A simple guide to help

BUY AND SHOOT

tion settings from low to high.

When you buy a digital camera, the

Most digital cameras come with a

you get the most from

biggest consideration—besides the fun

“quick start” guide. Try the automatic expo-

you’re going to have—is how you will be

sure and focusing until you feel comfortable

using the camera. Will you be e-mailing pho-

with the camera, then experiment with the

your digital photos, from

tos or putting images on a Web site, both

full range of the controls. You will like the

low-resolution applications, or will you be

choice of framing each shot in either a

camera to computer to

printing high-resolution photos in a glossy

viewfinder or on a small color LCD (liquid

magazine? Your needs are probably some-

crystal display) on the back of the camera.

printer and beyond

You can get high-quality photo prin ts

PRINT

where in between those extremes, so look

Click the shutter button and you’ve got your

for a camera that offers a range of resolu-

first digital image.

By David Wight

from inkjet printers. Both dedicated photo

printers and general-use inkjets do a good

job. You can use special paper to enhance the results of photos printed by inkjet s.

STORE

True, digital cameras don’t need film,

but reusable memory cards, in essence,

replace film. Popular memory-card formats

include SD, CompactFlash, SmartMedia, xD

and Memory Stick. The camera determines

which card type can be used. These cards

are not interchangeable, have slightly differ-

ent dimensions and come in a growing range

of megabyte or gigabyte (even terabyte)

ARCHIVE

capacities. The camera-resolution settings

GB

determine the amount of storage space you

need. The higher the resolution, the bigger

the image size in terms of stored informa-

tion. Most cameras come with a small starter

card. If you will be taking many high-resolu-

tion shots for detailed 8-by-10-inch prints,

you will need a higher-capacity card. It’s

You probably won’t want to d evote valuable hard-drive space to storing your photos. Even if you did, backing up dat a on a computer is a smart thing to do beca use a hard-drive crash could lose it all. Most computers have onboard disc recorde rs,so burning images to disc is a cost-eff ective storage option. DVDs can hold a wal loping