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| Optical viewfinders are a dying breed among today's compacts, but the Nikon Coolpix P5100 proudly sports one in addition to its 2.5-inch LCD. |
If you're shopping for a digital camera, odds are it's not your first. But, admit it: Even with thousands of snapshots saved to your hard drive, the camera specs, features, and marketing hype on the latest cameras can still be downright confusing.
Don't worry. We can help you sort it out. After testing hundreds of digicams in the Pop Photo Lab, we have strong notions of what works, what doesn't, what's worth getting, and what's baloney. Here are 20 choices you'll face when buying a digital compact or electronic viewfinder (EVF) camera and what you should know about each.
1. Megapixels
Less may be more
More megapixels mean bigger image files -- great for poster prints. But if you won't top 8x10 inches, 12MP may be overkill. And adding megapixels can slow the burst rate as the camera must crunch more data. Plus, compacts' sensors are crammed with smaller photosites, which can produce more visible noise, particularly at higher ISOs. So if you're likely to crop or zoom in significantly, stick with a 7 or 8MP model with a 6-10X optical zoom.
2. Zoom
Optical vs. digital
Optical zoom is what counts. This is the focal range of the lens, usually expressed in 35mm equivalency (what it would be if the digital sensor were as big as a frame of 35mm film). A 10X zoom will have an equivalent focal length of, say, 28-280mm; a 3X zoom could be 35-105mm or 38-114mm.
"Digital zoom" simply enlarges the image's center area, reducing resolution or interpolating data to make it seem as if you've zoomed in. Image quality suffers severely.
We don't even mention digital zoom in Pop Photo Lab tests and reviews.
3. Viewfinders
LCD vs. optical vs. electronic
Even as cameras get smaller, their LCD screens keep getting bigger -- but not always brighter or better. Pay attention not only to the LCD size (measured on the diagonal), but its pixel count and brightness. High resolution (e.g., 230,000 pixels) makes menus and image detail easier. Look for nonglare coatings and the ability to adjust to lighting conditions, along with a wide viewing angle (at least 130 degrees).
On most compacts, LCDs are the only way to frame your shot -- optical viewfinders are now rare. You'll find them on a few advanced models, such as the new Canon PowerShot G9 ($500, street) and Nikon Coolpix P5100 ($400, street), as well as some more economical models.
Then there's the electronic viewfinder on cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 ($400, street) and Olympus SP-560 UZ ($500, street). Since an EVF shows you the image as seen through the lens, the shooting experience is similar to a DSLR. Particularly for telephoto shots, using the EVF instead of the LCD to compose can reduce camera shake significantly, since you're holding the camera
up to your eye. You get an okay view of still scenes, and you can readily view exposure information. But
even the best EVF is prone to smearing and redraw lag when tracking a moving subject.
4. Auto modes
The easy option
Many compacts have an "easy" point-and-shoot mode -- great for children and carefree snapshooters -- as well as normal program mode. Shutter-priority and aperture-
priority program modes allow you to select the shutter speed or f-stop, but they still determine the proper exposure for you. For a long time, these were the four standard
program modes, but they are being joined by more and more image-optimizing auto modes. Face detection, which identifies and exposes for faces in the scene, is gaining popularity, along with other auto modes to make picture-taking easier and more satisfying.
5. Scene modes
The more the merrier
Scene modes can be a great help for the beginner -- these specialized program modes set the camera to good settings for challenging scenes. So you don't have to be a pro to make a nice sunset portrait, or know that it's best to add an EV or two in exposure compensation for beach and winter scenes, due to the high reflectivity of sand and snow. Some cameras only have a few scene modes, but some have 30 or more. For the casual photographer, they help get rid of the guesswork and let you concentrate more on framing your memories than on nailing a dodgy exposure.
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