No Fluff or Mumbo Jumbo - "Just The Basics" on Digital Cameras

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The Basics 101

You've heard about digital cameras.  You may or may not know what they are.  I'm not going to require you to read manuals or books here, either.  Let's just keep it at a child's level, and say this for a description of a digital camera:

"Think of a film camera.  You aim at a subject, press a shutter button, and the shutter inside the camera lens opens to expose light to film inside, capturing the image onto the film.  You fill up the roll of film, take it to a lab, they develop it, and you have photos!

Ok, now you have a digital camera.  You aim at a subject, press a shutter button, and the shutter inside if camera lens opens to expose light to a small sensor inside, capturing the image onto a memory card, instead of film.  You fill it up, transfer your images to your computer, and can save them, alter them, print them, email them, and more!  Even better, you can take your memory card to the local drug store photo lab, and insert them into a machine and have photo lab prints made from them, too!"

There now, that wasn't all that much to learn, was it?  Yeah, there's a lot more geeky stuff to it, but for the "average" user, that's about all they want to know when hitting the stores to buy their first camera. 

As you continue reading on this page, you'll find a small list of definitions of some of the more important "buzz words" you will want to familiarize yourself with regarding digital cameras.  You don't need to be a human encyclopedia - come back several times and study, and it'll all start to sink in... I promise.  Then when you finally get out there to the store to buy your first camera, the big tech words the 18 year old kid that works there throws at you won't confuse you.  You'll know what he's talking about, and can avoid being lassoed in to a sale that's not mean for you.  If you'd like to read a very short article on the history of digital cameras and how prices have dropped so quickly in recent years, click HERE, and hit your browser's "Back" button to return to this page. Onward!

Some Definitions

Not in alphabetical order at all, but important words to know.

Auto & Fixed Focus:   The better digital cameras (those beyond the "web cam" category and usually over $100.00) work much like a camcorder when they focus.  They send out an invisible beam (or beams) aimed at the subject you're going to take a photo of.  You press the shutter button halfway down to allow them to do this, then finish pressing the button to take your photo.  As a result, your photo is tailored-focuses to the subject you're aiming at.  Less expensive digital cameras or older models of cameras however, will many times have fixed focus lenses.  These are pretty much set at a standard focal length, from about 2 or 3 feet to infinity.  The camera does not focus on the subject, since it's lens is pretty much set at one focus.  On the plus side, taking a photo with a fixed focus camera is quicker, since you do not have the slight delay in having to press the shutter halfway to allow it to focus; however,  the photos will not be as sharp as with an auto focus camera, either.  The general rule, is that if you just want a casual-use digital camera for quick snapshots of the kids or pets, and will be taking the pics at a distance of 6 to 15 feet, then a fixed focus camera will probably do fine.  However, if you're going to be taking photos of distant objects like mountains, wildlife, or vacation shots, you'll want an auto focus camera to make sure these distant objects come out much more clearly.

"Compression":  A camera must "compress" an image file in order to store it on a memory card or floppy disk, (in most cases unless you're shooting in an uncompressed TIFF mode, but that's another lesson).  When it compresses an image, it takes data out of the image, to make the file size smaller.  The more compression, the smaller the file size, and the more photos that can be stored on a card or disk; however, the more an image is compressed, the worse it will look.  Different cameras have different compression rates.  Example:  You use a Sony Mavica that stores photos on a floppy disk.  Floppies hold VERY little data, so the camera must compress the image a good bit in order to fit just a few of them on a floppy - close to 17-to-1 compression, in some model's cases.   You may get an Olympus that stores to a memory card, that only compresses an image on a 3-to-1 level at it's "fine" setting, since a memory card can have many times the storage capacity of a floppy disk.  Since 3-to-1 compression is so much less than 17-to-1, you'll see an improved image on the Olympus photo.  Cheaper digital cameras that use a memory card however, may compress an image more even on their best quality settings - up to 9-to-1 in some cases so this is yet another factor that can some camera's photos to look worse than anothers, even if they're the same megapixel rating.  Some of the larger camera review sites listed on my gallery page at the bottom, will go into compression details when testing specific camera models, which is great, as it's sometimes very hard to find out how much a camera compresses images on the camera box, or even the manufacturer's web sites.

Chromatic Aberrations (also called "Purple Fringing"):  You may see this abbreviated as "CA" for short in posts and reviews, so I'll use it here.  CA (Chromatic Aberration) is fairly common on digital cameras, and is an effect where in high contrast areas of a photo, you may see thin magenta or purplish lines that run along an object.  Such scenes may include tree limbs against a white hazy sky, glass in a building against a bright sky, or lightly colored objects in brightly lit conditions, etc.  There is some debate as to whether it's the fault of the sensors being used within the cameras, or the lenses being chosen for that particular camera, or a combination of the two.  The effect can be nearly nonexistent to very obvious, depending on the model of camera, so it's important to read detailed reviews on a model before you consider buying it.  

C.C.D. & C.M.O.S. Sensors:  These might not be the top of the list of words you need to know when buying your first camera, but it's a good "F.Y.I." to learn, now.  A digital camera uses a sensor to snag an image to store on it's memory card.  Most higher quality digital cameras use a "C.C.D." (charge-coupled-device) sensor to do this.  These come in different quality and sizes, and their images are measures in pixel size (see resolution and pixels).  Another form of image sensor is called a C.M.O.S. sensor (complementary metal oxide semiconductor), and is usually used in cheaper devices like web cams, or digital cameras under $100.00, since it's much cheaper to make than a C.C.D. sensor.  Of course, a C.M.O.S. image is usually much worse as a result of it's price.  Today however, when buying a very inexpensive digital camera, it's still best to make sure on the box or with the salesperson that it's a C.C.D. camera and not a C.M.O.S.   

The exception to this rule are "digital SLR" cameras - the types where you can change the lenses much like film SLR cameras.  Canon in particular uses a very high quality C.M.O.S. chip in their digital SLR cameras, which do in these cases produce excellent images.  The catch?  The cheapest digital SLR is around $1,000.00, and they go up steadily from there. 

Camera Shake:  This is a term that refers to movement made by someone when they hold a camera and use the zoom.  For example, if you've ever held binoculars or a telescope before, you know how when you look through how even a slight movement on your part results in a very pronounced movement on the other end?  The longer the zoom, the stronger the effect.  Well imagine using a digital camera with a big 10X zoom (see about zooms below).  You can now understand, that if you use one of these cameras at full zoom, how much even the slightest movement you make will be exaggerated through the lens, resulting in blurry photos.  Now in good light, (as in a very bright sunny day), the camera should automatically pick a very fast shutter speed, which will "freeze" the motion on the other end, but on hazy, cloudy, or darker days, it will pick a slower shutter speed, resulting in blurry photos.  A few cameras are now adding a feature known as "image stabilization" or "steady shot", or some similar buzz words.  These are technologies that help stabilize the lens when using them at long zooms, greatly reducing your risk of getting a blurry photos.  If you want a camera with a big zoom, and want to maximize your chances of getting clear shots when using that zoom, you will want to investigate getting a camera that does offer one of these image stabilization features.

Flash:   Just like in film cameras.  Fires a burst of light to illuminate an area or subject for poor or indoor lit conditions.  Most good digital cameras have a flash, but some of the very inexpensive beginner's models do not.  Without a flash, indoor shots are nearly impossible.  Many digital camera flashes are not the strongest in the world.  You shouldn't expect much more than a 6 foot effective range on many of them.  Some higher priced models can light up a subject 10 or more feet.  A few are not coming with "hot shoes" like on a SLR film camera, so you can attach a more powerful external flash to them, but read their specs carefully!  Some use proprietary flashes, and not off-the-shelf models.  

Interpolation (In-ter-pole-a-tion):  When dealing with a camera's resolution, you need to make sure that the camera maker is not talking about an "Interpolated" image size.  Interpolation is where a camera can "add extra data" to an image in order to make the image a larger resolution size; in other words, interpolation is "fake resolution".  An example might be that you find a cheap digital camera in the store... on the side of the box it may read, "Camera resolution = 1024 x 768 pixels (interpolated)"  What this would most likely mean is that the REAL resolution of the camera is a smaller 640 by 480 pixles, but the camera adds data to make it larger.  As you may guess, this added "fake" data does not help an image's quality - it usually makes it worse.  So if you're in the market for a digital camera of a specific resolution, make sure the word "interpolated" isn't on the box.  An exception to this are a very few high end consumer or professional digital SLR cameras which use highly advanced interpolation techniques - we are however, talking about cameras that are usually well above the $500 mark. 

Megapixels:   Goes along with "resolution" and pixels.  At the store, you'll hear the kids working there say something like, "Oh you HAVE to have this new camera, it's 8 megapixels and the latest thing!".  Megapixels refers to the maximum number of pixels that will make up the largest photo size for that camera.  An example is that a  3 megapixel image is around 2048 by 1536 pixels in size, a 4 megapixel is around 2240 by 1680 pixels - well, you get the idea.  The more megapixels you have, the larger the physical and file size of the photo will be, and the better that printed photos should look when printing them out at larger sizes.  Since most monitor resolutions are in the 72 to 100 dots-per-inch range, even a small megapixel image should look good on your monitor, but today's printers can print at resolutions of up to 2880 dots-per-inch, so low megapixel camera images may not look so hot when printing them at larger sizes.  Here's a small chart to let you know pretty much what the maximum size photo would be that you can print based on a camera's megapixel rating (keeping in mind you're using a decent printer, and good photo quality print paper, and also keeping in mind that the camera you're using is a good quality one with a good lens, etc.):

 MAKE A NOTE      Many people make the mistake of ONLY looking at a camera's megapixel rating when purchasing their first camera.  This can lead to disappointment.  The quality of the lens among other things, can have an effect on the image quality.  Many if not most cameras made by Olympus, Nikon, Canon, and Fuji for instance, use very good optics and generally produce excellent images.  In my opinion only however, the H.P. cameras found almost everywhere, have inferior image quality, as do some of the Kodak models, and off-brands.  So keep in mind - megapixels alone do not make a good camera.  Read up also about "compression" (below).

Noise:   Think of "noise" as static on an image, or as an effect very similar to film grain.  Some cameras are better at reducing noise than others.  Noise shows up like small specks in parts of an image such as a solid blue sky, or in solid colors in darker images.  Once you research more, and begin reading reviews on specific camera models, make sure and look for any mention of that particular camera having any more than usual amounts of noise in the photos.  Note that most consumer level digital cameras have adjustable "iso" levels (similar to film speed - the higher the iso you pick, the more sensitive to light it is, but the higher the noise will be).  So noise is pretty common in dark indoor photos.  There are programs you can buy that reduce noise in a photo at the cost of some sharpness.  Digital SLR cameras are much more expensive, but handle low-light photos much better, and have less noise in their images.

Notice how the white wall looked "speckled" in the darker room?  This is "noise".

Jaggies:   Jaggies are jagged lines that you see in some digital photos when you look at objects or items in the photo that have slanted lines, such as stairs, slopes, or anything that has an angle to it.  Instead of a smooth, straight, line, you'll see a stair step effect, called "Jaggies".  This is commonly found in cheaper cameras, but some more expensive ones who use inferior image C.C.D. or C.M.O.S. sensors (described below) can show them as well.  When you view sample photos on web sites taken with specific cameras, always check angled objects to see how bad the jaggy effect is.  While very slight jaggies are expected under certain conditions, they should never be extreme or pronounced. 

Note the "Jaggies" on the umbrella which should be a smooth line.

LCD (liquid crystal display):   The LCD is a small screen on the back of many digital cameras that will allow you to view photos you've taken, or use it to compose a photo you're about to take.  Very common in camcorders, too.  Think of it as a tiny color (in most cases) television set.  LCDs come in a vast array of shapes, though 1.5 inches is pretty much considered to be the standard size.  The advantages to an LCD are that what you see through them is basically what you're going to get in the stored image, so they're great for composing a shot.  The disadvantage is that they drain battery power rather quickly, though newer technologies are slowly eliminating this problem.

Optical Viewfinder:    If you've used film cameras at all, you of course know what this is; A small glass area you look through to compose a photo.  Many, but not all, digital cameras have an optical viewfinder, with the exception in many cases being Sony brand "Mavica" cameras, many of which force you to use the camera's LCD display (see below) to compose your photos.  One drawback to the optical viewfinder is that they are not as accurate as the LCD in showing everything that will be in the photo.  In other words, what you see in the LCD is exactly what will appear in the photo, however, the optical viewfinder may only show you about 75% of what will appear.

Optical vs Digital Zooms:   Let's face it, you want to sometimes get a close image of someone or something, without having to physically move closer to the subject.  Well, you must have a camera with a zoom on it in order to do so.  One buzz word you'll hear, especially in cheaper cameras, is that they have a "digital zoom".  Let's clear this up now... a digital zoom is not worth having, and do not allow it to steer you on your purchase.  An optical zoom, is a REAL zoom, working much like a binocular or small telescope, where the camera moves the lens back and forth to bring the subject you're aiming at closer.  A digital zoom simply takes the center of the photo, digitally enlarges it, and that's that.   The image quality suffers, and lacks detail, and you don't have a true zoom photo.  Many cameras have an optical zoom AND a digital zoom, and will use this to try to make their camera sound as if it's zoom is larger than it is.  For example, a camera may have a 3X optical zoom, and a 2X digital zoom in the camera, and advertise it as "Comes with a 6X zoom!!!".  Nope, it does not.  It comes with a 3X zoom that's "enhanced" with a digital zoom, to "fake" a 6X zoom.  Another thing to remember is what a real zoom is - for example, some makers like Kodak and Canon have several models with only a "2X" optical zoom.  Sounds nice, but at only 2X, the "zoom" is just barely greater than what a human sees with their naked eyes.  It's not really a "zoom" so to speak.  Many cameras have a 3X optical zoom these days, which will bring you a bit closer to the subject, but if you wish to take photos of wildlife, distant scenic shots, and so on, you'll need to spend more money and find cameras that offer 5X through 10X optical zooms.  At this time, Olympus, Fuji, and Sony are pretty much the only camera makers who are offering consumer level digital cameras with some models having larger zooms over the 3X standard, though Nikon does offer one (model 995) with a 4X zoom.  

Digital zoom sample:  In this sample image below, you can see full sized sections of a photo of a car and tree.  On the left is as it appears with NO digital zoom.  The middle section is at about a 3X digital zoom, and the right section is the digital zoom at 5X.  You can see how severely digital zoom degrades an image quality as you use it.

How much optical zoom do you need?   Here's a chart I try to go by:

MAKE A NOTE      Many of the better cameras that offer an optical zoom also have a digital zoom feature to "boost" the zoom range.  Again, in most all cases, this will degrade an image.  So if you want a zoom to be a feature on your new camera, make sure and base your decision on ONLY it's optical zoom rating.  Sony model cameras to feature a better-than-most quality digital zoom, but even so, image quality still degrades over that of a full optical zoom, F.Y.I.

Lens:   The lens too, plays a very  important roll in the quality of photos you take with any digital camera.  You can buy a 6 megapixel camera, but if it has a cheaply made lens on it, the images may not even contain as much detail as a high quality 3 megapixel camera from a major brand.  Some cheaper models of cameras have plastic or poor grades of  glass for a lens, so when you're browsing Ebay and see these no-name cameras, beware - you're not getting a top quality lens on them.  Other more expensive models have coated, multi-level glass lenses.  While pixels and the quality of the image sensor play rolls in how well your photos will turn out, neither does the job on it's own.  The lens must be a high quality lens in order for you to take good photos.  Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony, and Olympus are popular for their high quality of lenses on their digital cameras.  In case you're wondering just HOW much difference inferior lenses can make to a digital image... look at the image below of the bricks.

The brick photos were taken on different days, but at the same time of day (sunny late afternoon).  On the Left, you see a rather bluish looking photo.  The wood deck has a gray-blue tint to it, and the red bricks appear to have a purple tint.  This was from a very inexpensive off-brand 2 megapixel camera.  On the Right, the deck and bricks appear in their correct colors, yet this was taken with a 1 megapixel camera.  The 1.3 megapixel camera however, is a more expensive (older) model from a major brand maker, with superior lens quality.  So you see, there's more to it than megapixels - the lens makes the difference, too!  You get what you pay for with digital camera, so if you pay less, you get less in terms of quality components.  Even older lower resolution cameras that sold for hundreds of dollars in the late 90s, may take much better photos than today's cheaper higher megapixel off-brand models, because "back then", they were built with higher quality components, including better lenses.

Macro:   "Macro mode" is something you'll read in camera reviews a good bit, such as, "This camera has an excellent macro mode".  Macro is simply another word that describes a camera's ability to do extreme close up shots.  Most cameras will have a button or switch that when pushed, adjusts the focus so that you can get in very close to an object, sometimes as close as 1 inch or even less!  This comes in very handy for close shots of flowers, jewelry (think "Ebay" for stuff like this), and more.  Some cameras do better in this mode than others, and they have varying ranges of closeness you can get to the object.

Memory Cards:   Pretty much most all decent cameras today come with what are called "removable memory cards".  A memory card is the "film" of a digital camera.  They come in various shapes and sizes depending on the camera maker.  Some are very flat (Smart Media cards-left), some square and more like a book of matches (Compact Flash cards-center), and some even are shaped like a stick of gum (Sony's Memory Stick cards-right).  Smaller cards are hitting stores and cameras too, such as "Secure Digital" (SD-not pictured) and XD cards by Olympus and Fuji.  Cards come in different memory capacities.  The larger the capacity is in "megabytes" (megs for short), the more photos it will be able to store.  Once you fill the card up, you simply empty it by downloading the photos into your computer, and you can then erase the card and start over.  No more film and the cards can be used and reused hundreds of times before they wear out.   Keep your memory cards away from high heat (such as leaving them in a hot car), direct sunlight, or water.

How much memory do you need?  It depends on how much the camera "compresses" the image (see "compression" below), but in general, for 1.3 to 3 megapixel cameras, you really want a MINIMUM of 64 megs of memory.  If the camera has a movie mode you'll be using a lot, you'll want to double that to 128 megs or even higher.  For 4 to 6 megapixel cameras and higher, then you really should budget for the highest amount of memory you can afford... at least a 256 meg card.  Prices on cards up to 256 megs are at an all-time low these days, especially at places like Sam's Club, Costco, and BJs warehouses.  You can go higher to 512 megs, or 1 gigabye (1000 megs) or more, but the prices on those largest cards are still a bit high.  Most cameras today come with what they call "starter cards" which are usually very low capacity (16 or 32 megs), and they'll only allow you to store a few photos at the camera's top quality settings, and some cameras don't even come with a card at all, but instead include a small amount of internal memory and a card slot you can put your own card in once you buy one.  So budget for a larger card right off the bat when you buy your camera.

Examples of different brands (left to right) of Smart Media, Compact Flash, & Memory Stick memory cards.

 MAKE A NOTE       Cheaper digital cameras (usually those under $75.00) usually do not have removable memory cards, but permanently installed cards.  This is a liability if you plan on taking large numbers of photos.  In these cheap cameras, once the memory is full, you must take it to a computer and download the photos and empty the camera's memory before you take more photos. They don't even have a card slot where you can add your own card for extended storage.   With a camera with removable cards, you can simply take out a full card, insert an empty one, and continue taking photos until you get home to download them all.  It's best then, to make sure the camera you're looking at does use removable storage media, unless the camera is for a child, or you do not plan on ever taking more than a few photos at a time.  You can also buy a memory card reader, which is a device that plugs into the back of your computer, which you insert your camera's memory card into so you may download the photos into your computer.  This saves battery power, as you won't have to connect your camera to the computer for downloading photos.   Most card readers today connect via your "USB" port, so make sure if you have an older computer, that it's running at least Windows 98, and has a USB port.

A memory card reader with card inserted.  The other end plugs into your computer's USB port.

Movie or "Video" Features:   Many new or mid-priced digital cameras will advertise a "movie mode" or video feature.  They do little to explain what this really is.  While these cameras have the ability to take small mini-movie clips, most of them have a short limit on how long the video clip is - many times, it may only be 30 seconds, although newer generations of cameras are allowing you to take video until the memory card is full.  The larger the memory card, the longer the movie you can take.  Some cameras offer the ability to capture sound with the video, and others do not.  The video is really in most cases not very good, and movement will be a bit choppy, as the "frame rate" is not as fast as what a camcorder or video camera uses.  You need 30 frames per second for a video to look like "live tv", and most of these cameras only capture video at about 8-15 frames per second.  The size of the video is usually a maximum of 320 pixels wide (about twice the size of the photo of the card reader just above), so it's not full-screen.  Some newer models are offering larger 640 x 480 pixel sized movies in their cameras - keep in mind that while this is a much higher quality video, it eats up TONS of memory on your card, and many times while this newer generation of movie mode is better, it still isn't quite up to matching the quality of a small mini-DV camcorder.  The lesson?  Do not purchase a digital camera for it's video or movie features.   It's a cute little feature to have to capture so-so quality moving pictures when the camcorder is not handy at the moment, but that's it... base your purchase on the camera's still image quality, and not the "fluff" features.

Pixels:   Pixels are what make up an image.  Some call them "dots", when in fact they're not always a round "dot", but can be more square-ish in shape.  Still, it's a word you'll hear around.  Depending on the camera, you may or may not see the pixels in an image when looking at a printed version of it.  In use you may hear, "This photograph is 800 by 600 pixels", which means that in size, the photograph is 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels tall.  Just hearing someone say that a camera, "makes 1280 by 960 photos", will then mean the maximum size of the photo physically will be 1280 pixels by 960 pixels, about 1.5 times larger than most people have their monitor viewing areas set for.

Resolution:   Ok, the BIG buzz word at the stores... resolution.  Probably the most thrown-around word used by sales people to get you to buy the newest and most expensive model of digital camera in the place.  Resolution basically is the size of the photo in pixels (dots, basically).  The higher the resolution, the larger the physical size of the photo in pixels, and the more space (file size) it will take up. In theory, the higher the resolution, the better that printed photos will turn out, for just as with film, the larger the image that's shrunk to a snapshot sized photo, the clearer it will be.  What you need to know however, is that you may very well not need the highest resolution camera on the store shelves.  For more on why, see "megapixels" just below.

Soft:    You'll hear the word "soft" used at times when review sites are talking about a photo's quality.  Basically, "soft" is simply another word for "blurry".    Much like some people may use the word "crisp" to describe a photo that shows lots of nice details in it, an image that appears to lack details may be called "a soft image".  When you reach the gallery section of this site, you'll see some examples of a town square fountain taken with cameras that have a fixed focus and auto focus lens.  The fixed focus photos might be called "soft" as it lacks detail, when compared with the better version taken with the auto-focus camera.  This is something most store clerks have no clue about, but it is more of a "know this when you go to camera review sites" type of thing.

Web Cams:   The words "web cam" refer to a device that should not be confused with a "digital camera", though some people incorrectly call digital cameras a "web cam".  Web cams are connected to your computer via a cable, and act like mini video cameras, or perhaps more accurately, like small security cameras.  They allow you to make video phone calls, take very small still photos while they're connected to the computer, and use video chat rooms.  A few new models by Logitech, Intel, and others, offer the user the ability to detach the cam from the cable, and carry it around like a digital camera, take snapshots, and transfer them to the computer later.  These "all-in-one" devices are neat, but the quality of the photos are usually pretty poor.  They do not have a flash, so indoor pics are pretty much impossible as well.  So when hitting the stores, make sure and ask for a digital CAMERA, and not a "cam".

  <<  "Web Cam" - NOT a "Digital Camera"

Sounds like a lot of stuff, huh?   I can't count how many emails I get from people who say their husband, wife, or significant other is overwhelmed when trying to learn to use their new digital camera, and put it down out of frustration, or worse yet, refuse to buy one even though they want to, because they think it's all too hard.  Now look... did you learn to drive a car in a day?  When you started your last job, did you know everything there was to it in four hours??  Uh... nope!  The fact is, you must take a little time, and sit down to learn about your new digital camera.  Period.  No excuses.  It's not that hard.  Get rid of the kids for a few hours for a couple of nights, or stick them in the basement with the dog - turn off the phone - tell the spouse to take a walk or help you, and LEARN IT.  You can do it, but you can't if you play the dummy act and stop trying.

The above are by no means all of the buzz words and phrases that are associated with digital cameras and digital photography (there are hundreds more!), however, what I've included are as this site's theme is, "the basics" - what you should know when heading out to the stores to buy your first (or second) camera.  Don't feel badly about not remember all of this stuff right off the bat.  Come back and read, re-read, and then print it out and read it again.  It will sink in, and one day when visiting web sites that talk about cameras, you'll say, "Hey, I understand what they're talking about now!!"

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