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Choosing The Right Digital Camera For You

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How to narrow the multitude of options? Consider your photography habits and the features you really need

Feature Considerations
Now let's look at some features of compact and D-SLR cameras.

LCD Monitor. Compact digital cameras come with live-view LCD monitors: The camera shows the image on the monitor before you shoot, as well as right after; thus, you can use the monitor image to compose images and to check exposure, white balance, focus and even depth of field before making the shot.

D-SLRs historically have had monitors that show the image only after you shoot it, composition and manual focusing being done the traditional SLR way via the SLR viewfinder.

Today, there are three D-SLRs that provide compact-style live monitors: the Olympus E-330 EVOLT, Panasonic DMC-L1 and Leica Digilux 3 (listed in their order of appearance on the market). If you like the SLR benefits of faster operation and autofocusing and interchangeable-lens capability, and also want a live-view monitor, these three cameras are the only ones you have to consider.

Early compact digital cameras (and D-SLRs) had very small monitors, but the trend today is toward larger ones that are easier to "read," whether you're checking images or making camera settings. If two cameras are otherwise closely matched for your needs, get the one with the better LCD monitor. Bear in mind that some monitors are easier to view in bright light than others and some can be viewed at sharper angles than others. Check these features out before buying a camera. Most digital cameras provide a zoom feature that lets you greatly enlarge a portion of the LCD monitor image for close examination; make sure yours offers this capability.

I also like a tilting, rotating monitor, as described in the close-up section.

Stabilization. The smaller the camera, the tougher it is to hold it truly steady while shooting, especially at longer focal lengths. Some compact digital cameras offer built-in image-stabilizing systems. With D-SLRs, some manufacturers offer bodies with built-in stabilization (the Pentax K100D and K10D, Samsung GX-10, Sony DSLR-A100), and others provide the feature via special stabilized lenses (Canon, Nikon, Sigma). If you plan to shoot indoors without flash, outdoors in dim light or anywhere at longer focal lengths, I'd definitely go with a model that offers stabilization.

The most effective stabilizing systems are the optical ones (which move lens elements to counteract camera shake) and sensor-shift ones (which move the image sensor itself to keep the image in a fixed position and thus counter camera movement). Some stabilizing features simply increase the ISO setting, which yields a faster shutter speed less likely to show camera shake. This has the benefit of compensating for subject as well as camera movement, but be aware that image quality goes down as the ISO setting goes up.

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