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Digital Camera Definitions that You Need to Know

So you are considering purchasing your first digital camera, or perhaps you are now looking to upgrade your digital camera. No doubt you are feeling quite happy knowing that you are soon going to have your new gadget in your hand which you can not wait to play with, and taking advantage of the cameras full ability and technical ability. However do you really understand the mechanics of a digital camera and the common terms associated with this item? If not, then read on, because this article will help boost your knowledge and we all know that knowledge is power, and with power you will be better positioned to get yourself the best deal available on the camera perfect for you.

Common camera definitions include:-

Aperture:
The aperture is a tiny opening that allows light to travel inside the digital camera to where exactly the sensor is situated.

Digital Zoom:
Digital zoom is the enlarging of one aspect of the picture but without quality enhancement, therefore using digital zoom will reduce picture quality.

JPEG:
JPEG is the actual description of the compression of a digital photo. The Joint Photo Experts Group composed a compression ratio that reduces the picture size. This reduction will result in a loss of picture quality. If you go into Google images and search for various subjects, a lot of the pictures displayed will be in JPEG format.

Megapixels:
One megapixel equals one million pixels which is of course the quality the picture is measure in.

Memory:
This is an obvious one, however just in case you are not aware, memory is the storage space that the digital camera holds to store pictures. A higher memory will result in higher convenience. Also make sure you consider cameras with internal memory and cameras which use memory cards.

1 MP Camera:
A 1 MP Camera simply shoots a picture that consists of one million pixels.

Optical Zoom:
The optical zoom alters a lens' focal length and magnification, therefore a camera with a large optical zoom will result in great pictures being able to be taken far away

Pixels:
Pixels is actually an abbreviated term (Picture Element) that has a numerical value between 0-255. There are three color channels in each pixel (red, green and blue).

Pixel Count:
A pixel count is the number of pixels in each image.

PPI:
PPI (pixels per inch) describes how quality a picture is. The higher the PPI, the clearer and more resolved the photo, the lower the count, the lower the quality.

RAW/NEF:
These are two terms that refer to the uncompressed picture shot by the camera. The RAW format is used by Canon digital cameras and the NEF format is used by Nikon digital cameras.

Sensor:
The sensor is indeed very important and is the digital strip within the digital camera that receives the light. The job of the sensor is comparable to the negative in a non-digital camera.

Shutter Speed:
Shutter Speed refers to the length of time the aperture of the digital camera is open and allowing light inside the camera.

TIFF:
TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format, a format that uses a large file size, but has the benefit of no loss of information.

White Balance:
White balance alters the white color quality of your image. Digital cameras usually have adjustable settings for electronic flash, shade, sunlight, fluorescent lighting and tungsten lighting.

Now you are fresh with this knowledge, you can be more confident going out and buying that digital camera. Remember do your research and always find the best camera for you.

About the Author

Adam Westrop has a passion for delivering key information and showing the best prices on the Canon elph digital camera range

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