Digital Photography: Capturing Still and Moving Images
In the area of image capture, digital photography is rapidly replacing film photography although the 35mm and APS cameras are likely to still be around for a while. After all, look at telephones and cellphones: cellphones may be as ubiquitous as e-mail addresses are today, but don’t expect regular phones to be out of the picture anytime soon.
Digital Cameras Yesterday and Today
Digital cameras have come a long way over the years. The early digital cameras had horrible shutter time delay. This delay occurs between the time you press the shutter button and when the camera actually takes the photo. This delay has made taking digital photographs extremely frustrating to many digital photographers.
Digital camera manufacturers, however, listened to their customers. Today, the time delay on many new digital cameras is greatly reduced, making it much easier to take digital photos, prompting even more people to start getting into digital photography with such great cameras as the Nikon Coolpix P5000.
Still and Moving Objects
Digital cameras are categorized in two: 1) those that take still images, and 2) those that capture moving subjects. Some digital cameras are able to take still images and capture video like the Canon Rebel Xti.. However, if you want the highest quality in digital video photography, you’ll want to use a camera that’s specifically designed for capturing digital video.
Cameras for Still Digital Photography
If you’re interested in still photography, you have plenty of choices in digital cameras. There are semi-professional and professional digital cameras like the Canon EOS digital SLR camera that uses the same SLR (which stands for single lens reflex) technology used by film-based SLR cameras, the only difference is that the Canon EOS digital SLR camera (and other similar cameras) stores images onto digital media instead of film. The cameras in the Canon EOS series come with auto-focus feature: you press down gently on the shutter button to focus and center the subject, and then continue pressing down to take the photo.
Nikon is another manufacturer of digital cameras for still photography. “A Nikon digital camera like the Nikon D60, a digital SLR camera, is a great choice for taking awesome still pictures” says professional digital photographer Bob Dale. However, for the best still digital photography, the top cameras you should also consider are the Canon EOS Rebel XSi, Canon Rebel XT, Canon Rebel XTi.
Digital Cameras for Capturing Videos
The digital video camera has made taking home videos easier than ever. Once upon a time, there was the Super-8 camera, which was the typical home movie camera up until the 1980s.
Then came the video camera, which captured movies directly onto video tape. With the video camera, you didn’t need to get the film developed as you did with the Super-8 style cameras. However, there was still some conversion to do once the mini tape came out, as it was too small to fit directly into a VHS player.
Finally, digital video cameras emerged, and they sport an LCD screen to make capturing videos easy. These LCD screens also help you to keep the camera level. Among the top digital video cameras are those by Canon. These Canon digital video cameras rate highly in online digital camera reviews, with many professionals raving about the Canon GL2 and Canon XL2. The Canon XL1 is highly rated as well.
Buyer’s Tip
When you’re shopping for a camera for digital photography, be it still or video, keep in mind that you usually get what you pay for. In this line, if you want professional quality digital photography, go with cameras on the higher end of the price range. If you simply want to be able to take good digital photos, you may want to settle for those cameras that provide average quality shots.
