| Just
before Christmas, a new batch of digital cameras hit the stores. Kodak,
Cannon, and other camera and film companies came out with models as did
Apple, Epson and a few other computer companies. This article gives a brief
overview of the new digital camera technology and mentions a few models.
The digital camera market can be divided into three price ranges: the $12,000 and up group, the $5,000 to $10,000 group and the $1,000 and under group. The first two are for the professional photographer. The third is what this article is about. In the under $1,000 group there are three ranges: $150 - $400, $400 - $600 and $600 - $900. The price is determined by a number of factors. Some of these are: resolution, image quality, and features. ResolutionSomething not found in film cameras, resolution is the primary driver of the price in digital cameras. At the low end the Casio OV-10a has a resolution of 240 x 480; the mid-range Apple QuickTake 150 has a 640 x 480 resolution and at the high end the Olympus D300L has a resolution of 1024 x 768. Most of you will recognize these as common screen resolutions for your monitor. Many cameras have a choice of two resolutions; some offer three. A lower resolution allows more images to be stored in the camera's memory and a higher one stores fewer images. I have found it difficult to tell the difference between 1024 x 768 and 512 x 384 in color pictures printed on plain paper using a DeskJet. The difference between digital resolution and film is very apparent when viewed side by side, however. A 35 mm film frame can resolve up to 2,500 lines per inch while the average digital frame will resolve 300 lines per inch.The available resolutions mean that a digital camera's pictures are excellent for use on homepages and in other applications that you generate on your computer. They are satisfactory for family use and are easily printed at an 8x10 size on ordinary paper. Image qualityThere are other considerations about picture quality. Things like vibrancy of colors, detail, skin tones, etc. affect the result, especially on the printed page. For a good look at example pictures from 11 different cameras see the sidebar Guide to Digital Camera Output in the article Heave-Ho Silver in the January 7, 1997, copy of PC Magazine. This is also a good article to understand the new technology.FeaturesThese are the same type that you find in film cameras Auto focus, Auto exposure, Telephoto lenses, Close-up lenses, Zoom lenses, Wide-angle Lenses, Filters, Timers the list goes on and on. Right now you must choose between different features. One manufacturer will offer Telephoto and Zoom capability while another offers better resolution and a Close-up lens for example.A feature that you don't find in a film camera is the number of exposures available. This is usually dependent on the type of film that you choose. With a digital camera it, like the resolution, is a function of the memory size and is built into the camera. This is an important consideration when you make your selection. Most cameras use from a one to six MB flash RAM. (This stores the pictures when the camera is turned off.) Some digital cameras use the PC (PCMCIA) card to store pictures. This gives unlimited storage by changing cards, but adds the cost of the card as another consideration. Most cameras offer between 17 and 40 high resolution images, up to 120 low resolution images or a mix of the two. Most download the images to your computer through a serial port cable supplied with the camera. One camera uses a parallel port download and you can add a PC drive if you want to use the PC cards to transfer pictures. A few also have the capability to download the pictures to a TV. One of the features that I looked for when I shopped was the preview color LCD. It is a small 1" to 2" inch monitor built in to the back of the camera. Some cameras use it to let you view and frame your shots as you take them. But, the thing I use it for is to view the picture after I have taken it. I can show it to friends and decide whether or not I want to keep it or delete it. (A few cameras will not let you delete pictures until they are downloaded to the computer.) Other ConsiderationsShapes and weights vary. The Kodak cameras have a non-traditional shape. So does the Fuji. Camera weights vary from 4 to 27 ounces. Most use standard AA batteries while a couple require a special lithium or nickel cadmium and some have rechargeable ones. This means the difference between getting a replacement at any grocery store or going to a store with a camera section.The recycle time before you are ready to take a second picture varies from 0.5 sec to 8 seconds depending on the camera and whether or not you use a flash. A flash will add a few seconds. The basic formatting and storage of the picture takes 3 or 4 seconds on most models. If you hold down the shutter the new Sony DSC-F1 will take two frames a second up to its limit of 27, 640 x 480 images without flash. For a review of the Sony and the new Kodak DC25 see the January 21, 1997, issue of PC Magazine. Another consideration of the cameras with the autofocus and automatic f-stop adjustment features is the delay between the time you press the shutter button and the time the camera takes the picture. This can be up to 1.5 seconds and can make a difference if you are taking a non-posed picture. Of course this is no big deal in shooting a landscape. Some cameras that have these features allow you to cut the time slightly by pressing the shutter half-way down to let the camera set the focus and then the rest of the way when you want to shoot the picture. With the fixed focal length cameras you don't have this problem but then you don't get the advantages of the automatic focusing either. As with the other features it's all one big tradeoff. Free software comes with most cameras. You need a program to download the images and one to edit the pictures if you desire. The downloading program will probably have a Twain driver. Adobe Photo Deluxe and PhotoEnhancer are the two most common editing programs provided but if you have a top of the line one already it should work great if it will allow you to open a Twain image. Computer file sizes for an image will very. On my Olympus DC300, low resolution (512 x 384) images stored in the Adobe (.pdd) format (used by the Photo Deluxe software supplied with the camera) are about 1.1 MB each. The high resolution images (1024 x 768) are about 4.5 MB each. If I use another program that accepts the Twain standard to download the pictures, PhotoFinish for example, I can save the low resolution images in 500 KB bitmap (.bmp) files each. This makes it handy to store and send to friends on a floppy without having to use a compression algorithm. The PicturesI use an inkjet color printer and have been happy with the result. Side by side with a film image you can quickly notice the difference but for family shots they are fine. The images are easy to enlarge to 8 by 10 and really are appreciated by family members. The files can be converted to whatever format you wish and used on the computer, in publishing programs, and on the Internet.The FutureI predict that the street price on the current models will drop throughout the year as new models with more features become available. For the next couple of years the cameras will see many changes until the manufactures catch up with the available technology.Where to BuyIf you are on the Internet, a good place to shop is the World Wide Web. Most manufactures have sites that have all the statistics on their models. Some magazine sites have reviews that give a comparison. Once you narrow your choice to two or three, then shop the local computer stores. You will find the street price is $50 to $200 less than the list price you saw on the web. Take another percentage off by buying at one of our advertisers who offer a discount to Alamo PC members!This article has given just a brief overview of some of the features. There are many more. The details of the camera's data compression firmware, color correction and other features can get quite involved. Consult the articles mentioned for more detail. Bob Harris is a retired military officer and former Microsoft Solutions Provider who currently is a computer consultant in San Antonio. He founded the Alamo PC Microsoft Access SIG and is currently a co-leader of the Genealogy SIG. |