Some 'must-know' digital camera information

By the end of 2002, the Photo Marketing Association International estimates that 9.2 million digital cameras will have been sold worldwide. That means a lot of shutterbugs are getting into the exciting world of digital imaging. If you are thinking of jumping into digital photography, here are the key things you should consider.

Total photography budget

Give yourself a total budget for your photography. Besides a camera, you will need some accessories to complete your digital darkroom: memory cards for storing pictures, perhaps a docking station or memory card reader, an inkjet printer to make your own prints, inkjet ink and paper, photo-imaging software, and CDs on which to save your pictures. If you spend all your photo budget on a camera, you may not be able to get all the accessories you want or need.

Megapixels are a key to the quality of your pictures. One- and 2-megapixel cameras take photos that are good for e-mailing, but not for printing. Three-megapixel cameras are good if you want to make prints up to 8-by-10 inches. For larger prints, you'll need a 4-megapixel camera.

Zoom range

Low-end digital cameras come with either a fixed lens or a zoom with a limited range, usually around 2X. Those cameras are fine for around-the-house snapshots. For sports and travel photography, you'll probably want a digital camera with at least a 4X optical zoom range.

Many digital cameras also offer a digital zoom besides an optical zoom lens. Digital zooms are not true zoom lenses. Rather, they magnify (enlarge) the center of the frame for a larger image. Grain (called "noise" in a digital camera) is increased in the process. So, use a digital zoom sparingly. If you want to get closer, do what the pros who don't have a zoom lens do: zoom with your feet.

All digital cameras offer an automatic mode. Some offer an automatic and manual mode. And some models offer shooting modes for specific situations: sports, landscapes, close-up, portraiture and nighttime.

Taking a picture is only the first step in digital photography. The next is to get your pictures into your computer. There are several ways to do that. You can use a memory card reader which plugs into your computer's USB or firewire port. Docking stations which double as battery chargers, are another option. Some cameras plug directly into a computer through firewire ports for fast transfer of large files. And for digital-camera owners whose recording media is a CD or memory stick (Sony), you can insert those CDs and sticks directly into a Sony computer.

There is one more item that you might want to include in your new digital darkroom: more RAM for your computer. The more RAM you have, the faster your memory-hungry programs will run. In addition, if you have a basic computer, you might need more RAM to run your camera, photo-imaging and printer programs at the same time.