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How to choose a digicam

Digital cameras are classified as compact, superzoom, bridge, system and singlelens reflex models.
Their names may not reveal much, but if you are not aware of what's behind
them, you may end up making a mistake when buying a digital camera.
Digital cameras are so well established that there are a range of different types
on the market. The compact and single-lens reflex (SLR) varieties are the easiest
to differentiate.
But all is not as complicated as it appears to be at first glance, says Constanze
Clauss from the representative body of Germany's photo imaging industry, the
Photoindustrie Verband.
Although most compact cameras have a small image sensor, some are capable of
zooming up to 15 times closer to the photographed object. The average
resolution of a modern compact camera is between 10 and 14 megapixels.
Clauss says the trend at the moment is towards compact cameras equipped with
a wide angle lens, a large display and lots of automatic functions. In general
manual functions arethe exception to the rule with compact cameras. The depth
of field is also very large on a compact.
Germany's Computer Bild magazine recently compared 12 compact cameras
ranging in price from 312 to 436 euros (394 to 550 dollars). According to the
magazine, it appears that even the makers of small cameras are equipping their
products with quite powerful lenses.
That has led to greater zooms and more range when it comes to setting up shots.
Superzoom, or bridge cameras as they are also known, are designed to fill the
gap between compact and SLR cameras. They usually come with a 30x zoom,
and in contrast to compact cameras, they allow you to alter aperture size or the
exposure settings.
Good bridge cameras have an electronic viewfinder. Other useful functions
include the option of using a separate flash and the ability to store images in
RAW format. Some versions have a manual zoom ring that allows you to make
fine adjustments to the focus.

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The quality of the lens is usually a compromise between a very large focal length
and a small image sensor, says Clauss.
Digital system cameras have been on the market for only about two years. Just
like an SLR camera you can remove and change the lens on a system camera.
Because a system camera has no mirror it is much lighter than a comparable SLR
model. The Micro Four Thirds System (MFT) created by Panasonic and Olympus
has set the standards for system cameras.
MFT cameras have a live view on their displays. The image sensor in this type of
camera is much larger than in a compact camera, says Clauss. The sensor is the
same size as those found in SLR cameras at 17.3x13 mm and has a resolution of
about 12 megapixels.
Germany's consumer organisation, Stiftung Warentest, conducted a study on
system cameras and included a few SLRs for comparison. Of the 25 cameras
examined Stiftung Warentest rated 23 as 'good' and the other two were ranked
as 'satisfactory.' However, all of the models took better quality pictures than
normal compact cameras.
Single-lens reflex cameras with APS-C sensors are very compact in size but are
larger than system cameras with interchangeable lenses. An APS-C sensor is
23x15mm and bigger than that found in a system camera. Thanks to its larger
size, the APS-C sensor shows its superiority when photographing bright objects.
The sensor also gives you a wider spectrum of options to select different areas
of focus.

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