This would appear to be the future of photography. For the first time in 2004 digital cameras out sold 35mm film cameras. Kodak has stopped making photographic paper in the UK, there other manufacturers of paper though, like Agfa Fuji and Konica, do not panic there will make enough paper made, afterall when Minilabs in local suprmarkets print digital photos from digital cameras and phones it is printed on the same paper
The new digital cameras are great. The viewer on the back allows you to check the picture which you have just taken is okay and if not delete it and take another. The first digital cameras cost over £1000, this Christmas low pixel cameras could be purchased for only £40. Other features are now appearing on the camera such as short movies and sound. Some of them look a little complicated especially if you have not had one before. It is best to get one from a Camera Shop, their staff can explain the features, if you have problems when you get home, the shop would be happy to explain how to solve the problem. These shops also sell printing consumables and the expertise of how best to use it.
Explaining Mega pixels
Pixel means Picture Elements. The cheap cameras and cameras in mobile phones are around 1.3 Megapixel. This should be regarded as low quality prints from these cameras may look poor if printed over 6" x 4". As most people are used to prints of this size the cheaper camera maybe the correct one for you, but if you like a photograph it would be unsuitable to make and enlargement, or select areas for printing.
Cameras around 3 megapixel are becoming affordable and should be the one to go for. It is suitable for printing 6" x 4" , 7" x 5" and enlargements. This Christmas for around £250 cameras of 5 Megapixel are becoming available, capable of very large prints
Pixel means Picture Elements. The cheap cameras and cameras in mobile phones are around 1.3 Megapixel. This should be regarded as low quality prints from these cameras may look poor if printed over 6" x 4". As most people are used to prints of this size the cheaper camera maybe the correct one for you, but if you like a photograph it would be unsuitable to make and enlargement, or select areas for printing.
Cameras around 3 megapixel are becoming affordable and should be the one to go for. It is suitable for printing 6" x 4" , 7" x 5" and enlargements. This Christmas for around £250 cameras of 5 Megapixel are becoming available, capable of very large prints
File Size
On some cameras you can select between 1.3 to 4 Megapixel. The lower the number the more photos can be stored but the quality will be low, the higher number the less images will film on the memory card but they can be used to select and crop the image or make enlargements. If you are going to use a computer to manipulate the images the higher the pixel the larger the file size. Some computers may run out of RAM or memory for storage if the file size is big. One way around the storage problem is to burn the images to either a CD Rom or DVD. Memory cards come in different storage limits measured in Megabites. Sometimes the one which comes with the camera is only 16Mg. They are available commonly up to 256Mb, may I suggest if you are thinking of getting a 256Mb to instead buy 2 x 128Mb, to have one in the camera, the other for use by the computer. The cost of these memory cards is coming down due to the amount being sold
On some cameras you can select between 1.3 to 4 Megapixel. The lower the number the more photos can be stored but the quality will be low, the higher number the less images will film on the memory card but they can be used to select and crop the image or make enlargements. If you are going to use a computer to manipulate the images the higher the pixel the larger the file size. Some computers may run out of RAM or memory for storage if the file size is big. One way around the storage problem is to burn the images to either a CD Rom or DVD. Memory cards come in different storage limits measured in Megabites. Sometimes the one which comes with the camera is only 16Mg. They are available commonly up to 256Mb, may I suggest if you are thinking of getting a 256Mb to instead buy 2 x 128Mb, to have one in the camera, the other for use by the computer. The cost of these memory cards is coming down due to the amount being sold
