iPhoto 5: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition

Buying a Digital Camera

Citizens of the world bought 53 million digital cameras in 2004, and analysts predict that those sales could climb as high as 82 million by 2008. Already, digital cameras outsell film cameras—a shift of culture-jarring proportions.

The major players in this market are Sony, Olympus, Nikon, HP, Kodak, and Canon. They’re not alone, however. Every company ever associated with electronics or cameras—Panasonic, Casio, Leica, Kyocera, Minolta, Konica, and so on—also has a finger in the pie. Each company offers a variety of models and a wide range of prices, which compete fiercely for your dollars. Some of these companies release new models every six to twelve months. And, exactly as in other high-tech industries, each generation offers better features, improved resolution, and lower prices.

If you’re in the market for a new digital camera, the rest of this chapter is for you. It’s dedicated to helping you find that diamond in the rough: the camera with the features you need at a price you can afford.

Don’t worry about the different marketing categories for cameras: entry level, consumer, prosumer, pro, whatever. Just read about the features available in the following pages—presented here roughly in order of importance—and consider how much they’re worth to you.

Image Resolution

The first number you probably see in the description of a digital camera is the number of megapixels it offers.

A pixel (short for picture element) is one tiny colored dot, one of the thousands ...