PCPhoto
2005 Buyer's Guide: At The Camera CounterA digital camera buyer's checklist |
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Page 5 of 5 Shutter Lag Although it has been greatly reduced in newer models, shutter lag still is an issue with most digital cameras (D-SLRs excluded). While lag time can be reduced by presetting focus and exposure, it takes some getting used to. Depending on the types of photography in which you normally engage, this lag may be just a minor hiccup, or it may be a more serious hindrance. If you typically like to shoot portraits, landscapes or still-life images, this isn’t going to be a huge problem, but sports photographers may find it frustrating at first. The amount of lag varies among cameras, so be sure to compare cameras in actual use. Memory Cards Five different types of memory cards currently are used in digital cameras— CompactFlash (CF), SecureDigital (SD), SmartMedia, Memory Stick and xD. The type of card you’ll use depends on the camera you choose. They differ primarily in size, but there are performance variances as well. CompactFlash cards have the highest capacities available and usually are less expensive on a per-megabyte basis. SD cards record slightly faster than CF, although newer CF cards are increasing in speed. If you own other electronic devices that use flash memory, you may want to get a camera that uses the same type of memory. Some cameras have dual memory card slots that allow you to use two different types of memory and swap files between the cards.
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