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

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Gallery of Photo Examples & Links

Let's face it, talk is cheap.  I can huff and puff about a camera being good or bad, but all it is to you is a bunch of words.  On this page, I'm going to show you just a few examples of some photos, that will give you an idea of what to expect with various price ranges of digital cameras.  If you're on a slower internet connection then please be patient, as this is a graphics-intensive page, but well worth viewing.  ** If you want to get to the "Links" area, you can scroll down as the page is loading, to avoid having to wait for the sample images to load.  The links area is at the bottom of this page.  **

Just below the sample photos, you will also find an area of links to other web sites that are from the "big boys" - photo professionals who know their stuff inside and out.  Those links will take you to sites where you can also view photo samples from specific models of camera.  The samples I provide below are just a comparison of what you might expect based on how much you pay for a camera today.

What Can I Expect For What I Pay?

The truth?  There are no great or super-duper "bargains" in the digital camera world.  It's definitely a "you get what you pay for" market.  The more you spend, the better the camera, and you're not going to get a feature-rich camera for $40.   You can however,  find some discounts depending on the store and camera model, so it's still best to shop around and price compare before buying.  

There are of course, better or worse cameras in each price range, but the three sample photos you're about to see show an "average" to expect for each price range.  

 MAKE A NOTE    Again, if you are on a slower phone modem connection or god forbid, using AOL, then it will take a minute or two for these photos to load - but be patient as they show a wide range of photo quality.

A Note About "Fixed Focus" Cameras

You've read where I've talked about how much sharper and detailed auto focus cameras usually are than fixed focus models.  I just wanted to throw one sample in to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.  I went out one day and took a photo of our town square.  On the left, you'll see the whole photo, that I reduced in size to about one-fifth it's original size, to fit in a typical email or web page.  On the right, however, you'll see a blow up of the fountain area in the center of the square - this is the actual size of the fountain in the original image before I reduced it. 

Note, that when reduced, a fixed focus photo seems to contain a decent amount of detail to the naked human eye, as seen in the photo on the left.  When inspected at it's full size however, you see that the fountain bricks have almost no detail at all; they're simply a bunch of blocky colored pixels.  To your brain however, when shrunk, you know they're brick.  But the photo shows otherwise.  The trees as well, take on more of a painted look as opposed to showing details in the leaves, etc.  Should this photo have been taken with an auto focus camera, you would see that these are indeed, bricks, even at full size or close up, and you would see much more detail in the trees and grass.

Now, just so you can really see what I'm talking about... just below you'll see a photo of the same scene, taken with an auto-focus camera set of the same resolution as the photos above:

Pay close attention to the bricks of the fountain (wow.. you can tell they're bricks!), and even the detail seen in the white doors of the building behind the fountain, and even in the greenery.  Yep, there ya go... if you want details, you need to make an auto-focusing lens system part of your buyer's checklist.  Of course, a camera having a good optical glass lens plays a roll in it's image quality too, which if you've been reading the site, you now know as well.

UPDATED:   Since originally designing this page, a couple of things have changed in the digital camera world.  When I first composed this lesson, you had to shop carefully for a digicam, as even major digicam makers were from time to time cranking out real "duds" and cheaper models with fixed-focus lenses.  Today, we've finally reached the point where if you buy a major brand name camera, even a cheaper one, you will now at the very least get "pretty good" images.  With only a rare exception, all major branded cameras now are auto focus models.

If you look on Ebay and other auction sites today however, as well as in office supply and discount stores, you will now find a whole crop of off-brand cheaper cameras hitting the market.  Just go to Ebay for example and look in the digital camera category - you'll see tons of these things by unknown names such as SVP, Brica, Megxon, Newgen, and many others.  Many of these cameras advertise super-megapixel resolutions (usually interpolated), and many have no optical zoom lenses.  Build quality is also sometimes debatable, and you're not going to get the best image quality either, usually because a number of them have fixed-focus lenses as well.  This is not to say they're all "crap" (so to speak), as they can be a decent second camera or fine for those on extremely tight budgets.  Just be aware, that regardless of claims, you are not going to get a camera that competes with a name brand costing hundreds more.  If you want a camera that produces GOOD images for good enlargements, spend the money on a name brand.

Do You Really Need To Spend Much??

Now here I've gone on and on about making sure you spend enough to get a "decent" camera with all the good features like auto-focus, and now I'm about to tell you, "Gee, maybe you don't need to spend that much money after all".   No, I'm not trying to send you to the funny farm, but instead, am setting up another scenerio.

Your name is "Jake".  Jake has a personal web page that he shares with family and friends so they can check up on his life.  He also does a small informal company newsletter for his office.  Jake needs a digital camera to take small, basic, photos that he will only place on his web site.  He doesn't need to print them out, and doesn't need super high quality images - just some snapshots to get the point across as to where he's been, etc.  Ok, take a look below at the two photos:

The photo on the left, was taken with a very inexpensive $70 camera at 640 x 480 resolution (sub-megapixel), and reduced in size to what you see.  The photo on the right, was taken with a 2 megapixel camera costing $550 (at the time it was new, a couple of years ago), with the image reduced to the same size.  It's a somewhat dull late-autumn day, and the 2 megapixel camera did do a better job with the color of the sky, but overall, the two photos are not THAT different in quality once viewed at this size.  So "Jake" might very well do fine for what he wants to do, using the $90 camera as opposed to spending six times that amount for something he only wants to use for a web page.  If your reason for purchasing a digital camera is to use it like Jake will, then you can save some serious $$$ taking this into consideration.

However... yes, I'm going to toss a wrench into it, because I just know someone out there will completely overlook the "for web use only" lesson I'm trying to make here, and think they can buy a sub-$100 camera to make prints with.

Just below, I took the same two cameras, and took a photo of one of my dogs.  This time, I simply cropped out the dog from the overall photo, and she is shown at about the full size she is in the actual photo - no reduction in size this time.  As you can now clearly see, the $90 camera falls far short of something you would want to turn into a print. At full size, the image is fuzzy, lacks color, and well, it's just yucky.  Reducing it to half size and playing with the brightness a bit would make it ok for Jake's web page, however.  The more expensive camera photo on the right, however, shows many more shades and tones of color, and much better clarity at full size, showing a reddish-brown dog on a brown sofa.  The photo on the right, would make a good print, as for that use, is well worth the extra money spent.

 MAKE A MENTAL NOTE       I will ALWAYS encourage you to buy the most camera that you can afford so you won't have any disappointments.  If however, your sole need is only for small web photos that don't have to be perfect in quality, you can "get by" with a less expensive camera and decent image editing program that allows you to resize and sharpen images.  For prints, I still stick to my guns and say you need to spend at least $200 or more for something that will satisfy.  Sample lesson's over, kids.  I cannot count how many times someone has told me they can get by with a cheapo camera, only later once they master it, to decide they want to start printing photos, then be disappointed.  

So my opinion is that while a few of you may THINK you don't need anything better than the Walmart special, please, please, think ahead to projects you MIGHT want your camera for once you really learn how to use it, and buy accordingly.

   &   Donations

Hopefully, now that you've spent some time in this site, you have a better understanding of "the basics".  If not, it's always here, so just come back and look over everything again.  It will sink in, I promise.  After you've gotten your feet wet here, then feel free to click on the links below to go to some more elaborate sites from the professionals.  The first is a link to a photo album site I've thrown up that shows sample images from specific models of cameras.  You'll then find links to user reviews on more cameras, and detailed product reviews on specific models.  Have fun!

Ohhhhhh yes, the "hit you up for a donation" part... I almost forgot!   Well, as you may know, it costs $$$ to run a web site.  I do so out-of-pocket, with no advertisers.  If you feel that this site has given you a lesson well learned, and was worth a simple $2.00 or $5.00 donation, then you will help contribute to this site's lifespan and growth considerably.  At the bottom of this page, you'll find a button which will direct you to a "Paypal" secure site, where you can make the small contribution via your credit card.  It will take a couple of minutes to fill out, but that's it, you're done, and will have shown your support.  If not, then consider clicking on one of the banners throughout the page for stock photo services if you need them.  Signing up with them through these banners gives a small commission which also helps keep this site up and running.  Thanks!

  Make A Donation (?)  

As said earlier in the site, if you liked what you've read, and feel like you've learned something valuable, then a small donation of $2.00, $5.00, or $10.00 is greatly appreciated.  This site is a labor of love, but it's also paid for out of my own pocket, so donations help to offset the cost of running it.  If you feel the site has helped you and wish to contribute, it is more than appreciated.   I use "PayPal" for donations.  It's reasonably fast, is secure, and reliable.  All you have to do is click the "make a donation" button just below, and it will take you to an area where you can do so with your credit card, securely.   Your contribution is greatly appreciated.    Thanks again!

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That's it!  The end!  Tell your friends!  Go out and buy a camera now!!

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