What to Look for in a Compact Digital Camera
Thursday, April 24, 2008 @ 02:53
What should the person on a budget, shopping for a simple compact digital camera, for personal use, be looking for in terms of features? Sure, it is best to have every bell and whistle known to man, but when price is a serious consideration, there are definitely some things more important than others.
Some experts in the field give their input:
Jerome Demare, a PR executive with Olympus said most of their customers consider lens quality the most important factor, with quality coming in second. Ease of use is also a major consideration. While lots of folks like auto settings, many like to manually set different variables such as shutter speed or aperture, and they like a camera that makes doing this relatively easy.
The importance of ease of use was echoed by Stephanie Jell, a PR assistant with the Panasonic Corporation, who stated that their customer's want a camera that's easy to use so that they don't lose a good shot fiddling around with the settings when they should be taking pictures. That's why Panasonic introduced a new "intelligent system" for easy picture taking.
Focal length of the lens is also considered important by customers. This is particularly important if you're going to be taking pictures in different environments, such as at night as well as in the daylight. Having a wider lens in this case is essential since it will provide needed flexibility to the user.
Pentax's John Dickens, however, had a different view. He said that overall picture quality is the most important thing buyers should look for. Therefore both lens quality and resolution should be important factors to consider. Dickens also said that the camera itself has to look good and be lightweight and easy to use.
Probably the most important thing to consider, however, when purchasing a new compact digital camera will be the intended range of use. Are you planning to go out and take pictures just for fun, in different environments, both at night and in the daytime? Or, are you basically looking for a camera so that you can get lots of neat photos on your next vacation, or at your grandchild's graduation in the spring? Know your intended range of use, and let that determine which features you'd rather spend your money on.
