Digital Cameras Demystification By: Jason Montour Demystification By: Jason Montour

Specifications / Megapixels - is more better? / Digital vs. optical zoom. / Auto focus, face detection, smile detection. / ISO speeds (for lighting) / TYPES - Sub-Compact, Compact, Prosumer, Professional. / Megapixels - is more better? / Digital vs. optical zoom. / Auto focus, face detection, smile detection. / ISO speeds (for lighting) / TYPES - Sub-Compact, Compact, Prosumer, Professional.

Compact & Sub-Compact / Typical consumer - point and shoot! / Smaller and more convenient to carry. / Less detail than professional. / More economical ($70 ~ $400) / Fun features like Smile Detection. / Typical consumer - point and shoot! / Smaller and more convenient to carry. / Less detail than professional. / More economical ($70 ~ $400) / Fun features like Smile Detection.

Prosumer / More expensive ($400 ~ $800) / Introduces SLR/DSLR / Single Lens Reflex / Higher quality (even if less megapixels than point and shoot. / Larger casing and less discrete than compacts / More expensive ($400 ~ $800) / Introduces SLR/DSLR / Single Lens Reflex / Higher quality (even if less megapixels than point and shoot. / Larger casing and less discrete than compacts

Professional / Most expensive ($800 ~ $5000 or more) / Excellent image quality. / Large casing/body. / Many more settings and functions for demanding photographer. / Field is almost entirely DSLR / Many available lenses, and flashes for customizability. / Most expensive ($800 ~ $5000 or more) / Excellent image quality. / Large casing/body. / Many more settings and functions for demanding photographer. / Field is almost entirely DSLR / Many available lenses, and flashes for customizability.

Canon 7d

Nikon d300s

Specs to be aware of: / Face recognition (good feature for point & shoot) / Smile shutter (smile recognition) Sony CyberShot DSC W170, 150, 120 / ISO Speeds (higher capacity is good, but should be used sparingly) / Image Stabilization (IS) (great feature for the not-so-steady hand) / Shutter Speed (Max) (minimum of 1/2000, but 1/8000 is best available) / Manual Focus (pretty standard) / Megapixels/Total Effective pixels (8 Megapixels to 12 megapixels for standard) / Focus Delay – How long it takes for the camera to take the photo. / Long for lower level cameras and shorter as you progress into higher level. / Face recognition (good feature for point & shoot) / Smile shutter (smile recognition) Sony CyberShot DSC W170, 150, 120 / ISO Speeds (higher capacity is good, but should be used sparingly) / Image Stabilization (IS) (great feature for the not-so-steady hand) / Shutter Speed (Max) (minimum of 1/2000, but 1/8000 is best available) / Manual Focus (pretty standard) / Megapixels/Total Effective pixels (8 Megapixels to 12 megapixels for standard) / Focus Delay – How long it takes for the camera to take the photo. / Long for lower level cameras and shorter as you progress into higher level.

Resources / Consumer Reports: Cameras: / Digital Camera Side-by-side: / Best Buy: / BH Photo:  Wikipedia – Digital Cameras: / Consumer Reports: Cameras: / Digital Camera Side-by-side: / Best Buy: / BH Photo:  Wikipedia – Digital Cameras: