The means your camera uses to take images and translate them from the image sensor to the computer or printer may not be hindered by the compromises it makes during the process.  You will only know this when the photos are being viewed at the time of transfer.

Storage is one of these compromises; digital images take a great deal of space for storage. They need to be managed in a way that ensures enough images can be stored before they need to be downloaded from the camera.

Cameras use different levels of compression to downsize the images for storing them in memory. JPEG is the most widely used standard, it removes information that can't be seen by the human eye anyway. The higher the level of compression, the more information is deleted.

At the higher compression setting, blocks start to appear in the images. This begins to degrade the image quality, making the resulting file size extremely small.  If quality is the most important consideration, avoid JPEG compression. 

The mid- to high-end digital cameras offer different forms of compression, which don't delete any information, by using mathematical algorithms. They compress the file and save it either in TIFF format or as RAW files, which contain only the information the sensor captured with no in camera processing.

Larger file sizes are the result of this lossless file compression format. However, the higher image quality and post processing flexibility makes up for the loss in image storage space.

Another compromise made in digital cameras is the in-camera processing; these create predefined results. Some cameras have sharpening filters which restore the contrast that is lost in edge details when the image goes through the various optical filters.

This process of sharpening in the camera reduces the ability to sharpen the image once it has been downloaded to the computer. Oversharpening can create unnatural and harsh edges and may even cause shifts in color.

Digital cameras have many advantages over traditional cameras. Some of these advantages are:

* After instantly reviewing the picture, it can be retaken if there is a problem. The photographer simply changes a few settings.

* Taking many shots of the same thing using different settings and angles can be done inexpensively, and you print only the best ones. This is too expensive to accomplish with film cameras.

* Those who want to take hundreds of photos for various uses without printing them can do this at minimal cost.

* Storing large quantities of digital media on the newer computers is much cheaper than film.

* No degradation occurs when copying images from one medium to another.

* You can view pictures on your computer without having to scan them first.

* With a consumer-grade printer and a computer, you can print your own photos.

* Film cameras of equal quality are often much larger than digital cameras.

* While it is necessary to change film after 24 to 36 shots, you can store hundreds of images on the same card in a digital camera.

* With many of the new cameras, you can view your photos on the television with an AV-out function that is included.

* It is easy and inexpensive to experiment with the settings on a digital camera. With a film camera, you could use up many rolls of film trying to learn to use it.

* Some printers can communicate directly with your camera, or its memory card; you don't need a computer to print your pictures.

* Digital cameras make it easy to add information to your pictures, such as time and date.

* Sharper images are now possible with digitals due to the anti-shake tools, making tripods nearly obsolete.

* A color darkroom is as close as your computer, and you can now avoid the very expensive photo labs.

Today's digital cameras have gone way beyond just point and shoot. They come with dozens of features, meaning you can customize your camera to your specific needs.
Some of the things you will want to look into when purchasing your camera are confusing, so make sure you know what you are looking for when you go shopping.

The quality of the resolution of your photos is determined by the megapixels (mps) of your camera. Tiny dots called pixels make up your digital photos; a megapixel means 1,000 pixels, or 1,000 dots.

The higher the number of pixels your camera has, the better the resolution of your photos. If you want to crop your pictures or plan on printing larger prints, you need to be sure you purchase a camera that can meet those needs. 

Optical or digital zooms are available on digital cameras. Optical zoom is like the one on a traditional camera and works the same way -- it goes out, bringing you closer, or in, to take you further away from the subject.  A digital zoom takes the picture as it is and enlarges it; this can lose image quality because it is simply enlarging the pixels (dots) of the picture. Pictures may seem blurry or out of focus.

Preserving the image quality can be as simple as turning off the digital zoom feature on your camera.  Later, during editing, you can zoom in on a specific part of the photo with much better results.

A manual focus can be a great deal of fun, allowing you to focus in and make different parts of the photo stand out.  This allows for a lot of creativity in
your work. And most cameras still have an autofocus, so you can go back to the basics if your aren't feeling extremely creative.

Think about the features that are important to you and look for those features. One important thing to remember is that you will be carrying it around, so consider the size when you purchase your camera.

Today's digital cameras have gone way beyond just point and shoot. They come with dozens of features, meaning you can customize your camera to your specific needs.
Some of the things you will want to look into when purchasing your camera are confusing, so make sure you know what you are looking for when you go shopping.

The quality of the resolution of your photos is determined by the megapixels (mps) of your camera. Tiny dots called pixels make up your digital photos; a megapixel means 1,000 pixels, or 1,000 dots.

The higher the number of pixels your camera has, the better the resolution of your photos. If you want to crop your pictures or plan on printing larger prints, you need to be sure you purchase a camera that can meet those needs. 

Optical or digital zooms are available on digital cameras. Optical zoom is like the one on a traditional camera and works the same way -- it goes out, bringing you closer, or in, to take you further away from the subject.  A digital zoom takes the picture as it is and enlarges it; this can lose image quality because it is simply enlarging the pixels (dots) of the picture. Pictures may seem blurry or out of focus.

Preserving the image quality can be as simple as turning off the digital zoom feature on your camera.  Later, during editing, you can zoom in on a specific part of the photo with much better results.

A manual focus can be a great deal of fun, allowing you to focus in and make different parts of the photo stand out.  This allows for a lot of creativity in
your work. And most cameras still have an autofocus, so you can go back to the basics if your aren't feeling extremely creative.

Think about the features that are important to you and look for those features. One important thing to remember is that you will be carrying it around, so consider the size when you purchase your camera.

Two-megapixel cameras were offered for less than $100.00 in late 2002, with some one-megapixel cameras offered for under $60.00.  Discount stores began offering development and processing of digital prints for their customers, offering actual chemical prints in an hour. This was in comparison with inkjet prints they could get from their computers.

These prints were about the same price as film prints, even though the different aspect ratio in digitals showed people that 4x6 digital print cropped some of the image.  Some stores now offer prints with the exact same ratios as digital cameras record. The single-use digital camera was introduced in 2003 at a cost of only $11.00. This camera followed the same simple process as the disposable film cameras.

The purchaser would return the camera to the store; receive prints and a CD-ROM of their pictures.  The store then refurbishes the camera and it is sold again. This was the major difference between the one-use digital camera and the disposable film camera.

There are now several of these one-use digitals on the market, most of which are identical in function and specifications to the original one-use put out in 2003.  However, a few now have superior specifications and are more technologically advanced.  These one-use digitals are for the most part less than $20.00 in the stores; this of course does not include the cost of processing the film.

The high demand for digital cameras has increased the number of customer complaints as manufacturers cut corners to maintain competitive prices, with some digital cameras having only a 90-day warranty necessary due to the short service life.

Due to the sharp drop in the price of 35mm cameras, many manufacturers have stopped producing them completely, with one major company dropping out of the camera business altogether.

The price of digital cameras has been lowered dramatically as the popularity increases. You can now purchase a digital camera for anywhere from $30 to $400. As always, remember that you get what you pay for, and don't expect to get top quality photos from a cheap camera; you may end up disappointed!

There are many types of digital cameras on the market, and it will help if you know what they are when you start to shop. Some of the newest models are Digital SLR, Electronic View Finders, and Range Finders.

Digital SLRs are very much like film-loaded cameras. A series of mirrors and prisms control the optical path to produce a digital image on the LCD screen. You actually see what you are photographing when you look through the lens.

Electronic View Finders and Range Finders work much like a video camera, and optical view finder controls the picture instead of a lens. You don't look through a lens to take a picture; instead, you are looking at a digital image.

Many of these cameras have the technology to allow video footage; therefore, it is enabled by the manufacturer. You can shoot up to three minutes of video footage depending on the quality of the digital camera you are using.

Your new camera should have at least 2 megapixels resolution; anything up to 8 MP will provide great shots. 1.9-2.5 MP seems to be standard on today's market, but you can get more than 8 MP in some cameras on the professional market. Any less than 2 megapixels with frequently create poor-quality pictures that are fuzzy and blurred.

Ask to see samples of the pictures taken by that specific camera before you buy, and check the focus and zoom. The quality of the lens will make a big difference in your photos, so be sure it has a good lens. Another important item on your digital camera is a flash; without this, you will not be able to take pictures inside.

Understand all of the features and controls before you purchase your new digital camera. It can be confusing to remember how it works when you get the camera home if you don't understand how each feature works.

Many photographers are hearing the word "digital" nowadays. Digital photography is innovative and new, still in its infancy, and it is a wonderful photographic tool.

Tourists, among other photographic amateurs, love digital cameras. Family photos, graphic design, security, advertising, fashion, and inventory control are only a few of the ways you can use digital photography.

If you are one of those who love to capture life at its best and worst, digital photography is the new wave. The family vacation is much easier to record, and you can take hundreds more photos to put in the family photo album!

The fundamentals of digital and film cameras are the same when taking a picture. The big difference is that with digital photography you get instant results, as you can view your picture on the LCD screen of the camera. With a conventional camera, you have to wait for film processing to get the pleasure of seeing what you have taken.

With a digital camera you can delete the pictures you don't like, while film again requires you to wait, as well as spend time and money, on processing photos that you may not even want.

Electrical information is processed into digital information by the use of electronic chips in digital cameras. Millions of tiny receptors convert the energy into a digital image.

The color elements used are called pixels, and the standard pixel is the megapixel (MP).  Megapixel identifies the number of sensors needed to convert the information into a digital image. A camera with 8 megapixels of resolution is equal to about 8 million sensors.

The higher the number of megapixels, the better resolution and better quality of the photo you will receive. Good quality 4 x 6 photos can be taken with a 1.9-megapixel camera.

The quality of the images on the new digital cameras, and the time limits that are so vitally important in the newspaper industry, have made digital photography the norm with most professional news photographers.

Many amateur photographers have also adopted the digital camera as their camera of choice. They enjoy the convenience of sending photos by email, being able to put them on the web, and displaying them in digital picture frames.  Many cell phones now have digital cameras included in them, even though the small lens size of these phones reduces the quality of the pictures, making them unsuitable for making prints.

The quality of pictures taken on even the best digital cameras is not considered to be anywhere near the quality of regular film. Therefore, many commercial photographers and even some artistic amateurs resist using digital technology for their photography purposes.

Film also has a much greater resolution than even the best of digital projectors. Other professionals have embraced with enthusiasm the digital cameras, believing that the lower long-term costs in flexibility outweigh the initial high costs.

Unlike film photography, which requires constant expenditures to update and maintain equipment, nearly all expense in digital photography is the initial cost of the equipment.  However, film equipment lasts longer and doesn't become obsolete as quickly as digital cameras.

Many professionals have changed to digital photography because of the advantages of editing on a computer. This includes the ability to balance the color and manipulate images in a way that are not possible with conventional film photography.

A further disadvantage to digital photography is the need to have electrical outlets to charge batteries on digital cameras. Digital cameras are also much more sensitive to climate, extreme cold, and moisture than standard cameras, which cause photographers who work in remote areas to prefer the more conventional film camera.

Some fear that the changing technology of computers will eventually make the digital photography taken today inaccessible in the future. Digital photography in the courts is also held to be very questionable because of the inability to prove the photograph's authenticity.

The professional photographer and the amateur photographer can find many advantages to digital photography. These include, but are not limited to:

* Without wasting storage space, the professional photographer can review, edit, and even remove a photo, while assessing composition and lighting.

* The versatility of management, including color and file, manipulation, and printing abilities, creates a much faster workflow than film cameras.

* It is much easier to modify and manipulate digital images than it is to modify negatives and prints.

* Special effects that are available on a digital camera can give much more dramatic results than film cameras.

* With the clear images provided by new digital cameras, tripods are a thing of the past in most instances. This is due to the anti-shake tools now available.

* Hundreds of images can be stored on your computer with a minimum of space allowing easy access for editing. It is much less expensive to store data on a computer than on rolls of film and negatives. In addition, the professional can take time to view them, saving only the best for use.

* Digital cameras are much more compact, allowing a freedom of movement when going on difficult shoots.

* Reviewing images and techniques are much easier as data can be stored directly on the photo, including; camera type, date and time, film speed, flash used, and shutter speed.

* Hundreds of photos can be taken without the need to constantly change film.

* Your home darkroom is now color, and editing your pictures is much less expensive. This eliminates the high cost of film processing and the added problems of storing rolls of file and negatives.

Manufacturers are now promoting the use of digital cameras to photojournalists by increasing the quality of cameras, by developing a quality of photograph that is comparable to 35mm models of the past.

There are many advantages when comparing digital photography to traditional film cameras. These include:

* Data can be stored on the image including date and time, type of camera, film speed and shutter speed (this is great for vacations); this assists in reviewing photos at a later date.

* The use of a tripod is all but eliminated due to the anti-shake tools in digital cameras.

* You can capture hundreds of photos for emailing and graphic uses without the need to print all of them and scan them into your computer.

* You print only the pictures you want, so you can take a lot of pictures. And, by changing the settings slightly, you can take as many shots as you want choosing only the best quality to keep.

* Storing photos on a computer is a lot cheaper than storing them on film, and they are much easier to access.

* With a consumer-grade printer, you can communicate directly with your camera or its memory card and print your own pictures.

* You can immediately view your pictures. If you don't like the picture, just take it over again!

* Film cameras are much larger than digital cameras with equal quality.

* Without the expense of developing film, you can experiment with the settings on a digital camera, allowing you to learn new techniques with no additional cost.

* Film cameras require a change of film every 24 to 36 pictures, with digital photography you can store hundreds of images on the same media device.

* Digital cameras can now be hooked up to your television, allowing you to review your photos with an audience.

* You have a home color darkroom for editing your pictures without the expense of a darkroom and its many chemicals.

* No more scanning of photos to view them on your computer.

* You don't have to pay the high cost of film processing and store many, many rolls of film and photographs.

When planning the budget for your new digital camera, include the cost of an extra memory card.  The cards that come with your camera aren't nearly enough memory to take the number of pictures you would like to take, so get a bigger card right off the bat.

A 3-megapixel camera should have at least a 256 MB card; a 4-megapixel camera needs at a minimum a 512 MB card.  Any camera with 6 or more megapixels should have a 1 GB card.  This will eliminate the possibility of ever missing a shot because your memory card is full, or even worse, having to choose which photo to delete because you have found one more that you just have to take!

Being able to shoot at your camera's highest resolution is another important reason to have a massive memory card.  Spending money on a 6-megapixel digicam should also include shooting with all 6 megapixels!

Another thing to remember is to shoot at the camera's highest compression setting, too. Squeezing more images onto your memory card by shooting at a lower resolution and with lower quality compression settings will only cause regret later.  You never know when you will shoot the next great photo. (Do you think the photographer left home that morning knowing he would photograph the nurse kissing the soldier? That photo turned out to be the most well-recognized photo taken at the end of the war!)

Don't chance missing a great shot with poor quality. Another thing to remember is that the lower the resolution of your photos, the smaller the print will have to be to remain clear. No posters can be made with a 640 x 480 resolution. Not exactly what you will want to display at your first gallery showing!