Home
>
Photography
>
Digital Cameras Demystified

Digital Cameras Demystified

Demystifying Digital Camera Jargon

Want to buy a digital camera but confused by the sales jargon? Talk of pixels, LCDs and ELVs, digital zoom verses optical zoom driving you crazy? Then stress no more, here are all the basic terms and their meanings in simple, easily understood terms.

Mega pixels:

Pixels are just the tiny dots that make up a digital picture. Each mega pixel is a million pixels so the more mega pixels a camera has the more dots will make up your picture. The more mega pixels or dots your picture has, the better quality it will be. Digital cameras can be bought with one to six mega pixels. The higher mega pixel your camera is the larger size photo you can take and the more you can enlarge and print photos without sacrificing picture quality.

LCD

LCD means Liquid Crystal Display or in simple terms, it is the display screen used in digital cameras. These screens vary in size depending on the camera. It allows you to preview what you are photographing by giving you a 'through-the-lens-view'. It can also be used to preview photos, delete unwanted photos and some will allow you to magnify your photos to look at details.

Optical Viewfinder

This is simply the viewfinder you look through to take your photos (if you aren't using the LCD screen) as you would with any camera. They will show the full area of what you are photographing but the only drawback is they won't show you if the picture is in focus. Many cameras have an ELV ?Electronic View Finder, instead of an Optical Viewfinder, which shows the same view as on your LCD screen but has the advantage of screening out the sun. You can also see your camera settings and functions in the ELV just as you would on the LCD.

Digital and Optical Zoom

Digital zoom allows you to enlarge the size of a photo by doubling the size of the pixels. The problem with this is that as the pixels are made larger they become fuzzier thus leading to a decrease in photo quality. An optical zoom however actually magnifies the subject of the photo so retains the quality.

Memory Cards/Sticks

Memory cards/sticks are just the storage device for digital cameras. Most cameras have a small amount of built in memory but if you want to be able to store a reasonable number of photos you will need to purchase some extra memory. Memory comes in a range of sizes (measured in megabytes or gigabytes) and the more memory you want, the higher the cost. Ensure the memory you buy is compatible with your camera.

Obviously there is a lot more to know about digital cameras but understanding these basic terms will go a long way toward helping you find the digital camera that is right for you without being lost in the digital dialogue spouted by salespeople.

Raelene Hall is lives in Outback Western Australia. She has written non-fiction articles for magazines, newspapers and the Net on a variety of topics, including education, Outback life, communications, nature, spirituality, families, technology, and the environment. Raelene is a regular columnist for a regional newspaper. Contact Raelene at nedscreekstn@bigpond.com or check out her website at nedscreekstn@bigpond.com

residential cleaning services Lincolnshire ..

In The News:

House Bill 469 would prevent AI systems from owning property, serving as executives, or gaining legal personhood in Ohio under Representative Thaddeus Claggett's proposal.

Public voter records expose retirees' personal details to election scammers who create targeted cons using names, addresses, and voting history data.

Instead of fearing what comes next with artificial intelligence, think outside the box. Here are high-earning AI jobs that don't require a computer science degree.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says polite words like "please" and "thank you" cost millions annually, while direct prompts may improve ChatGPT accuracy by several points.

Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat exposed intimate conversations and photos, revealing users spent up to $18,000 on AI companions before the breach.

New Instagram parental controls allow families to manage teen screen time and content limits through the Family Center with stricter safety settings.

Third-party security breach at Discord exposes sensitive user information including government IDs, highlighting cybersecurity risks from external service providers.

Survey of 1,000 students shows teens using AI for personal relationships while two-thirds of parents remain unaware of their children's AI usage.

Cybersecurity experts warn about a ShadowLeak vulnerability that weaponized ChatGPT's Deep Research agent to steal personal data from Gmail accounts through hidden commands.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving system faces federal investigation following 58 reports of crashes, with six vehicles running red lights before colliding with other cars.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest developments on artificial intelligence, with news on OpenAI moving to soon allow erotica for adult users.

Eric Schmidt alerts that hackers can reverse-engineer AI models to bypass safety measures, citing examples like the jailbroken ChatGPT variant called DAN.

Cybercriminals exploit Microsoft Teams through impersonation, malicious links and fake profiles to gather intel and deliver ransomware to personal and work devices.

Google, Dior, Allianz and dozens of other companies lost sensitive customer data in Salesforce-related breaches affecting millions of records across multiple sectors.

Apple launches iOS 26 with new Preview app that combines document editing, PDF annotation and scanning features into one streamlined iPhone experience.

New AI road monitoring system uses sensor-embedded fabric to predict infrastructure problems, potentially reducing maintenance costs and traffic disruptions for cities.

Holiday charity scams target retirees through lookalike organization names, untraceable payment requests, and data broker information to steal donations.

The Federal Trade Commission says criminals are posing as IRS agents, law enforcement officers or other officials, often over the phone or online, to steal thousands of dollars at a time.

AI phishing scams now use voice cloning and deepfake technology to trick victims, but Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals warning signs to watch for.

Inversion Space unveils Arc, a reusable reentry vehicle that can deliver up to 500 pounds of cargo from orbit to anywhere on Earth in under an hour.

Red flags like processing fees, urgent countdowns and requests for full Social Security numbers expose fraudulent settlement sites targeting consumers.

Comprehensive analysis of Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps examines usability, routing accuracy, data handling and features across the top navigation platforms.

Expert analysis reveals whether wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connections are safer for home internet use, plus practical steps to secure your network from attackers.

Australian construction robot Charlotte uses sand, crushed brick and recycled glass to 3D print fireproof, floodproof homes with reduced carbon footprint.

Cybercriminals are using fake invitation emails to trick recipients into downloading malware and stealing personal information and data.

Digital Cameras Demystified

Photography