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Everything you wanted to know about Digital Cameras But Were Afraid to Ask
One of the more enjoyable aspects of owning a home computer. Is purchasing a digital camera to create and share photos of family ,vacations and special events. With far off friends, coworkers and family members over the internet. In addition with a digital camera you can create stunning desktop backgrounds (wallpaper). Integrate your pictures into greeting cards, signs, folders and almost any kind of artwork you can create on the internet. With some digital cameras you can hold video conferences add video to email, chats and so forth. There are basically 3 types of digital cameras that are in use. The first the inexpensive type that sits on top or alongside your computer. With this type of camera you can hold a video conference with your instant messaging program (AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo, ICQ and MSN). Some of these cameras can also take still pictures also. The quality of the camera is measured in Frames per second (avg is is around 30) where the higher the number the better the picture. These cameras are made by a number of companies like Logictech, Intel, IBM ,etc. And generally cost around $50. To use these cameras you will need a USB port (Some older models can connect via the serial or parallel port but,usb is best) Windows 98 or higher, At least 64MB ram, a Pentium Processor, and a good internet connection (Broadband is recommended). The next type is the digital photo camera. These range from the inexpensive (less than $100) to the latest megapixel camera that can cost over $500. Quality of the photos taken are quoted in megapixels with the higher the number the better the picture quality. Higher priced cameras feature 4 or 5 megapixels, special effects, date and time stamp, etc. In addition they store your pictures on a removable reusable storage media, (Smart media ,Compact Flash, Floppy and Memory Stick.) Thus you can store up to 200+ plus pictures without the need to insert another card. Great for long vacations or business trips. All cameras include a USB (or serial for older cameras) connection. In addition they include software so that you can download your pictures into the computer. So that you can edit ,touchup and format your pictures that you can email to family and friends, print them out, create wallpaper , take photos of stuff you want to sell and put them on sites like ebay, and dozens of other uses. The choice you make will depend on your needs. A inexpensive 1 or 2 megapixel camera is fine to take photos to put on the web. However if you desire professional photo quality. Then the more expensive ones would be your choice. The software included is enough to get you started but generally lack the features for advanced photo editing. For that you need more featured software like .Microsoft Picture It ,Adobe Photoshop,or Photoshop Elements ,ACDsee and several others. Price ranges from $50 for Microsoft Picture It to Several Hundred for Adobe Photoshop. If you are just starting out I suggest you try using Picture It ,Adobe Photoshop Elements or ACDsee. As Photoshop costs over $400 and takes a long time to use all the advanced features. The last type is the Digital Video camera. These allow to take digital video and download clips into your computer or you can convert your video so you can burn them onto a DVD or a CD (providing you have a DVD/RW that costs about $200 or CD/RW in your computer) The higher priced cameras have one or more CCD's for better grade video, Have SVHS connections and software to download your video into your computer. You may also wish to purchase a good CD or DVD burning software such as Roxio CD & DVD Creator .If you wish to learn more about Digital Photography I suggest you go your library or bookstore get the fully skinny on all the in and outs from the experts. You may also wish to visit the following websites. Thats all for this month. Next month we will discuss How to buy & sell stuff online. If anyone has any suggestions, ideas or questions that like covered feel free to drop us a line.
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