Almost everyone has a digital camera now. But what do some of those terms mean? We all know what the full automatic setting is; it means we just point and shoot. But what about some of those other terms.

Optical Zoom

Optical zoom refers to the physical lens and its capability to optically magnify the subject. Very useful when you can't physically get any closer to your subject or you want to take the shot while remaining unnoticed.

Digital Zoom

Digital zoom is digitally cropped, giving the impression of an optical zoom which may reduce the image quality.

Macro Focus Mode

Macro Focus Mode, overrides the general use of auto focus mode so you can take extreme close ups of your subject. Like flowers, bugs, or other items that you want to only in the frame.

ISO Setting

ISO setting for digital cameras refers to the image sensor's sensitivity to light. The lower number the better for bright sunny areas the higher number is for lower light situations.

Shutter Speed

A fast shutter speed can catch a drop of water coming out of a faucet, a slower shutter speed may require a tripod to get a good sharp image.

Aperture

The aperture is the opening in the lens that controls the amount of light reaching the image sensor. This is referred to the f-stop. The aperture setting directly affects the depth of field. A large aperture setting (a smaller f-stop number) has a shallow depth of field, a shallow depth of field is one in which objects in front of and behind your subject's focus point will be out of focus. A smaller aperture setting (a higher f-stop setting) has a greater depth of field. A greater depth of field is when your subject and everything in front of and behind will be in focus.

Continuous Mode

Continuous mode is the capability of taking a number of photos in just a few seconds, which is great for sporting events or maybe those first steps of a child.

File Formats

Understanding the file formats can sometimes be confusing, the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is used for most point and shoot cameras and is an option in most cameras. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) takes up a lot of media storage space compared to the JPEG method.

Mega Pixels

In digital photography the more mega pixels the higher the image quality, it also usually means a higher price tag. What is a mega pixel? A mega pixel is one million pixels. Each pixel is a tiny colored dot of data. Some guidelines to print quality in relation to mega pixels is:

1 mega pixel produces a good quality 4x6 print

2 mega pixel produces a good quality 6x8 print

3 mega pixel produces a good quality 8x10 print

5 mega pixel produces a good quality 10x 12 print

10 mega pixel produces a good quality 14x20 print

These are just guidelines, and if you do your printing at home you may get by with a 3 mega pixel camera for a nice 8x10 print on your home computer printer.

Storage Media Types

There are a number of different storage media types but the most common ones are compact flash, Smart Media, and Sony's Memory Stick.

Photo Printing

When printing a photograph at home the printer paper and ink have a lot to do with the actual print quality.

One of the best things to do with your digital camera is to take the time to read the owner's manual from beginning to end, keep your camera handy to experiment with each function and setting as your reading so you'll know where and what they do. You'll soon be out taking great shots and experimenting with each function.