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We’ve reviewed cameras from all the major brands to help you find the best compact or superzoom digital camera to suit your needs and budget.
When you're looking for the best digital camera for you, you might be bewildered by the huge variety of different features, from image stabilisation to face detection.
While some of us just want a basic point-and-shoot digital camera for taking holiday snaps, others want a digital camera with more advanced features. If you're a keen photographer, you may want to consider a digital SLR camera, which can give better-quality images than ordinary digital cameras.
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Below, we explain more about the features of digital cameras.
Resolution
The quality of a digital photograph depends heavily on the camera's resolution – the amount of detail it records. Resolution is defined in megapixels (Mp). More megapixels mean more detail, so you can create bigger prints without noticing blockiness on the picture.
Shutter delay
With some digital cameras, the photo is taken more than a second after you press the shutter release.
A tip is to half-press the shutter button as you compose a shot. This sets off the camera's autofocus system. When the camera finds the focus, it will beep or a light will come on to show it's ready.
Make sure you're happy with the composition of the picture, using the LCD screen or viewfinder, while keeping the button half pressed. Finally, press it down all the way to take the picture.
Viewfinder
Virtually all digital cameras have an LCD screen for composing shots. Some (especially bigger digital cameras) have a viewfinder too, which is a useful alternative as it's easier to use in bright sunlight when the LCD screen is hard to view because of reflection.
You can steady a shot more easily with a viewfinder, because you hold the digital camera up to your eye. Using the viewfinder instead of the LCD screen also saves a bit of battery life.
Viewfinders are optical or electronic. An optical viewfinder on a digital camera other than a digital SLR isn't 100% accurate. What you see when you look through it will differ from what the lens sees because it is in a different position.
Manual focusing
Nearly all cameras have auto-focusing but only some have manual focusing (MF).
A digital camera with MF is useful for close-ups as it lets you focus on exactly what you want (the centre of a flower instead of the petals, for example). It's also handy for special effects, such as shooting a street light out of focus for a dreamy, romantic effect.
ISO
The ISO setting on a camera tells you how sensitive the camera's sensor is to light. You can change the ISO setting manually on most cameras.
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