What Features will Work for You?

With all the different features that are available to digital cameras these days it is important for the photographer to be able to decide what is going to work best for him or her. This is a short list of camera functions that will be able to fund on literally any digital camera.

Image Stabilization: An important feature, image stabilization is being incorporated in nearly every digital camera that is coming off the line – especially those digital cameras that feature powerful lenses. Image stabilization is essentially a device that assists the photographer with handheld camera shake. The image stabilization device will allow the photographer to shoot with a slower shutter speed than the photographer would otherwise be able to, allowing them to avoid that nasty blur due to hand shake. There are essentially two different types of image stabilization features that are in the hardware of a digital camera which are in the lens as an optical damber as well as a mechanical damper which is located in the body.

Zoom Lenses: Often used in digital SLR cameras, these types of lenses are made up of several different lenses or lens elements which allow the photographer to vary the focal length of the object or scene that they wish to shoot. This provides the photographer with a flexibility when framing shots, closing the distance between the photographer and their subject which is essential if the photographer wants to rapidly switch to a closer shot.

Exposure Modes: These days most digital cameras – including digital SLRs – are automated with useful features such as automatic exposure control. Automatic exposure control manages the digital cameras shutter speed and aperture according to the amount of light available during the shot. In this mode the camera generally handles setting image stabilization as well as autofocus. There are other program modes available that will allow the photographer to control specific the camera’s settings including shutter priority, aperture priority, and special scene modes such as panorama, mug shots and other shots in the evening during lowlight conditions.