How To Shop For A Digital Camera On The Internet

by David Fishman

There has been a technological revolution over the last twenty years. From the spread of the pc to the rise of CDs, DVDs and MRP3 players; how we approach and record our images of the world is changing. One of the most significant developments to have appeared on the market has been the digital camera. Almost everyone who owns a pc also owns a digital camera. The beauty of these is that you can view your picture as it will be and then decide whether to snap or not-once snapped you can see the picture again. Pictures taken with a digital camera can be uploaded to a computer and then printed out on the special paper that you can buy; alternatively you can put them on disc and take them to a professional processor.

The digital camera is uniquely different from what went before. Prior to the invention of the digital camera, even the most high tech cameras depended on mechanical and chemical processes. Digital cameras work differently because they have an inbuilt computer that records images electronically. Basically they are filmless cameras. When they first came out digital cameras were beyond most people's budgets-as they have become more popular, the price has dropped to the point where they are as affordable and flexible as similarly priced film cameras. The amount of images you are able to store depends on the amount of memory you have-storage can be anything from 16mb to 256mb. The memory size also has an effect on the resolution of the pictures you are taking-memory cards are removable however, and can be replaced with something that has more storage capacity.

There are three main styles or shape of digital camera, the first is small enough to fit into a pocket, it is the most sort after style and also quite expensive. Next you have the standard size, which is bigger and able to do all the things that the point and shoot camera will do. This model is good value for money. Finally there is the digital SLR which produces the best photographs. It is an extremely flexible model and you can switch lenses with this one, but these enhanced features come with a corresponding price tag.

Other information you should be interested in when buying a digital camera is pixels-briefly put, pixels are the dots that go to make up a picture. These pixels are measured in thousands of such dots; called megapixels. The more megapixels you have the sharper your pictures will be and the bigger the price tag on the camera. If all you want to do is produce 4x6 photos and maybe email some images then a 4 megapixel camera should be adequate for your needs. You need to bear in mind however, that the quality of the images you produce depends on three things; the speed of your computer, the type of software that the camera works with, and the quality of your laser or inkjet printer.

The final thing that you might want to bear in mind is optical zoom-this lets you magnify what you are shooting and gives you more control over framing the shot. The one most recommended for flexibility is the 3x optical zoom, don't let vendors confuse you with digital zoom-it is not a viable consideration. With this information at your fingertips you should have no trouble in purchasing you first digital camera.

About the Author

David Marc Fishman is the owner of priceriot.com. Priceriot is a new online auction where all customers get the lowest prices on products.

Downloading pictures from your digital camera

By Tony Northrup

After you take pictures with your digital camera, you'll want to copy the pictures from your camera to your computer so you can print them, share them with others, and back them up for safe keeping. Once your pictures are on your computer, you can erase them from your camera, freeing up memory so you can take more pictures. You can also view your pictures on a larger screen and decide which ones are worth keeping.

Some digital cameras come with software that helps you copy pictures from your camera to your computer. You can use this software, but you don't have to. Windows XP can copy pictures to your computer without requiring additional software. Here's how to copy your pictures using Windows XP:

1.	First connect your digital camera to your computer. You can do this in two different ways: • Use a USB cable. Most digital cameras come with a cable that connects the camera to a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port on your computer. • Use a memory card and memory card reader. A memory card reader is a piece of hardware that plugs right into your computer. You remove the memory card from your camera and insert it into your memory card reader, similar to the way you might transfer a file between two computers using a floppy disk. Tip: It's usually faster to use a memory card reader to copy your pictures than to connect your camera to your computer with a cable.
2.	Once you've connected your camera to your computer or inserted your memory card into your memory card reader, Windows XP will detect the connection and ask you what you want to do with your pictures. If you connected your camera with a USB cable, click Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard, and then click OK. If you are using a memory card reader, click Copy pictures to a folder on my computer using Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard, and then click OK.
3.	When the Scanner and Camera Wizard appears, click Next.
4.	All of the pictures on your camera (or in your camera's memory card) are now displayed on the Choose Pictures to Copy page. By default, Windows XP selects all of the pictures for downloading. If there are pictures you do not want to download, just clear the check box next to those pictures. At this stage, you can also rotate pictures that you took while holding your camera vertically. To rotate a picture, click it, and then click either the Rotate clockwise or Rotate counterclockwise button on the lower-left side of the page. When you have reviewed the pictures for downloading and rotated your vertical pictures, click Next.
5.	On the Picture Name and Destination page, type a name for the group of pictures. (This name, plus a number to differentiate each picture, will be applied to each of the pictures you download; for example, if you name the group "Vacation," the pictures will be named "Vacation001," "Vacation002," and so on.) Click Browse, and select a folder in which to save your pictures. Tip: Create a new folder for each group of pictures you download.
6.	If you want to erase the images from your camera's memory card to make space for new ones, select the Delete pictures from my device after copying them check box, and then click Next. The Scanner and Camera Wizard copies the pictures from your camera to the folder you specified and then removes the pictures from your camera's memory card.
7.	On the Other Options page, you can choose to publish your pictures to a Web site or order prints. If you have finished working with your pictures, click Nothing, and then click Next.
8.	On the final page of the wizard, click Finish. Windows XP opens a Windows Explorer window showing the pictures you downloaded from your camera. Your camera's memory card is now clean and ready to store new pictures. If you connected your camera to your computer using a USB cable, disconnect your camera. If you used a memory card reader, return the memory card to the camera.

Your photos are now stored on your computer, ready for whatever you want to do with them, and your camera is ready to take more pictures. As with any important files, it's a good idea to make backup copies of your photos, in case anything happens to your computer.

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Tony Northrup is a writer, Internet engineer, and digital photography enthusiast. Tony has a decade of experience making networks and servers connected to the Internet run smoothly. He has authored and co-authored eight books about using Windows and has written dozens of articles about Internet technologies. When he's not on his deck writing, he toys with home-automation technologies and takes pictures for display in a Web photo album. He lives in the Boston area with his wife Erica and cat Sammy. You can learn more about Tony by visiting his Web site at http://www.northrup.org.

Three Steps to Buying Your First Digital Camera

You’ve decided it’s time to buy a digital camera, but which one? The aisles are full of different brands with different features and a wide variety of prices to match. The task can be overwhelming. Following are the three most important things you can do to make the decision easier.:
Do your research. Talk to people who have digital cameras and ask them how they like theirs. What features do they use often and which ones are “just there”? Go online and visit sites that review different cameras and read what they have to say.
Next, decide how much money you are willing to spend on a camera. There is no sense going into debt over a camera unless it will be used as your major income source. Decide how often you will use the camera, what places you will be using it and who else will be using this particular camera. How much money can you reasonably spare? All these things will help you narrow your choices.
Evaluate your needs and experience level. Do you have experience or is this your very first camera? Do you have time to learn a lot of features or are you happy with a camera you can just point and click? Do you plan on growing in photography? If so, a digital SLR may be your choice so it can be added onto to grow with you.
Buying a digital camera doesn’t have to be a purchase full of stress. Do your homework and know what you are looking for, then stick with the decision. You are the best judge of what you need, trust yourself. Each of the above steps will narrow your choices considerably and make that final decision easier to make and you can enjoy discovering the wonders of photography with your new purchase.