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Digital cameras are
very similar to traditional cameras,
although there is one crucial difference -
digital cameras don't use film! Instead,
they record photos and video to a memory
chip or card. Most are able to record short
video clips (usually anywhere from 15
seconds up to 5 minutes and more), because
video is nothing more than a fast transition
of photos. At this point, you might be
wondering how you get the photos out of the
digital camera.
Most digital cameras come with a software
interface that lets you decide how high
quality the pictures should be and different
settings depending on the light and
environment. Through this interface, you can
also delete photos and do basic photo and
video editing. Most digital cameras come
with a cable that connects directly to your
computer, usually via USB. The camera
instantly transfers the photos to a program
installed on your computer. Once the photos
are stored on your computer, you can print
them, edit them, or e-mail them. If you want
to print them the traditional way, you can
take the memory card to a photo developer
and they can print the images from the card
as if you were giving them your film. Photo
developers can also put your photos on a CD
that includes a multimedia showcase of your
photoset.
When shopping for a digital camera, the main
specification you should be looking at are
Megapixels. Computers store images
electronically as a large combination of
dots. When you have a good image on your
screen or printed on paper, you often can't
see the dots because they're packed very
closely together, but they're still there.
Just as printed images are measured by dots
per inch on paper, electronic images are
measured by pixels (dots on your computer
screen). A megapixel is defined as one
million pixels. Modern cameras come with a
resolution of 1-3 megapixels. If you are
taking photos that don't need to be printed
out in high-quality resolution, 2 megapixels
should be sufficient. Also consider the
amount of memory the camera has. Most
digital cameras have built-in memory and can
accommodate external cards to store more
photos. These cards are smaller than
matchboxes and can store anywhere from 16MB
to 1GB of data
About the Author: Deryck Richards is the
founder and managing partner of Desktronix.
Deryck currently manages hosting and data
center operations for Desktronix. He also
provides system administration and technical
support directly to small businesses as he
has since 2000. His areas of expertise
include networking, Windows, Linux, and
Macintosh systems and he is the author of
The Guide to Tec. |
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