Cloyd Van Hook:
If I want to take digital photos of my plane or of parts, either to post on BAC or to request help, what should I look for in a suitable digital camera?
Editor:
I’m not current on digital camera models. The very best advice I could give you is to look online or in the library for Consumer Reports’ latest camera analysis and recommendations.
If you just aren’t willing to do that, here are some guidelines:
1. Decide what storage media you want to use; there are several different versions used by different camera manufacturers. The storage type will affect max storage capacity per chip, extra chip cost, camera bulk, and the level of convenience in reading the card on your computer (and/or printer). Keep in mind that putting a ton of images on a single chip is not necessarily a good thing. It is much harder to deal with 200 images on a single chip, versus 50 on each of four chips, when it comes to unexpected loss, editing, etc. If you keep a number of smaller chips, you can remove a chip having critical images and protect it, without risking an accidental over-write (or other loss aspect), and without giving up a lot of image space until you transfer the files.
2. Paula gets excellent results with her 3 megapixel camera, but now the good mid-line range is more like 4 to 5 megapixels. The higher the number, the better the resolution. The downsides are the more storage used per image, and the need to drastically resize pix to a smaller size, before you can email them. That’s why I still use my old half-megapixel camera for eBay and BAC parts photos. If you will regularly create large-format prints like 8x10s or even larger, get the highest megapixel number you can afford. I believe that the limit for BAC photos is only 45KB. If your image size is any larger, you’ll need to resave as a .jpg (if necessary), and crop/resize until the file size falls within the limit. Fortunately, this is easy to do.
3. Digital zoom is all but useless. It is the digital camera equivalent of cropping the image on your computer. The only zoom that matters is optical zoom; and the more the better. Optical zoom is the digital camera equivalent of a telephoto lens on a traditional camera.
4. The next level up, between general consumer digital cameras and professional-grade digital cameras, are the digital cameras that use interchangeable lenses; just like traditional SLR 35MM cameras. That certainly adds a lot of flexibility to the camera, as long as you are willing to haul around the accessory lenses. Personally, that defeats part of the advantages of a digital camera; a compact and lightweight package. I’d just find a good optical zoom capability, and settle for that.
5. You need good flash (lighting) capability on a digital camera; even more so than for a traditional film camera. Make sure it can be used in auto mode, has a wide field and long range, and is easy to use. An auto red-eye reduction feature is very helpful.
6. Consider the type of batteries used by the camera. The more common they are, the more readily available they will be and the less they will cost.
7. If your eyes are as old as the rest of you, consider the size and clarity of the camera display screen. Some of the newer cameras, especially those with interchangeable lenses, let you frame the image using the screen or the traditional viewfinder. Using the viewfinder lets you conserve battery power.
8. See how long it takes for the camera to record an image. That will determine how quickly you can take successive images.