When you think of
hunting and bird
dogs you don't automatically think of digital cameras. But with
websites, dogs and hunts to remember we all own a camera of some
type. I like most of us have been sucked into the rage of digital
cameras. Last year I spent over $1500 in film, batteries and
processing, I knew there had to be a better way.
So when Ellen asked me what I wanted for Christmas? I said a
digital camera. She said what kind, and I replied I don't have
a clue. So Ellen and I spent an afternoon a few days before Christmas
and did some camera shopping. I knew a few things going in, but
learned a lot that day.
First, I knew I wanted a five mega-pixel camera. Why? Cause I
read somewhere 5 mega-pixel gave equivalent quality pictures
to a 35MM.
What is a Mega-Pixel
Let's take a step back, what is a mega-pixel. Pixel is a techno
term which stands for Picture Element. Get a foot from your TV
or computer screen and you will see the picture is made up of
a bunch of dots, those are pixels. With a TV you will have 525
dots or pixels across by 525 lines or pixels down. So a TV dis |
play is 525 X 525 or 275,625 pixels or
about one quarter a Mega-Pixel. A five mega-pixel camera has
about ten times more information then your TV. It takes that
many pixels to be as sharp and clear and the average 35MM film
picture.
Do I need 5 Mega-Pixels?
You can buy 2, 3 or 5 mega-pixel cameras. I think the first digital
camera I bought, was at best a one mega-pixel... it cost $29.95.
There is a world of difference between the quality of a one mega-pixel
and my 5. But compare a 2 or 3 mega-pixel to a 5 and the differences
will be much more subtle.
I have not seen a six mega-pixel camera advertised, so I would
assume it would be like having a ruler that displayed 64s and
128s you just don't get much better my adding more pixels after
5 meg.
Film for a Digital Camera?
Do you need film for a digital camera? Yes you do! The only thing
is with a digital they are called memory sticks and are reusable
for years. My camera came with a 32 Meg memory stick. That does
not mean  |
I can only store 6 pictures (6 * 5 M =
30Meg), actually I can get 23. Which is roughly a roll of film...
funny how that works out. But if I don't need quite the quality
of 5M I can drop to 3Meg and get 37 pictures, or 2 Meg and get
61 or if I'm using the pictures on the website I can get an amazing
491 pictures on the same memory stick. And again, after taking
the picture I can transfer them to my computer or go to the local
drug store or Target and print out only the pictures I want and
clear out the memory stick and start from scratch... it's a thing
of beauty.
Getting a bigger stick
As Tim the Toolman would tell you: "you can always use more
power." Once you buy your digital camera that means bigger
memory sticks. When I went to Vegas for the SHOT Show I knew
I'd be walking past thousands of booths with products I could
only see once a year. So I wanted to be able to take thousands
of pictures. To that end I looked at upgrading to larger memory
sticks. So I did some research and found out for about $100 I
could upgrade from a 32M memory stick to a 256M memory stick.
That would allow me to shoot about 1428 pictures... more then
enough right... well I could have used a second. I left Vegas
with 1428 pictures. Which if I really wanted to shoot more I
could have spent 5 minutes in the local Kinko's, stored the pictures
on a CD and been ready to shoot 1428 more. Next year I'm looking
for another memory stick under the tree.
Batteries
When digital cameras came out a few years ago they ATE batteries.
I remember passing a camera around the room and using up one
set in a few minutes. That is no longer the case. But they do
still go |
