Every year, digital cameras gain resolution and speed. More than 14 million digital cameras will be sold this year, outselling film cameras by 30 percent. But many potential buyers fear today’s models will be obsolete before long and wonder if it’s more prudent to shoot film for another year or two.
Some answers emerged from hands-on testing of several models:
Images produced from today’s digital cameras are inferior to 35mm film but better than most people need. The gap in quality between film and digital has shrunk into the shadows.
A digital camera pays for itself in savings from film and development costs. An active photographer will save the cost of a camera after taking the equivalent of 20 rolls of film, because the camera can be plugged into a computer and the picture e-mailed within minutes, or it can be trashed without waste.
And many images will be discarded, largely because of digital’s greatest curse: delay.
Digital cameras suffer from focus delay, shutter delay and storage delay. If you pose each shot, then a delay of less than a second will be noticed but insignificant. But pictures of moving children often produce glimpses of exiting forms.
If the tradeoff is worthwhile to you, read on.
Memory cards
Film for digital cameras is in the form of memory cards, which every year grow in capacity and come down in price. The 16-megabyte cards that come with the cameras offer so little storage as to be useless, holding fewer than six pictures.
Memory cards come in many different formats that matter little. Buy the camera you like best and then get a corresponding memory card of at least 256 megabytes, which will cost between $60 and $100 and hold around 100 shots. Memory cards also come in different speeds. Get the fastest you can afford. You also must purchase an extra battery.
Printing
The inconveniences of digital printing pale when you remember that after film and development costs are included, each 35mm print costs 75 cents. All the digital cameras come with software that imports pictures from camera to computer, where they can be viewed and printed. Many cameras also come with versions of Adobe Photoshop, which functions as a digital darkroom permitting the photographer to bend the image to his creative intent.
Some printers can be plugged directly into cameras, without need of a computer. A $99 Epson 820 printer will print photographs indistinguishable from an enlargement if you use special photo paper. Ink-jet-paper prints fade faster than photo paper, so if you want archival prints good for 80 years, the Epson 2200 costs $699 and uses pigment-based ink.
Lenses
The lens is the most important part of a film camera. But because the quality of a digital image has so much to do with computer chips, the lens plays a less dominant role. Many consumers judge a lens by how telescopic it is–how far one can stand from the subject–whereas professionals often prefer wide-angle lenses. Most digital cameras cater to the consumer, offering lenses that zoom from moderately wide, most often 35mm, to telephoto.
The other important quality of a lens is its maximum aperture, or how much light it lets in. More light allows a photographer to take a picture by natural light,whereas a flash can be harsh and flattening.
The larger the aperture number, the smaller the aperture, the less light the lens allows in.
Apertures are not graduated like a volume dial. The Canon G5 with a 2.0 lens, for example, is able to shoot in half as much light as its competitors with a 2.8 lens.
Compact cameras
Unlike film cameras, where size doesn’t matter, the larger the digital camera the better the image. Even so, the most desirable camera is often the smallest.
The Pentax Optio S4, along with most of the compact field, has a four-megapixel sensor and a 35-105mm zoom, and costs between $310 and $430. It is tiny and light. Unfortunately, the image quality is middling and the shutter and menu navigation buttons are mushy. So the S4 is only recommended for people who value size and style above all else.
The Canon S400, which costs $375 to $450, has a larger, sturdier, stainless steel body and produces images that are consistently better than the other compact cameras. Although slightly slower to the first shot than the Optio S4, the Canon is able to fire off four shots in rapid succession.
The Minolta Xt, $222-$299, is almost as small as the Pentax Optio S4 and has a unique internal zoom lens that does not protrude. The image quality was excellent and it didn’t seem to matter that there was one fewer megapixel than with most other compacts. But there is significant delay between shots.
The Pentax 33WR, $275-$350, also has a three-megapixel sensor but compensates with water resistance. It is not for diving but is designed to be splashable. It uses AA batteries, which enable a traveler to purchase replacements on a South Pacific atoll.
Prosumer cameras
Prosumer digital cameras provide higher-image quality because they have five-megapixel sensors. They also offer greater control and faster response time than compact cameras. But they do so at the expense of size. With the exception of the Pentax Optio 555, they must be slung over the shoulder.
The Canon G5, $514 to $789, is the best of the prosumer models. It has classic proportions and quick response time. Because of its large maximum aperture, it is able to shoot pictures in half as much light as its competitors. But the G5, unlike most of the cameras, has a lens cap instead of a self-closing lens, which was maddeningly easy to dislodge.
The smallest prosumer camera is the Pentax Optio 555, which produced pictures of exceptional quality. If you need a smaller camera but are unwilling to give up picture quality and creative control, the Optio 555, at $460 to $600, is the best camera available.
The Sony DSC-V1, $510-$700, has a very fast shutter and nicely clicking controls. But the G5 is less clunky and easier to carry across the body, and the Optio 555 is better if you’re trying to carry it in the pocket.
On the Nikon 5400, $550-$700, the grip extends too far outward for smallish hands. The time between shots was longer than its rivals and the menu system more complex. The camera will, however, appeal to the wide-angle photographer because its lens can extend to 28mm.
Single lens reflex
Digital SLRs are expensive and bulky but use much better chips than the other cameras and are able to focus and shoot just as fast as their film counterparts. They have six-megapixel sensors that produce image resolution difficult to distinguish from film. The batteries last a long time–600 shots for the Digital Rebel. Large memory cards permit wild shooting.
Unless you are a professional photographer, and are willing to pay an extra $600 for ruggedness, then the only camera to buy is the Canon Digital Rebel, with a detachable zoom lens. At $899 or $999, it shatters the SLR pricing structure. Because it is made from cheap, hard plastics like those used to adorn rental car interiors, it is much lighter than other digital SLRs. The zoom lens that comes with the Rebel is unfortunately slow, with a 3.5 maximum aperture, needing four times as much light as the G5.
The Digital Rebel focuses faster than the Nikon D100, which costs $1,500 to $1,700 for the body alone, and the new Olympus E-1, which costs $1,000 to $1,700 for the body alone. It’s even faster than Canon’s own D10, $1,500 to $1,700. The extra money is spent on the other cameras’ heartier constructionand larger burst caches, which allow the camera to continue taking pictures while storing to the memory card.
If you are willing to shoulder a camera, then skip the prosumers and buy a Digital Rebel. These cameras are so good that nobody discounts them.
When you buy
The best place to get a feel for cameras is at a store, but the best place to buy is online.
– To obtain prices go to www.cnet.com, www.pricegrabber.com and www.bizrate.com.
– Beware the lowest prices. They are often below the dealer cost and are used to bait you for overpriced packages or memory cards.
– Except for the most esteemed online merchants, such as B&H (www.bhphotovideo.com) or Adorama (www.adorama.com), you should buy the camera alone.
— R.P.
