How to Pick a Digital Camera

After years of buying expensive rolls of film, and paying to have all of your pictures developed just to find the two or three you'll keep because they're not blurred or people's heads aren't chopped off, you have decide to find out about digital cameras.There are so many digital cameras to consider, with prices and features that may make your head swim, you think there has to be a way to help you make your decision.

Step1

Don't buy more than you need. Think about how and where you'll use your camera. How experienced are you? Do you want a camera that is simple to use, or are you more of an artist and you want better control over your pictures? How much can you afford to spend?

Step2

Decide what resolution you need. Digital photographs are comprised of dots, called megapixels. The more megapixels making up the picture, the higher the resolution will be. Digital camera manufacturers have told us that more is better. However, unless you intend for a lot of your pictures to be printed in a large size, 4-5 megapixels is plenty.

Step3

If you plan to take pictures of subjects that are far away, consider what kind of zoom feature you will need. In the digital camera world, there are two types: Digital zoom and optical zoom. Digital zoom simply enlarges each pixel electronically, while optical zoom involves a physical lens magnification of the image you are photographing. Digital zoom is redundant because you can just as easily increase the size of your picture on your computer. So disregard all the hype put forth by the manufacturers, and look at cameras with the best optical zoom features.

Step4

Before you buy a digital camera, do some research. Don't simply rely upon the advice of the helpful sales person. He may know less than you do, or he may recommend a camera because of an incentive. Also, read magazine reviews or go online to help you narrow your choices.

Step5

Once you have decided on the right camera for you, negotiate the price with your retailer. Add to your confidence by checking the Internet for the prices charged for the camera you want to buy. While some retailers may refuse to budge on the price of the camera, they may be willing to include memory cards, batteries or a camera case with your purchase.

Replacement Camera Battery Recommendation:
Canon NB-1LH Camera Battery Pack
Canon NB-2LH Camera Battery Pack
Canon NB-4L Camera Battery Pack
Canon NB-5L Camera Battery Pack
Canon BP-511 Camera Battery Pack

How to dry a wet digital camera

If your camera has been dropped into water, don't panic. You can still dry the camera out before too much damage is done. This method sounds insane but it really works.

Steps

Rice Bowl Method

1. Disconnect the battery as soon as possible. The battery is the part of the digital camera that is most likely to be damaged by the water. The camera is more vulnerable to water damage if it's under tension.
2. Remove any memory sticks.
3. Put enough rice into a bowl/container that you can bury your camera in it.
4. Submerge your camera into the bowl of rice. Make sure the camera is completely covered.
5. Wait for the moisture to drain out of the camera for a few nights or up to a week.
6. Don't try to turn it back on before it's completely dry.

Tips

• Rice tends to draw moisture to it (that's why people put it in salt shakers).
• This may work for other electronics as well.

Warnings

• This may not work if your camera was on during the fall into water.
• You may have to replace the battery or memory card if one was present.
• There is no guarantee this will save your camera.
• Don't use salt to bury your camera in. This will probably make the camera useless

Didital Camera Battery Recommendation:

 Olympus BLM-1 Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus BLS-1 Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus LI-10B Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus LI-12B Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus LI-30B Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus LI-40B Camera Battery Pack

 Olympus PS-BLS1 Camera Battery Pack

 

How To Replace a Digital Camera Battery Charger

Your digital camera battery charger isn't even part of your camera, but without it you can't get your digital camera to work-or at least not for more than a few hours. It's a bit of a catch 22: you can't keep your battery charger with your camera at all times, it's just not practical; but you also need to have it handy in case your digital camera's battery needs a charge. For me, this means moving it all over the house to different wall sockets and even taking it with me on trips when I know I'll be using my camera a lot. All this shifting and moving about inevitably results in a misplaced or-when I'm finally ready to admit it-lost digital camera battery charger.

A lost digital camera battery charger poses a serious problem: it can be hard to find a replacement, but your digital camera still works fine. Although the hunt for a matching battery charger can be frustrating, if you know your digital camera's make and model, you should be able to find a replacement battery charger by utilizing one of the below sources.

1. Digital Camera Manufacturer. If you go to your camera manufacturer's website, you should be able to browse for replacement parts. As long as you know the make and model of your camera (which you should be able to find printed on the camera itself), you can assure yourself that you'll be getting the appropriate replacement digital camera battery charger. Visit Canon, Sony or any other major digital camera manufacturer's website to find replacement parts. Or, if you're more comfortable speaking to a person, you can call your digital camera manufacturer's 800 number for assistance.
2. Third Party Vendor. If you're looking for a discounted digital camera battery charger, you may want to look at sites like  www.canon-digital-camera-battery.co.uk  or www.digital-camera-batteries.org . These third party vendors often sell replacement parts from a variety of manufacturers at discounted rates. You must still know your digital camera's make and model to assure that you are purchasing the appropriate replacement. You may be able to find universal digital camera battery chargers as well, but you should double check to ensure that your camera's battery will fit in the universal charger you are considering.
3. Individual Vendor. Sites like eBay and Craigslist allow individuals to post ads for items that they are trying to sell. Ebay is a mixture of businesses and individuals and encourages buyers to bid on products in an auction-like environment. You'll likely have better luck on eBay than on Craigslist since it boasts a larger quantity of more sophisticated sellers. However, check both if you're looking for a deal and you might just luck out.
4. Retail Store. Electronics retail stores like Circuit City and Best Buy sell digital camera accessories, including battery chargers. Anywhere that you can buy a digital camera, you can probably buy a digital camera battery charger. Check your camera's make and model, then either head to the store or get online to browse through your digital camera battery charger options.

Didigtal Camera Batteries Recommendation:

Casio NP-100 Camera Battery Pack

Casio NP-20 Camera Battery Pack

Casio NP-30 Camera Battery Pack

Casio NP-40 Camera Battery Pack

Casio NP-L7 Camera Battery Pack

How to make digital camera battery work extra time?

Like other portable consumer electronic devices, digital cameras use batteries as their power source. All batteries have one major drawback: they only last for a limited time. In this article we will explain what camera features consume the most energy and how you can squeeze more life time out of your digital camera battery.

There are many types of battery. Your digital camera might be using disposable batteries or maybe it uses rechargeable ones. Rechargeable batteries use a variety of technologies such as nickel cadmium, lithium ion or lithium polymer. Battery technology has advanced in the last years but digital camera battery life time is still considerably short. It is very frustrating to come across a great photo opportunity just to find out that you have run out of batteries.

When it comes to power consumption not all digital camera features are equal. Some of the digital camera greatest features are high energy consumers. By knowing which features consume the most energy you will be able to avoid or minimize using those features save energy and get more life time from your batteries.

The biggest energy consumers in a digital camera are the LCD screen and the motors that move the mechanical components of the camera such as the lenses when focusing or zooming. Digital cameras allow viewing of photos that were just taken on a small LCD screen. Some of them also allow shooting photos using the LCD instead of the traditional viewfinder. An LCD screen consumes relatively a lot of energy. This is the reason why all digital cameras turn off the LCD after a certain amount of time of no usage.

The other big energy consumers are the motors. Digital cameras have motors the move the lenses either to change the zoom or to focus. Motors consume relatively a lot of energy when moving the digital camera optical components. And finally the flash is a big energy consumer too. Shooting photos using the flash consumes more energy that shooting photos without flash. So what can you do in order to minimize power consumption and get more life time from your batteries?

• Turn off the LCD and use the viewfinder: If your camera has one, use the optical viewfinder instead of the LCD for composing your photos. Using the camera menus, disable the LCD by turning it off. Since the LCD consumes a lot of energy every time you are using it to take a photo or to look at your objects and compose a photo you are wasting energy. Only use the LCD when you must for example when taking an overhead photo when the optical viewfinder is not usable.
  
  
• Minimize photo previewing: The LCD consumes a lot of energy. When you preview photos on the LCD you are wasting digital camera battery life.
  Only use the LCD to view photos when you need to do so for the benefit of the next photos shooting � for example to check if a composition was right or if the lighting was good. Do not use the LCD to view photos for fun or to show photos to others. Wait until you are on your computer or in your office or home to do that.

• Do not use continuous focus when not necessary: Every time your camera focuses it consumers energy. The motors that move the optical components in order to focus consume a lot of energy. You cannot avoid focusing of course but you can avoid focusing that is not necessary. For example, your digital camera can be set to continuous or single focus. For moving objects such as in sport events continuous focus is used so your can stay focused on the object until you are ready to take the photo. In those cases as long as you press the shutter button half way down the camera will continue to focusing on the object. To save energy minimize that time to the minimum necessary. For example if you plan to shoot a photo of a runner at point A only press the shutter when he gets close to that point. Holding the shutter button down and following the runner for a longer time than needed to capture him at point A wastes a lot of energy.
  
  
• Do not press the shutter button half way down for no reason: Every time you press the shutter button half way down and do not take a photo you waste energy. When pressing the shutter button half way down the camera goes through a series of processes getting ready to shoot a photo. It focuses the lenses, it wakes up electronic components and gets the flash ready if needed. Avoid pressing the shutter half way down when you do not plan to shoot a photo.
  
  
• Carry another battery: Two batteries have twice the energy of one. Carry an extra battery if you are planning for a long shooting session or if you are not sure how many photos you will shoot and how long you will be away from your charger. Some photographers always carry an extra battery with them � batteries are very small and light and carrying an extra one is really not a burden. One thing to remember when carrying an extra battery is to always make sure that it is fully charged - there is no use in carrying an empty battery! Batteries tend to lose their charge even if they are not used so if you are carrying an extra battery for a few days or more remember to recharge it even if you did not use it.
  
  
• Recharge whenever you can: Charge your battery (or batteries if you carry an extra one) at least once a day or whenever you are back to your office, home or hotel. Even if you did not take many photos and you think the batteries have enough power in them it is better to make sure by fully charging them rather than to take the risk. You never know how long your next photo shooting session will be and when will your next recharge opportunity will be. Batteries slowly lose their charge even when not used so always recharge your extra battery too even if it was not used.
  
  
• Plan for battery consumption: The most important thing is to plan for battery consumption. For example if you are leaving your home or office for a short photo shooting session of an hour you are not going to have any battery issues. In such cases you can ignore all the guidelines and just shoot photos freely in the way that is most convenient to you. If you are going out for a long day of photo shooting in scenarios that require flash and maybe continuous focusing (just as shooting a sports event) � plan ahead for power consumption take an extra battery or maybe two refrain from using features that are not necessary for your session such as previewing photos on the LCD or using the LCD as a viewfinder.

In conclusion until battery technologies improve to the extent that battery life is so long that it practically lasts forever you will have to be conscious about how you use your digital camera in respect to power consumption.

 

Battery Recommendation:

Sony NP-BG1 Camera Battery Pack

Sony NP-FC11 Camera Battery Pack

Sony NP-FR1 Camera Battery Pack

Sony NP-FS11 Camera Battery Pack

Find a Replacement camera battery for your digital camera

For a photographer, there is little worse than the bad feeling that you've just missed a fantastic shot because the digital camera battery went dead. It is necessary to bring another replacement battery with you if you are planning to take a lot of photos. There are many reviews and articles telling us how to choose a decent digital camera, however, few of them tell us how to pick a replacement battery methodically and clearly. Now, let's face the important question, how can we find a good battery replacement for our digital cameras?

In this article, I will show you:
1. Batteries Classification.
2. How to choose batteries
3. Battery maintains.

1. Batteries Classification.

We must know batteries first before we choose one. There are 3 kinds of digital camera batteries that we often use, including: alkaline battery, Ni-MH battery and lithium-ion battery.

Alkaline battery

Alkaline battery is the most common battery in our daily life. There are many brands of alkaline batteries we can find, like Duracell, Energizer, Sony, Samsung, Maxell, etc. Unlike rechargeable batteries, alkaline batteries are not able to circulation use. Once it is drained, you have no option but throw it away.

Advantage: Easy to buy, Cheap (only for who need it temporarily,) and more choice of brands.
Disadvantage: Irrechargeable, Cost too much if often use. Low energy conversion efficiency.

Ni-MH battery

Ni-MH battery is a kind of rechargeable battery. You can find it in retail stores in size AA. As the same as alkaline batteries, Ni-MH batteries are not expensive, either, and the voltage and performance is similar to standard alkaline batteries in those sizes. You may pay more money than alkaline batteries when purchasing Ni-MH batteries, however, the ability to recharge 1000 times can save a lot of money.

Advantage: Rechargeable, Great compatibility
Disadvantage: Its durability is less than alkaline battery that has the same specification. Cost too much if use only once. The Memory effect will causes them to hold less and less charge.

Lithium-ion battery

Lithium-ion battery (sometimes abbreviated Li-ion batteries) is also rechargeable. Nowadays, most digital cameras use Lithium-ion battery as power supply. It is lighter and more powerful than alkaline battery and Ni-MH battery. Lithium-ion batteries do not suffer from the memory effect. They also have a low self-discharge rate of approximately 5% per month. (which is 30% for Ni-MH battery).

Advantage: Rechargeable, Less weight, Great energy
Disadvantage: Expensive. Its life span is dependent on the number of charge/discharge cycles and the age from being manufactured. It is not so safe as other batteries in some situation.

How to choose batteries/replacement batteries

For AA battery digital camera users, if you need batteries temporarily, choose alkaline battery instead. It is cheap and good enough, you can find it in every retail stores. For those regular users of AA battery digital camera, you should choose Ni-MH rechargeable battery. Though it will cost more than purchasing alkaline battery, its ability to recharge will save you a lot of money.
Many people will neglect the voltage of the battery when they plan to buy batteries. Take the two batteries into example.
Battery A: 3.6 V * 1200 mA
Battery B: 7.2 V * 1000 mA
Most people will chose battery A, but I suggest you try battery B, even though 1200 mA is higher than 1000 mA, the voltage of battery B is twice higher than the voltage of battery A. Ignore the electricity resistance,
P (power)=U (voltage)*I (current)
The power of battery B is much higher than battery A.

If your digital camera uses lithium-ion battery, the easiest way is to buy another original battery pack from the manufacture. Despite it is expensive, the quality is guaranteed and it will be full compatible with your digital camera.

You can also find many OEM manufactures that supply cheap batteries. Take the digital-camera-batteries.org and canon-digital-camera-batteru.co.ukfor instance, you can find many replacement batteries for digital cameras.

Battery Maintains

1. For alkaline batteries, remember to take them out of the digital camera after using, the alkaline liquid will damage the camera if let it out.
2. For Ni-MH batteries, fully charge/discharge battery up to 3 cycles before achieving full capacity of a new battery. Fully discharge and then fully charge the battery every two to three weeks for battery conditions. Run the device under the battery's power until it shuts down or until you get a low battery warning. This will help you reduce the memory effect greatly.
3. For Lithium-ion battery, DO NOT discharge it, it doesn't have memory effect, it will damage the battery to discharge it.
4. Remove from the device and stored in a cool, dry, clean place if the battery will not be in use for a month or longer,

Some tips while using digital camera batteries

Using this article, it will help you choose and maintenance your digital camera battery easily.

Some tips for you:
1. Don't throw away used batteries, cause they will pollute the environment.
2. If you find your batteries getting quite hot while charging or using, remove from the device and wait until they become cool.
3. Do not short-circuit. A short-circuit may cause severe damage to the battery.
4. Do not drop, hit or otherwise abuse the battery as this may result in the exposure of the cell contents, which are corrosive.
5. Do not expose the battery to moisture or rain.
6. Keep battery away from fire or other sources of extreme heat. Do not incinerate. Exposure of battery to extreme heat may result in an explosion.

Battery Recommendation:
Canon NB-1LH Camera Battery Pack
Canon NB-2LH Camera Battery Pack
Canon NB-4L Camera Battery Pack Canon NB-5L Camera Battery Pack
Canon BP-511 Camera Battery Pack