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Chapters 4, 5 Buying a Digital Camera Essential Accessories

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Types of Digital Cameras Professional Digital SLRs Entry-level Digital Backs Others: video cameras, mobile phones, PDAs Deluxe Point-and-Shoot Prosumer

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Some considerations Megapixel resolution (what you need?) Lens options Exposure options Response times Battery life and cost Continuous shooting capabilities Size and ergonomics Ease of use

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Megapixel considerations From fotomax.com

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Lens quality Sharpness Dark corners? Distortion Color fringing, chromatic aberration http://www.dpreview.com/products/c ompare/lenses http://www.dpreview.com/products/c ompare/lenses Flare

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Image sensor Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 Dynamic range Similar to slide film Bit depth

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Operating speeds Startup time Shutter lag time Write speed (including memory cards speed) Burst rate (memory buffer size) Frames per second Comment: if speed is what you need, get a digital SLR

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Viewfinders LCD (electronic) viewfinders Optical viewfinders Hybrid viewfinders

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Exposure controls Scene modes (e.g. landscape, portrait) ISO range (e.g. 100-1600) Aperture and shutter speed priorities Exposure compensation Exposure bracketing Histogram display Tripod mount In general, the more controls, the better More about these in chapter 7

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Flash Red-eye reduction (confusing or even irritating) Flash exposure control External flash unit

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Ergonomics Very important Fit your hand? Steady? Fit your eye, face? Are controls accessible? Are the menus complicated?

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Image processing Sharpening can you turn it off? White balance detailed adjustments? Color rendition color modes to choose? RAW format Can you save images in RAW format for post- processing?

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Camera Bag Not just for your camera, but also batteries, memory cards, lenses, etc. Many different sizes Shoulder bags, pouches, backpacks, etc.

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Batteries Disposable batteries not economical Rechargeable batteries Lithium-ion high capacity, no memory effect NiMH popular (AA size), less capacity, memory effect NiCd also popular (AA size), less power, severe memory effect Battery chargers some cameras act as chargers; a separate charger is better.

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Card Readers USB card readers most popular, for multiple card types PCMCIA card readers popular for notebook computers Memory cards with USB interface save the need for card readers.

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Digital Wallets Portable hard disks with built-in card readers and LCD displays. Typically 20-60GB of storage compared with 1-2GB memory cards

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Portable CD Burners Portable CD writers with card readers. Each CD can hold 640-700MB. Long-term storage

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Tripod and monopod Heavy weight tripods give you steady shots but more difficult to carry around. Suitable for studio shooting. Light weight tripods made of carbon fiber are good for travelling use. Monopods save space and weight and often used for sports and wildlife photography.

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External Flash Compact digital cameras may or may not support external flash. External flash may be supported even without a hot shoe (mounting bracket).

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Lens Converters Useful for compact digital cameras to get wide angle shots or telephoto shots

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Underwater Case Essential for underwater photography