3-What MUST Know To Get The Right Digital Camera

Here's Lesson 3 of "What You MUST Know To Get The
Right Digital Camera!" Today we'll be covering:

The Three Important Factors To Digital Camera Memory

When it comes to digital camera memory, the first thing most
people want to know is, "How many pictures can I put on a
memory card?"

Although it would seem like there should be a direct answer to
how many pictures you can put on a memory card, it's really a
little more involved. The answer to digital camera memory
depends upon these three factors:

1. The amount of space your memory card has
2. How many pictures you take... at what resolution...
and in what mode
3. The degree of compression you use

Capacity of the Card

The first thing to consider
about digital camera memory is the amount of space the memory card holds. Naturally,
a larger-capacity card will hold more. A 1-gigabyte memory card has enough space for thousands of pictures. But the 8MB memory card that comes in the box with your camera can only hold about 8 to 10 pictures. What a huge difference!

Those small-capacity memory cards that come packaged with
cameras are only meant to get you started. You'll need to
purchase additional digital camera memory if you want to
seriously take some pictures.

Compression/Resolution Confusion

The most confusing thing about digital camera memory is the
difference between high resolution and high compression. The
resolution and compression you use is very important to your
results and the amount of digital camera memory you use.

But it's easy to confuse the terms when you're new to digital
photography. They don't mean the same thing at all. High
compression is the opposite of high resolution.

Think of it this way, high compression results in low
resolution because the more you compress a picture, the less
pixels you have. Here's an example: imagine crushing a milk
carton wearing a heavy boot. The carton will go from big to
small in no time, and so will the picture on the back of that
carton!

It would be fair to say the picture won't be the same quality
anymore. You might say the high compression of the boot
instantly lowers the picture quality (resolution).

In this case, the boot smashes the "pixels" and reduces the
pixel count. In the case of a digital camera, the pixels
don't even get recorded - so there are less pixels in the
image. Think of it this way, how much milk can you put into a
smashed milk carton? Not much.

So in a digital camera, the lower the pixel count, the lower
the resolution (because you're crunching the storage space).
And the less digital camera memory you need.

A low resolution picture has limitations — it can't be
enlarged and doesn't look good printed. I don't recommend
taking all your pictures at a high compression (i.e. low
resolution) unless you're sure you won't ever want to print
them or are running out of digital camera memory. Low
compression and high resolution give you a higher quality
picture.

However, higher resolution takes up more digital camera memory
space. And that means that the higher the resolution you use,
the faster you'll use up the space on your memory card. And
vice versa — the lower the resolution of your pictures, the
less space they'll take on your memory card.

But don't take pictures based on storage space. Low-resolution
pictures may not suit your needs and you might end up
regretting it for years. Only use a low resolution if you're
sure all you're going to do with that picture is email it or
put it on a webpage. If you might decide to print it in the
future, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Just make sure you have sufficient digital camera memory. If
you tend to take pictures at only the highest resolution at
all time, you will need more memory on your card. As a general
rule, have at least 128MB of storage for a 3 or 3.2 megapixel
digital camera, preferably more. If you have 4 or 5-megapixel
digital camera, get at least 256MB of storage.

Personally, I prefer to have plenty of digital camera
memory/storage space and take high-resolution pictures most of
the time. That way I can print 8x10s if I want or crop a smaller
section out of the big photo and still get a good picture. I
burn my photos onto CDs for permanent storage so they don't
fill up my hard drive and label them so I can find them when I
need them.

It's always better to have more storage than less. You never
know when you might need it. Nor do you want to run out of
storage if you're taking your digital camera on a long trip.

If you use TIFF or RAW capture modes, keep in mind is that
they take up more space than JPEG. TIFF and RAW are only
available on higher-end cameras, so you won't have to worry
about them if you have a basic point-and-shoot.

When purchasing digital camera memory, do make sure you get
the right memory card for your camera. And that it can support
the digital camera memory card size you're considering (not
all cameras support 4-GB memory cards).

But that's not all you need to know about digital camera
memory. To find out what really matters when it comes to
memory cards -- what size you need and what type is best.

Reminder: Be sure to put this email into your folder as
soon as you're finished reading it.

Rufina James
http://hop.clickbank.net/?photograph/dazzlepics
support@masteryourdigitalcamera.com

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