Why Digital Photography?

Digital photography is quickly becoming the preferred way to take pictures.   If you are in the market for a new camera, consider the following advantages of digital over traditional film photography.

In the long run, digital is less expensive.  All photos are recorder are on memory device within the camera and then downloaded straight to your computer.  You skip the need to keep buying rolls of film and paying for developing. You can send unlimited copies of the same picture to friends and relatives without spending a penny extra.

You see your pictures quicker.  Most digital cameras allow you to view your photos immediately.  There is no waiting and worrying about whether or not that “perfect shot” turned out.  You can take a picture of that new baby and immediately download it to your computer to share your good good news with friends and relatives. There’s no need for anxious grandparents to wait days or even weeks for a picture.

Most digital cameras have built in editing features.   Cropping and re-centering the picture to make it look its best can be done easily.  You no longer have to worry about a stray hand distracting from the main subject of your photo.  Sharpening can be done immediately to bring out the details.  Within minutes you can have a print-perfect photo.

You avoid the frustration of running out of film and having to find a store that is open in the middle of an important event or on vacation.  Depending on the size of your memory card and the setting of file size and quality, which you often control, you can store a couple hundred pictures on one tiny card.  That is the equivalent of nine or ten rolls of film. 

These are just a few of the advantages of digital photography.  It is definitely worth considering as you search for your next new camera.

Your Digital Camera Owner’s Manual

All cameras come with an owners manual, but so few people take the time to read it.  Once they get past the basic operations, they get anxious to go out and try the camera.  Maybe all the new terms are confusing or there seems like too much information to digest.  This is understandable, but by not reading the entire manual, you limit yourself and many cool features of your camera are never used.  Hopefully you will find the following suggestions helpful in getting the most from your digital camera.

After your first overview of the features your camera possesses, decide what you would like to explore the most.  Pick only one special feature.  Read the instructions on what this feature can do and how to use it.  Don’t worry if it isn’t completely clear, that will come in time.

Now the fun part.  Take your camera and start using this special feature.  Try all the different settings within this one feature.  See how your pictures change.  Explore what this feature does.  Don’t stop until you know this feature inside and out  and don’t go onto the next feature until you have fully explored this one.

When you are satisfied you know the ins and outs of one special feature, return to the owner’s manual and pick another special feature you would like to learn.  Repeat the above process with this feature, only returning to the manual when you are satisfied you have mastered the new skill. 

By working through the owner’s manual in this way, you will find it isn’t so overwhelming.  The hands-on practice of each skill will help you learn it thoroughly.  When you have covered all the cool things your camera will do, go out and enjoy them all.  You will be glad you took the time to become friends with this wonderful creation.

Digital Camera Terms To Know

It helps when learning to use your new digital camera to also know what some of the more common terms mean.  Below you will find many of these common terms defined.


Automatic Mode — A setting that sets the focus, exposure and white-balance automatically.

Burst Mode or Continuous Capture Mode — a series of pictures taken one after another at quickly timed intervals with one press of the shutter button.

Compression — The process of compacting digital data, images and text by deleting selected information.

Digital Zoom — Cropping and magnifying the center part of an image.

JPEG — The predominant format used for image compression in digital cameras.

Lag Time — The pause between the time the shutter button is pressed and when the camera actually captures the image.

LCD — (Liquid-Crystal Display) is a small screen on a digital camera for viewing images.

Lens — A circular and transparent glass or plastic piece that has the function of collecting light and focusing it on the sensor to capture the image.

Megabyte — (MB) Measures 1024 Kilobytes, and refers to the amount of information in a file, or how much information can be contained on a Memory Card, Hard Drive or Disk. Pixels — Tiny units of color that make up digital pictures. Pixels also measure digital resolution. One million pixels adds up to one mega-pixel.

RGB — Refers to Red, Green, Blue colors used on computers to create all other colors. Resolution — Camera resolution describes the number of pixels used to create the image, which determines the amount of detail a camera can capture. The more pixels a camera has, the more detail it can register and the larger the picture can be printed.

Storage Card — The removable storage device which holds images taken with the camera, comparable to film, but much smaller. Also called a digital camera memory card.

Viewfinder — The optical "window" to look through to compose the scene.

White Balance — White balancing adjusts the camera to compensate for the type of light (daylight, fluorescent, incandescent, etc.,) or lighting conditions in the scene so it will look normal to the human eye.