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Advantages: Digital cameras are fast growing in popularity over the old 35mm film cameras. The digital ones are designed to capture and store images digitally rather than on film which has to be developed and processed. With a digital camera you have the option of immediately viewing the picture you just took to see if it came out good.

If not, there’s the option of deleting the image and retaking the picture. With the 35 mm film cameras once you took the picture, there was no way of knowing how it turned out until after it’s been developed and that’s when you realize that Uncle Jimmy’s head had been cut off from the picture. With the onset of digital cameras, one can now ensure perfect pictures every time.

Digital also has the added bonus over 35mm in that it’s in digital format and stored in a computer rather than on paper or film which grows old and brittle over time. Another feature digital cameras have is that they also have the capability of recording sounds and videos as well as pictures. Imagine being able to record your baby’s precious laugh as you’re taking pictures without having to run for the video camera.

Types

Video Cameras The main purpose of these are to record actual moving images. Aside from the professional video camera used in professional movie productions, there are the camcorders and webcams. The camcorder is generally used by the general public to capture memorable pictures and sounds of their lives.

One can watch playback directly from a liquid crystal display on the camcorder itself or connect it to their television set or computer for viewing. Webcams are cameras that are attached to computers and usually used to view the person you are communicating with via instant messaging.

Live-preview Digital Camera One has the ability to frame and preview a photo before taking the picture. These have the capability of making mini movies although they’re typically used for small spur of the moment type of filming as the quality is not quite as good as an actual camcorder. These are divided into two different types of categories

Compact Digital Camera Small and easy to carry, these cameras are widely popular with the majority of amateur photographers. An excellent camera for capturing personal moments to be cherished for years to come. Due to having a smaller zoom capability than your DSLR cameras and a larger range of depth to be in focus, professional photographers tend to think the images are flat looking.

Bridge Cameras Similar to SLR type of cameras, these share the advanced features of the DSLRs while still sharing the live-preview capability and smaller sensor sizes of the compact camera. They provide zoom lens capability to allow some creativity in taking photos. Bridge cameras are considered in a class that falls between the compact and the professional DSLRs.

Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera (DSLRs)

These professional cameras allow for greater flexibility in photographing subjects with interchangeable lens, sensor size and quality, control among many other features. With the DSLRs one has the capability of taking professional looking photographs and the ability to resize to larger views for professional looking pictures.

Whatever your needs are, you are sure to find a digital camera to fit your lifestyle.

Digital photography is a quite recent development that has converted the large masses into photographers. It is by far the easiest way to take a snapshot and allows the photographer to enhance its overall features later on. Because digital cameras use rewritable digital memory instead of film, you can have the convenience of taking good shots and eliminating the bad ones. It offers the easiest way of capturing good images and converting them to interesting art pieces.

Indeed, even digital photography has come a long way ever since the first digital cameras and computers entered the consumer market. The development of budget digital cameras has induced tremendous change in the world of photography, as everyone with a digital camera can take a photograph, upload it to their desktop computer and then share it with friends.

The birth of mass photography has also brought a niche for online photography related services. There are several companies that cater the consumers’ needs of this sort. Usually, they offer services such as digital image restoration, photo retouching, and photo editing or digital enhancement. These services bring satisfaction to photo hobbyists, as they are able to develop many “failed” photos into acceptable form.

Even though digital cameras allow immediate feedback on the shot, not all mistakes are easily noted on a small camera screen. Therefore many photographs that look quite right at first will actually need some attention before they can be used on the high resolution needed on for example printing them out.

Enter Digital Enhancement

Digital enhancement is the answer to many of the image quality problems mentioned above. It is the way to improve your shot and make it look more attractive, or the way to recover a photo from a lesser failure. With digital enhancement, you can easily increase the attractiveness of images by simply adjusting the brightness, contrast and sharpness of the image. You are also given the chance to enhance the color balance of the picture. The high resolution of modern digital cameras also allows for digital resizing and cropping later on.

There are many innovative ways to improve a digital photograph using these computer aided techniques. Anyone who is into digital photography can take advantage of the services that offered online, but most enthusiasts want to learn the way to do it themselves.

The professional Adobe Photoshop is a good tool that can also be used by hobbyists. The steep price can push users away from professional tools, but fortunately Photoshop Elements from Adobe or the Paint Shop Pro series from Corel have a cheaper price tag attached. There are also free alternatives available, such a GIMP, the GNU Image Manipulation Program.

An electronics on-line discussion forum contains a story about an elderly woman who wanted a simple camera to take pictures of her grandchildren. When she received a digital camera for Christmas, she looked puzzled for a moment and then asked, “Where do you put in the film?” This humorous example demonstrates how the revolutionary technology of digital cameras may be mystifying for those who have difficulty grasping the concept of a “filmless” camera! For almost a century, photography enthusiasts sagely discussed such topics as 35mm film, light meters and F-stops; today, digital cameras have made such topics all but obsolete.

Howstuffworks.com contains an article by Gurevich, Karim, and Wilson that greatly simplifies an explanation of how digital cameras work. Very simply, they explain that CDs, mp3’s, and DVDs all share the same technology: they convert traditional analog “wave” data into digital data based upon “bits.” In so doing, this radical shift in technology has changed greatly – and forever – how we do things and what has become possible including digital “filmless” cameras. While film cameras depend upon chemical and mechanical processes, digital cameras contain a computer that records images electronically.

In 1994, Kodak and Apple developed and sold the first digital cameras. Today there are hundreds of models to choose from, depending upon the type of pictures you need, the complexity with which you’re comfortable, and what digital camera you can afford. For everyday use, most people prefer a “point and shoot” camera that isn’t complex, takes good quality pictures that can be loaded onto computers or printed for personal use and to send to friends, and is affordable. According to a number of consumer guides and customer reviews, the top ten digital cameras in the low, mid, and high price ranges are:

1. Nikon D300 (high)

2. Canon EOS 5D (high)

3. Canon EOS 40D (high)

4. HP Photosmart M547 (low, great value)

5. FujiFilm Finepix S700 (mid)

6. GE A730 (mid)

7. Nikon D200 (high)

8. Canon EOS Digital Rebel Xsi (high)

9. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 (mid)

10. Canon EOS 30D (high)

The point should be made that what constitutes a “great” digital camera is usually in the eye of the beholder. One person’s “top ten” list is almost certain to differ from another person’s. For example, a digital camera that is making devoted converts is the Casio Exilim series that sells in the mid-level price range, depending upon your digital camera photography needs. On the other end, Digital Camera.com rates the Pentax Optio E-10 as “the worst digital camera ever.”

With all these differing opinions, what’s the best way to buy the digital camera that’s right for you? If you simply want to take personal pictures, choose a digital camera that has at least three megapixels. This will give you good quality pictures at a very affordable price. Remember that the higher the number of megapixels, the better quality your pictures will be, but the digital camera you choose will be more complex and more expensive. Also consider the size and shape of the camera; is it easy for you to carry in your purse or pocket? Finally, be sure your digital camera has at least 256-512 megabites of space on its memory card so you won’t have to buy additional memory cards. Taking all these factors into consideration will help you enjoy capturing treasured memories for years to come.