become overwhelming due to the number of models and specifications available today. So how can a consumer end up picking the cream of the crop?
While there is no single best digital camera (since choices vary according to each person’s unique needs and preferences), your best bet is of course to study the options available and rely on one of the top brands in the market today.
Canon Digital Cameras
What is the brand with the largest market share today? Canon! Canon is well known as a supplier of quality digital cameras. Its camera series lines, which include PowerShot (point and shoot) and EOS (DSLR), have consistently received numerous positive ratings from users and critiques.
Of course, not everything that Canon produces is flawless as there have been issues along the way; nevertheless this company enjoys a good reputation and an outstanding track record when it comes to high quality digital cameras.
These days price is a concern to us all when buying a new Canon digital camera but thankfully they have many affordable digital cameras available. The Canon Powershot A470 is a top-selling camera for good reason. This compact point and shoot camera comes with a 7.1 MP image size, 3.4x optical zoom, and a 2.5-inch LCD monitor for your viewing pleasure. Quality and user-friendliness are combined in this piece of affordable camera.
Canon also recognizes the fact that digital cameras have also become a fashion accessory today and people are looking for beauty and style aside from excellent performance. The Canon A1000 IS was designed not only to look nice, but also to be easy to use as well. Even with its modern style, its features do not take a backseat. It comes with a 10MP image size (honestly all you need), 4x optical zoom and impressive image stabilization.
For adventure seekers, Canon created an action-packed camera called the Canon PowerShot D10, which is waterproof up to 10 meters, freezeproof from -10 degrees Celsius, and shockproof up to 1.22 meters. This superlative camera comes with a 12 megapixel sensor, 3x zoom lens, 2.5 inch LCD screen, and the ever-reliable image stabilization.
Proper Care and Maintenance
Just like with any other brand of digital camera, it is imperative that you take utmost care of your Canon digital camera repair. Even if Canon is known for its quality, it is still not invincible to wear and tear. As much as possible, protect your camera from dust and debris. Try to ensure you never drop your camera or bang/bump it severely.
If you suspect any malfunction in your digicam, bring it immediately to a service center that has experience with Canon digital camera repair. If you prefer to do it yourself, look for a vendor selling genuine OEM Canon digital camera parts.
Producing high-quality photographs is not at all difficult with the excellent line of Canon PowerShot series. To ensure that you end up with the best choice that will meet your photography needs and requirements, review and compare different products before buying.
Be More Careful With Your Camera and Don’t Break The LCD Screen!
We live in a throw-away society, it’s a simple fact. You buy that brand new fancy digital camera with all the bells and whistles for $400, and in 6 months to 1 year it’s worth maybe half that, and then the unthinkable happens: you drop it and it breaks. The LCD is cracked, or the lens is jammed; what do you do? You go back to there store where you bought it and the kid working there that knows next to nothing about cameras to begin with, let alone camera repair, tells you to throw it in the garbage and it’s not fixable. You feel ripped off and mad at the camera manufacturer and you toss it out and buy a new one made by somebody else.
There are alternatives, there are ALWAYS alternatives to every problem. Honest! It may cost you 0 to fix your camera, and yes you can buy a new camera these days for 0 at some places, but what sort of quality do you think you will get from a 0 camera? Not very good quality I hope, because you’re not going to get it.
#1 – Broken/cracked LCD screen.
It was hard for me to choose between a jammed lens and broken LCD screen repair but I stuck with LCD for #1 because it’s so easy to break your LCD that you don’t even have to touch the camera to do it!
The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is the view screen on the back of the camera that lets you see menus, playback pictures etc. An LCD screen is a very thin and fragile part of the camera and on many of them it is completely unprotected! Look at the back of your camera, is the screen recessed slightly or is the back of the camera flat and smooth? If it’s flat you have a protective ‘window’ or ‘glass’ over the LCD to help prevent damage and breakage. If it’s not flat, you have nothing protecting your LCD and should put a good quality LCD screen protector on the camera and NOT those thin, flimsy ‘saran wrap’ plastic film screen protectors, they are worthless.
- Don’t leave your camera in your car in summer or winter. Excessive high tempertures could cause the LCD to expand such that it cracks, and conversely extremely low temperture could cause it to freeze!
- Don’t put anything up against the LCD in your camera bag, it will bang against the LCD and crack it (yes, even if it has a window over it, it will break!)
- Don’t put your camera in your back pocket and then sit down!
- Don’t put your camera in your front pocket and then roll over on it.
- … Just don’t put your camera in your pants pocket please. =)
Ok, so it’s broken, what do you do now?
- Manufacturers usually cite impact damage as the cause of the breakage and will not repair the camera under warranty. You can still try, but they will most likely not fix it.
- Look for a defective camera on eBay and make one good camera from the two if you are handy.
- Look for an actual camera repair business and not somebody that will send it to the manufacturer and tell you it’s $200 and 4-6 weeks to repair. (If they tell you this, they are NOT repairing your camera for you, they are sending it to the manufacturer, guaranteed)
Many LCD screens are very easy to install and you can do it yourself and all you need is a small screwdriver. Other LCD’s are very difficult to install, and even professionals don’t like to do them! While I can’t pick one brand …. is the best and Brand … is the worst, it’s really not like that. Certain SERIES of cameras have 1 or 2 models that are difficult to work on, yet the rest of them are fairly straight forward. You need to decide for yourself if you want to open your camera and try the repair yourself or not.
How is the LCD screen replaced?
With most Canon camera LCD repair for example (using them as the example because they have the largest market share) all you do is disconnect the ribbon cable for the LCD and the backlight (the light that shines through the LCD and allows you to see what is on the screen) and then install the new LCD. Some LCDs do come with the backlight that shines through it attached and others do not. Sometimes the LCD backlight will need soldering to the PCB of the camera or to the LCD ribbon cable, but most often it will not.
- Be sure to never touch the flash capacitor contacts! You WILL zap yourself if you do, and it will HURT a bit. You may end up tossing the camera half-way across the room when it happens to you. (Yeah, I’ve done it, I’ve been repairing cameras for 5 years now so….) We use an item called a “flash capacitor discharger” and we use them every time we work on a camera.
I hope this sheds some light on the subject of camera repair. There’s no need to toss out your camera just because the LCD screen is broken, in fact you might be able to fix it yourself!
