Digital Cameras FAQ
Do all digital cameras suffer from shutter lag?
It is true that digital cameras do suffer from shutter lag. Shutter lag is
the time in between clicking the shutter button and the picture actually
being taken. Once the button is pressed digital cameras get to work setting
the focus, white balance and exposure time. They also need to charge up the
CCD. The end result, a brief pause before the picture is taken can be very
annoying and can prove to be the difference between a great picture and a
missed opportunity. As with most things in the world of digital cameras
shutter lag times are decreasing as the technology evolves. In fact in
higher spec digital cameras shutter lag has almost been eliminated. It won't
be a problem with the majority of pictures that you take, but it is
something to be aware of.
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Digital cameras seem to have lots of features that I'll never
understand. They must be difficult to use?
It's true that digital cameras, particularly at the higher end of the market
do have some pretty amazing features. It is also true that these will really
only be of use to serious photographers who want to experiment with their
digital cameras and want to learn and use all that their camera has to
offer. Even then digital cameras come with a fully automatic mode that will
allow you to use it in a similar way to a traditional point and shoot
camera. The important point to remember here is that feature rich digital
cameras also cost a lot of money. If you are not planning to make use of all
the available features then I would suggest that you buy a model with a
smaller feature set and save yourself a lot of money. You will find that
digital cameras that are more basic in the functionality that they offer are
also more easy to use.
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How many pixels do digital cameras need to produce good quality 6x4 prints?
It depends on just how pin sharp you want the image. Two megapixel digital
cameras will produce very good 6x4 prints, but if you are looking for
exceptional quality then you will be better off looking at 3 megapixel
digital cameras. Likewise with 8x11 prints. Three megapixel digital cameras
will produce very good prints, but if you are looking for exceptional
quality then you need to step up to 4 megapixel digital cameras.
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Can I get pictures taken by digital cameras printed
professionally?
If you don't want to have the expense of buying a dedicated photo printer or
you just like the idea of having prints made for you then there are services
that you can use to have your prints made. Most camera stores will be more
than happy to take your images and provide you with prints. There are also
Internet based companies where you can send your images to and receive a set
of prints back through the post. The main disadvantage of having your prints
made by a camera store is that people need to transfer the images from their
digital cameras to their computers and then download the images onto floppy
disks or burn them to a CD. If you use an Internet service, once the images
have been transferred from digital cameras to a computer it is quite easy to
send them to the online printing services. One of the biggest advantages of
having prints made of photographs taken with digital cameras is that you can
select the images that you like the best before you send them off for
printing.
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I have seen effective pixels referred to on specifications
for digital cameras. What does this mean?
Not all the pixels that are on a
digital camera's CCD can be used when the photograph is taken. Some fall
outside the range of the lens and some are painted black to help with colour
balance. Therefore it is the number of effective pixels that people need to
look out for when buying digital cameras.
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