Digital photography

This month Dan Sprawson talks you through what to look for when buying a new digital camera.

Dan says: Digital photography

'Choosing a digital camera may be quite daunting to begin with‚ but once you take the plunge you will never look back.'

First you need to ask yourself what you will be using your camera for:

Will you be taking artistic shots of landscapes to blow up and put on your wall?
Will you be using your camera mainly to take pictures of family and friends?

Chosing which option better suits your needs is important and will help you choose the correct camera for your needs.

There are two main types of digital camera:

1: SLR – Single Lens Reflex

These are larger‚ bulky cameras that have detachable lenses that allow you to use a range of lenses with different focal lengths. Some of their main features include:

TTL – Through The Lens viewfinder. This basically means when you look through the viewfinder you see exactly what you will be taking the photo of
Large selection of manual controls‚ such as exposure‚ aperture and shutter speed settings.
Flash hot shoe‚ allowing you to add external flash units

2: Compact cameras

These are smaller lighter cameras used by the consumer market‚ built to fit into your pocket and be taken anywhere. Although the quality of the image produced will not be as good as an SLR camera. Features include:

Single attached lens
Small and light for easy use
Automatic controls‚ although some allow limited manual changes
Digital viewfinder

The choice between these two forms of camera is vital; SLR's are usually more expensive than their compact cousins‚ but produce a higher quality of image. Think about what you will be using the camera for and whether you want a camera that will fit easily into your bag.

Other features to look out for

Battery life: How long will your cameras battery last? A good tip is to buy some cheap backup batteries so that you never find yourself running out of battery on long trips
Mega Pixels: A pixel is a dot of colour that combined with millions of others make up the digital image of your photo. The higher the mega pixels the larger you can blow up the image. Basic cameras can now range from 2 – 7 million pixels
Lens: It is important to think about the lens on your camera. Lens range from wide angle‚ which are good for taking landscape shots or large groups of people‚ through to zoom lenses‚ useful when taking pictures of subjects in the distance.
Zoom: Compact cameras usually have a digital zoom as well as an optical zoom. Be careful with digital zoom‚ the further you zoom in the lower the image quality‚ try to get as large an optical zoom as possible.

'I would recommend that once you have decided between an SLR or a compact camera you have a look through one of the myriad of digital camera magazines out there‚ they will help you choose which camera has the best features in your price range.

Also look around the internet to find the best deal‚ cameras are coming down and down in price and you should be able to find a bargain out there if you look hard enough.

Above all have fun with your photography‚ be creative and experiment and you should get some stunning shots.'