Digital cameras: FAQs
To help you choose the best digital camera for you, the Which? experts answer some common digital camera questions - from how many megapixels you need to the best digital cameras for long-distance photography. You can also check out the Which? digital camera reviews to find out how different models performed in our tests, or compare digital cameras from a range of manufacturers including Kodak, Panasonic, Sony, Casio, Pentax, Olympus, Samsung, Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon.
Are digital cameras easy to use?
Despite some fancy gadgetry, digital cameras are easy to use
The best digital cameras in the Which? digital camera reviews score highly for ease of use. All digital cameras have an easy-to-use automatic mode, which normally gives good results. However, getting to know some of the camera's other settings can pay dividends.
Choosing manual white balance and setting the aperture yourself are just two examples of how you can improve picture quality on your digital camera and create more 'arty' results. As a general guide, the more expensive the digital camera, the more manual settings it will have.
For tips on using your digital camera, see Digital camera shooting tips, Using your digital camera - simple tips and Using your digital camera - advanced tips.
Do I need a computer to use a digital camera?
You don't strictly need a computer to use a digital camera, but you do need one to get the most out of it.
If you have a digital camera, you can bypass the computer with a PictBridge enabled printer, which will print your pictures either directly from the digital camera, or from the memory card that holds the images.
Alternatively, you can use a digital printing service, which will print your digital images for you. See our reviews of digital printing services.
Photo editing software can help you improve your digital pictures
If you do want to use a computer, you'll be able to edit your images with photo editing software. For example, you can crop them, adjust contrast and fix problems, such as red-eye.
The other advantage of putting them on a computer is you can then email them to friends and family, as a quick way of sharing, or store them on your hard drive.
When I'm looking for the best digital camera, how many megapixels do I need?
For a top-quality 6"x4" print, all you need is a digital camera with 2.2Mp. For a 7x5" you need at least 3.2Mp and for a 10"x8" print choose a digital camera with at least 7.2Mp.
You can still get good-quality prints with around half these recommended amounts of megapixels, just not top quality ones. Bearing this in mind, you’ll see most of the digital cameras in the Which? digital camera reviews should have an adequate amount of megapixels for your needs.
If all you want to do is to put photos on a computer, shooting at 1Mp or even lower should be fine. Compare digital cameras to find one to suit you.
Which is the best digital camera type, digital SLR (DSLR) or standard?
Although DSLRs can produce detailed, colourful, sharp pictures, particularly with a high-quality lens attached, most of the time a standard digital camera will do an acceptable job.
Unless you’re after the best possible picture quality all the time or want a very quick camera, stick with a standard digital camera. They’re also cheaper, and usually much less bulky to carry around. To find the best digital camera for you, check out the Which? digital camera reviews.
If you're still tempted by the increased manual control and excellent picture quality afforded by DSLRs, check the Which? reviews of DSLRs, where you can find our recommended Best Buy DSLR cameras.
DSLRs can produce more detailed shots than standard digital cameras
Is printing images from my digital camera at home cheaper than having them printed in the shops or online?
The high cost of photo-quality inkjet paper and inkjet cartridges means printing your digital camera photos at home often works out more expensive than letting the pros do it.
See our reviews of digital printing services and photo printer reviews for more information. Or you could try a digital photo frame to display your pictures.
How many pictures can you take with a digital camera?
This varies greatly, depending on the quality of images you want to take, and the capacity of the memory card in your digital camera.
Many digital cameras come with a small internal memory or a small capacity memory card, which is usually enough for only a handful of high quality pictures.
But you can high capacity memory cards which will give you a lot of storage for a day's shooting or more.
What type of battery do I need for my digital camera?
Most digital cameras come packaged with a purpose-made rechargeable battery. In our thorough testing of digital cameras, we usually test battery life using the original rechargeable battery packaged with each camera. See the Which? digital camera reviews to find out which are the best digital cameras for battery life.
In the case of digital cameras which require the purchase of additional batteries, we test with high quality 2,600mAh capacity rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries, as these represent a cheaper and environmentally-sound means for powering your digital camera.
However, in recent tests, some digital cameras gave exceptionally poor performances with these batteries. The Kodak EasyShare Z8612IS managed to take only 67 pictures before giving up the ghost, while the Kodak EasyShare Z1085IS powered down after a paltry 61 shots. We contacted Kodak, who suggested these digital cameras were best-suited for non-rechargeable lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries. Retesting with Best Buy Li-ion AA batteries, both cameras managed to take over 250 shots, our benchmark for an excellent performance.
It would appear that you can achieve superior battery life by using good Li-ion non-rechargeable batteries in your digital camera, as opposed to the rechargeable Ni-MH batteries we favour for testing with. But continually having to buy new high-quality Li-ion batteries is an extremely expensive and wasteful means for powering a digital camera, and these two Kodak models remain on our Don’t Buy list for their poor rechargeable battery performance in the Which? digital camera reviews.
See our Which? reviews of rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries for more information on picking a Best Buy battery.
What’s the best digital camera for indoor shots, such as at parties?
The best digital camera for indoor shots will have a good flash performance and a high maximum manually selectable ISO setting (look for 800 or above) for the times when you don’t want to use flash.
Good indoor shots are challenging, but the best digital camera helps a lot
Also, when inside a small room, it’s sometimes hard to fit in a wide group of people in your shot – sometimes you can’t walk back far enough.
Therefore it's good to look for a digital camera with a low first number in the optical zoom range. For example, a digital camera with an optical zoom range of 28-105mm will be better at zooming further out, than a camera with a range of 35-105mm.
And the best digital camera for 'long distance' photography?
Use the Which? digital camera reviews to choose a digital camera with a powerful optical zoom, ie one with a high second number in the optical zoom range. The larger this second number is, the more you’ll be able to zoom in to distant objects.
For example, a 35-420mm digital camera will be able to zoom further than a 35-350mm one, and much further than a 35-105mm.
When zooming in far, your pictures are more likely to be blurry due to camera shake, so it's a good idea to choose a digital camera with image stabilisation as well.
Most digital cameras also have a digital zoom. The purpose of this is to give you even more zoom power beyond what the optical zoom can extend to. There is a downside - the more you zoom in with a digital zoom, the more your picture quality degrades.
How about the best digital camera for action photography?
If you want the best digital camera for action shots, a fast shutter delay certainly helps, as does a good burst mode – the more shots the digtal camera can take per second, the better. Go for a Digital SLR (DSLR) if you want to take action photography seriously, as these are fast cameras.
Fast and easy focussing either using autofocus, or the lens manual ring to manual focus, is essential – and again DSLRs come out on top here.
How much memory do I need on a digital camera and what type of card should I buy?
When you take a photo with a digital camera, it's stored on the camera’s internal memory, or a memory card. There are various types of memory card (details below). Cards advertised as having high speeds are usually only worth buying if you have a high performance digital camera, such as a Digital SLR - otherwise you probably won't notice the speed benefit.
Amount of memory
Digital cameras usually come with a small internal memory or a small capacity memory card, usually around 16 megabytes (16MB). This usually only has enough space for a handful of pictures, so buy a large capacity memory card allowing you to store more. A 1GB card (equal to approximately 1000MB), for example, holds around 250 8Mp photos
Type of memory
There are a variety of memory card formats for digital cameras
There are several different formats of memory card for digital cameras. They all work in essentially the same way and, for almost all types, prices per megabyte of storage are roughly the same. But there are differences in physical size, compatibility and maximum memory levels.
These are the main types of card:
- Compact Flash - Often abbreviated to CF, this is the bulkiest card (although still small). Often found in larger cameras like Digital SLRs.
- Memory Stick Duo - Memory Sticks are mainly used in Sony products. They are a usually a bit more expensive to buy than other types.
- Secure Digital (SD or SDHC) - Often abbreviated to SD, this is the most commonly found type of card. It's about the size of a postage stamp. SDHC cards are a type of SD card, but visually they look identical. SDHC cards are available only in capacities of 4GB or more. A few older cameras that accept normal SD cards don't accept them, but all cameras that accept SDHC also accept SD.
- xD - These are commonly found in Olympus and Fujifilm cameras. They're also about the size of a stamp. A few printers with memory card slots don't accept them so it's worth checking if this is important to you.
Do I need image-editing software for my digital camera?
You can edit digital camera images on a computer. Image-editing software lets you crop, enlarge, correct colour and add effects to your pictures. Most digital cameras come with software that lets you do this, but its quality varies.
If your digital camera doesn't come with software, or fancy some more advanced software, you can buy it separately. See our reviews of photo editing software for Best Buys.
How do cameraphones compare with digital cameras?
With mobile phones becoming more and more capable of taking good photos, it's fair to ask whether a small digital camera makes much sense. We say it does.
The best digital cameras usually have better lens, flash and sensor, leading to better image quality, especially in dim light conditions. Digital cameras also have many features a phone may lack (eg an optical zoom, scene modes etc) that make taking good pictures in different situations much easier.
If you're taking pictures outside then a very good phone can compete, but indoor shots and dim light will see the camera comfortably on top.
See our mobile phone reviews for information on mobile phones and our latest Best Buys.