Features of Mini Digital Cameras

Even though manufacturers have tried to simplify the selection by defining various specifications into numerical measurements for comparison, most of us aren’t exactly clear about what they really mean except for the fact that they usually cost more if the numbers are higher.

The main features of a mini digital camera that you should look at when buying one includes the following: 1) Resolution or better known as Megapixels, 2) Camera Zoom, 3) Sensor Size, 4) Scene & Shooting Modes, 5) Camera Sizes and Shapes, 6) Accessories.

Megapixels

Unlike film cameras, digital cameras actually reproduce the image data that they capture through tiny sectors called pixels. Millions of these pixels come together, each displaying a colour or shade to form the image that you see. Some of you might remember the days of old computer graphics where images appeared box-like at the edges, and the term for that was called pixelated.

As pixels get smaller and each image is made up of more pixels, this pixilation becomes smoothed out and disappears from view. Naturally, the more pixels, the better the quality of an image. One megapixel is the equivalent to a million pixels. For a digital camera, the higher the megapixels, the better the resolution of the image.

Camera Zoom

Digital cameras all come with a certain level of zoom capability, some with a wide range of magnification and some with mainly image ‘enlargement’ features passed off as digital zoom. Camera zoom is important for users who want to take close up photos or photos from a distance, especially those who like scenic pictures or nature photos.

Sensor Size

Digital cameras reproduce image data through pixels, but they capture image data through sensors in the first place. This sensor is essentially a chip that converts light into information that can be stored and read by the camera. Note that the camera resolution is often mistaken to determine the quality of the photo image. But the resolution actually only determines the one part of the quality of the output image and display. Besides resolution, there are other data information such as colour, contrast and dynamic range that affects image quality. No matter how high the resolution of your camera might be, if the other image data is of low quality, then the output cannot be of better quality then the input.

To get a good quality image, the camera must first have a good sensor that captures a large amount of information for processing into display output. Cameras can hold data that is higher quality than it can output, but it can never output images of higher quality than its input data.

Scene & Shooting Modes Today's digital cameras are almost all programmable and come with a wide range of in-built shooting and scene modes. To list a few, these include night vision, scene, portrait, etc. Each mode is programmed to best capture images under different circumstances by adjusting shutter speed, colour gradient and other factors. But mostly people use the automatic mode when they use their cameras since they either don’t know what modes are available on their cameras or they aren’t sure what they are good for.

Camera Sizes and Shapes

Mini digital cameras come in small, smallest and even smaller. They are all mini, but one mini isn’t exactly small compared to another. Mini sized digital cameras are mostly very slim models, but there are those which are small, but not as thin for better handling.

The size of the camera affects the size of the LCD screen and therefore can be a problem when trying to view your pictures on your camera. Most LCD screens on mini digital cameras occupy a disproportionately large percent of the camera to maximise screen size, but that also limits the area for the camera’s buttons, which can be problematic for users as well.

Accessories

Mini digital cameras come with a wide range of accessories to augment the capabilities of your camera or serve to provide easy handling. These include carrying pouches, tripods, additional memory cards and spare batteries. Accessories may or may not be required by you depending on your pattern of usage, but one thing for sure, all these accessories cost money, so you don’t want to go around buying up everything that is nice to have.