Purchasing a digital camera can be, at best, confusing. There are many different brands and models out there to choose from how can you be sure that you are getting the right one for you? What do you look for when you want to compare digital cameras. There are a few things to consider that can make digital camera comparisons a little easier. For most users the important features are resolution, zoom, and storage. Many cameras offer more bells and whistles, but those are a little out of scope for this article.

Resolution:

Resolution refers to the sharpness of an image. Resolution is usually given in pixels (such as 1704x1257 pixels) or megapixels (such as 2.1 megapixels). A pixel is a single point in a graphic image and a megapixel is one million of these points. When looking at the specifications for several digital cameras you are apt to see resolution expressed as CCD resolution and image resolution. CCD is the acronym for charged-coupled device. A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a specially made integrated circuit that responds to light. A CCD is used to capture and store image data. The higher CCD resolution the sharper an image will be and the dimmer the light source needs to be in order to produce an image. The image resolution refers to the actual stored image. The higher the image resolution the more clear the actual image will be.

Zoom:

There are two types of zoom that you will see when looking at the specifications for cameras. They are optical and digital zoom. The camera lens is used to produce the optical zoom. It is an actual magnification of the image. You will see this expressed the number of times of magnification (such as 3X). Optical zoom will allow the enlargement of the image without sacrificing resolution. Digital zoom is simply the cropping of the center of the image. This can be useful at times, but most image software programs allow you to manipulate your photos in the same fashion. Be careful of manufacturers who claim that you are getting a 6X zoom camera when in reality you are getting a 2X optical zoom with a 3X digital zoom.

Storage:

Storage for digital cameras is usually expressed in megabytes (MB). This is the number of bytes of information that the storage media can accommodate. Most digital cameras will offer some degree of internal storage or memory. This storage can be compared to the hard drive of a computer. The other type of storage or memory is removable memory. There are two major choices here. Compact Flash or Smart Media. Both are small removable cards based on Flash technology. Flash technology allows the cards to store data for indefinite periods of time in a very durable medium. This means that this media can be written to, read from, erased, and re-written to hundreds of time. CompactFlash cards are rugged and contain no moving parts. They are designed to take the shock of a ten foot fall. They are available in a wide range of capacities. The number of pictures that can be stored on them vary with the resolution of the pictures, but generally for every 16MB of storage capacity you can store 20 pictures of good quality. SmartMedia cards have the same storage capacity and actually cost less than the CompactFlash cards, but there are some trade offs. Smart Media cards are more susceptible to damage and there are more hardware and software requirements for the camera that is using the card.

Final thoughts:

When choosing a digital camera think first about your budget and how you are going to use your camera. Whether you want to take family pictures or photograph items for online auctions, whether you wish to take photos in the evening or other low light situations. Nobody can tell you what the right camera is for you, except for you. Keep in mind the resolution and visual quality of the images you would like to take, how far away from your subject you will need to be, and how many pictures you intend to store and for how long. Make sure you go to a camera store and actually pick up and take a few pictures with the different cameras you are comparing. Have the clerk print out some of the pictures so you can make an informed decision.

Article originally appeared on www.FasterDigital.com and was written by Michael Prien. It is not subject to the Creative Commons license.