So recently I decided that it was time to upgrade from a Nikon Cool Pix 3200, to a Fuji FinePix S5700. You see I have progressed in my photography skills and wanted something better. Now any one who knows me would likely describe me as cheap. I prefer thrifty myself, and as such I research any big purchase to death. Whether it be a BBQ, software or a digital camera. I like to know exactly what all this stuff about mega pixels, ccds, and zooms is all about.
Well it turns out there are a lot of people out there who like to know what they are buying. So while I am not promoting the Fuji FinePix S5700, I will share with you my reasons for buying it and what I found out while doing the research on it.
If you have been looking at digital cameras you have no doubt heard the term Mega Pixel. Well what is a Mega Pixel and more importantly how will it affect your photos. Well a pixel is short for picture element which is essentially a single point on an image. This point is not round nor square but an abstract sample. A Mega pixel is simple a million of these points. When used to describe digital cameras the number of mega pixels describes the number of sensor elements with an array. For example a 3.1 mega pixel camera would have an array of 2048 × 1536 sensor elements.
Okay so what does this mean to the average user. The number of mega pixels generally determines the size of print that can be made with out distortion. While there are ways around distortion when printing a large print (check out our tutorial on how to enlarge photos with out distortion) here is a general guide as to how many mega pixels you need in order to print the desired size.
- 2 megapixels or less — It will be hard to make a high-quality print of any size, but these are just fine for e-mailing photos .
- 3 megapixels — You can print great 4×6 images, decent 5×7s and, depending on the camera, you might even get a good 6×9 or 8×10.
- 4 megapixels — You’re getting nicer. These images make practically photo-lab quality 4×6s, and great 5×7s and 6×9s. Not only that but you can print a nice 8×10.
- 5 megapixels — This will produce excellent 8×10s, and even good 11×14. You are getting closer to professional photographer quality.
- 6 megapixels and greater — 11×14 can be printed with excellent results. Although some professional grade cameras go up to 10 mega pixels, many photographers rarely shoot above 8 megapixels.
Now for the bad thing about having large megapixels. The more megapixels the more expensive the camera. Not only that when you are shooting pictures in the high end of the mega pixel range they take up more space. This means you will need larger memory cards to hold these pictures and more hard drive space to store them on your computer if you so choose.
CCD stands for charge coupler device and CMOS stands for complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor. Basically both these devices are image sensors. Both CCDs and CMOS imagers can offer excellent imaging performance when designed properly. CCDs have traditionally provided the performance benchmarks in the photographic, scientific, and industrial applications that demand the highest image quality (as measured in quantum efficiency and noise) at the expense of system size. CMOS imagers offer more integration (more functions on the chip), and consume less power. When I was researching buying a new camera I discovered that almost all professional grade cameras had CCD technology.
One interesting thing I discovered when learning about CCDs is – size mattersCCD size can be stated in “Number of Pixels,” or a ratio related to physical measurements of size, usually a number like 1/1.8″, for example. This is tricky to explain and would take a lot of time. So if you are really interested in this read this link.
Basically bigger is better when it comes to CCDs. But once again be careful, the bigger you get the more it is going to cost. The camera I just recently bought has a 1/ 2.5-inch CCD and performs awesome. From my poking around on the net I found that many professional photographers use cameras will similar size CCDs.
When you are looking for a camera you will no doubt be looking for certain features. A word of caution here, just because a camera has a huge array of features does not make it better. The feature that I would recommend being high on your list is the optical zoom. Notice I said optical zoom and not digital. Many cameras boast outrageous digital zoom rates. I have never had a good quality image using digital zoom. In my research into buying camera every site recommended going with optical zoom and I must say optical zoom produces much better results.
Other features include the ability to take pictures at night, panoramas, portraits etc. I strongly encourage you to read your cameras manual so you can take advantage of all the wonderful features it has.
Well with any luck you now have a good background knowledge to go and purchase yourself a good digital camera. So go get one and start taking some pictures! Send your pictures to me if you like, as I do enjoy looking through pictures.
