The Digital Future - A Guide to Digital Camera Reviewing

The Features

Along with increased image quality (as well as increased price) usually comes increased features. Features can be defined as additions that the camera has to make it stand out from the pack and act less like a 35mm camera and more like a photo-editing suite. Generally, the ability to switch from automatic mode to a manual mode where both shutter speed and f-stop can be controlled is greatly desired. Even if you go out not knowing anything about cameras, quickly you will learn how to adjust each setting to obtain the desired image. Without the ability to alter these settings, a camera becomes more of an entry level digital camera and less of a SLR replacement. Think of a camera without such custom features more along the lines of a nice 35mm automatic camera, while digital cameras with these settings are akin to more expensive and more powerful SLR cameras.

As one would suspect, the more features a camera has, the merrier. Ranging from the ability to adjust aperture and shutter speed to the ability to set white balance, camera features are diverse. Some even include settings to adjust the ISO rating of the camera (how sensitive the camera acts when exposed to light), something typically associated with SLR cameras. Features of digital cameras stretch as far as the ability to apply digital filters of sorts, changing the image completely such as making it black and white or inverting the colors, things never before imagined on conventional cameras.

While we understand that features are desirable, we also understand that many out there do not care as much about the features and are more interested in the point-and-shoot capabilities of the camera. Features, however, also play a large role in this, as the features determine items such as how many different preset picture modes there are and well as how the flash fires.

In this section of the review, we will get technical but more than that we will discuss the features of the camera when in automatic mode, meaning that both power users and novices can both see how the camera appeals to them.