Digital cameras are quite similar to traditional cameras in their operation. They both have a lens to focus the image, a shutter to allow light inside the camera, and an aperture to control the amount of light which enters the camera.

The differences between digital and traditional photography occur after the light enters the camera. A traditional camera captures the images on film, while a digital camera captures the image on an image sensor.

Image sensors are electronic devices made up of an array of electrodes (or photosites) which measure light intensity. The most common type of image sensor for digital cameras is the CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) although others such as CMOS and Foveon are sometimes used.

The number of photosites in the image sensor gives the digital camera its megapixel (millions of pixels) rating. Each photosite corresponds to a pixel in the final image, so a camera which is rated at six megapixels, for example, has an image sensor which is 3008 pixels wide by 2000 pixels high.

When light hits the image sensor it is converted into electrical signals which are amplified and fed to an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. The A/D converter changes the electrical signal into binary numbers which are processed by a computer housed in the camera body. Once the numbers have been processed the resulting image is stored on a memory card.

Photosites can only measure intensity of light — not colour. In order to produce a colour image, each photosite must be covered with a coloured filter which can be red, blue, or green. These are the three primary colours which can be combined to produce any other colour including white.

The coloured filters are arranged in a grid so that there are twice as many green filters as there are red or blue. This is because the human eye is twice as sensitive to green light. Filters are arranged in a pattern called the Bayer pattern - one row of red, green, red, green (etc.), and the next row of blue, green, blue, green (etc).

Since each photosite can only be covered with one coloured filter, computer processing is necessary to produce a full coloured image. This is done by analyzing each individual pixel and its immediate neighbors and producing a composite colour from these calculations. For example, if a bright red pixel is surrounded by bright green and bright blue pixels, the bright red pixel must actually be white, because white is the combination of red, blue, and green. This process is called demosaicing.

After demosaicing the image is adjusted according to the settings on your camera. Most cameras have settings for brightness, contrast, and colour saturation. After these adjustments are made some cameras may also apply a sharpening algorithm to make the image clearer.

The final step before saving the image on the memory card is to compress it. Most cameras use JPEG as a compression format. This reduces the size of the file by eliminating excess data. This data cannot be recovered, so JPEG is called a ‘lossy’ format.

Many cameras have the ability to save uncompressed images as TIFF files or raw data. Raw data is the original photosite data even before demosaicing. It can be transferred to a computer for processing with special software that will perform all of the processing functions of the camera but with much greater control.

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Remember those days of the traditional camera, and all the hassle of loading and unloading films, and taking them to photo shops to get them developed? But now you can finally say goodbye to all that, thanks to the digital camera. With a digital camera you no longer have to deal with having to load the film, and develop the film etc. You can now capture memorable moments with just a click of a button of your digital camera, then quickly and easily download the pictures onto your PC, and your pictures can then be viewed on the computer monitor for anyone to see.

If you are not well versed in technology, you may well wonder how your images transfer from the digital camera to the computer. The actual device that holds these images is called the memory card. To put it simply, the memory card is an electronic and much more convenient alternative to films used in traditional cameras. The unique advantage of the memory card is that it is reusable as images on the memory card can be deleted, unlike films that are not useable anymore once developed, and thus discarded. Memory cards also allow you to easily view your pictures by simply transferring the images from the memory card to the computer, whereas films have to undergo a special process to develop the images on the film.

With all these versatile and innovative benefits memory card provides, digital camera has boomed in popularity. The digital camera memory card market has been flooded with a wide range of memory card brands. With so many competing brands, choosing a particular memory card has become increasingly confusing and difficult.

There are various types of memory cards available in the market today, including Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro media format, SmartMedia, XD Picture card, SD and MMC cards and the most time tested, CompactFlash.

Before deciding on your memory card, check which type of card is compatible with your brand of digital camera. For most digital cameras, your choice of memory card is likely to be limited to just one or two of the above-mentioned types. However there are some models that can accept a combination of SmartMedia and CompactFlash, or SmartMedia and XD memory cards. Consult the camera manual to learn about the compatibility.

The speed rating of the memory card is also another feature you need to consider, as buying a high speed card is only necessary when you are using a professional model. Otherwise, an ordinary camera will not be able to match the speed.

Also, consider buying a memory card with higher capacity, so that you can store more images at a time.

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For any beginner photographer or a first time buyer of digital camera, choosing and buying a digital camera can become a task. There is so much that goes in to buying a digital camera for the first time. But you need not worry about that. For I provide you a step-by-step camera buying guide here:

Research: Talk to people

As a beginner you should keep certain things in your mind. First of all you should ask yourself, what are the features you need, what type of photos you are going to click with your new digital camera. There are a lot of features in a digital camera such as modes, zooms, lenses, flash, focus, viewfinder, resolution and timer. Decide which features you want in your camera. You can talk to your family and friends and other digital camera features to know their opinions on various camera features. This will help you jot down the basic expectations you owe from your new camera.

Price factor

Set a realistic budget for your first camera and look for cameras in that price range only. Prices of digital cameras have fallen greatly over the years. Still, a digital camera purchase is considered expensive to its 35mm counterpart’s purchase.

Next, gain a good knowledge about the models of cameras you are considering buying. Don’t be a fool by going all by your friend’s choice. Be a proud owner of a digital camera that suits your needs rather than someone else’s.

Satisfy your needs

As a beginner you should look for models that are easy to use and operate. Do not go for flashy models. They may not satisfy your needs.

Now decide on your printing needs. If most of your photos will be uploaded to a website or emailed, you will not need a lot of mega pixels in your camera. But if you are planning to make a lot of larger prints, you need a camera with a lot of mega pixels.

By narrowing down your options as per the needed camera features, you can decide which camera is best suited to you. Visit the stores and handle the devices personally. You should shop around for the best price. Pick up additional warranty if any. Take some great pictures.

Below are some of the great cameras for you:

1.Nikon coolpix 4100: It is a one easy to use camera. The camera is imaging wonder with 4.2 mega pixels and 3x optical zoom features to it.

2.Kodak Easyshare cx7330: This is a decent point and shoot camera that comes with 3.1 mega pixels and a combined 10x zoom features. The camera does not have much fancy features. But for a beginner, the camera is perhaps the best pick.

3.Canon Powershoot S410: This power shot camera from Canon is a four mega pixel camera. The camera is very stylish to operate and indeed offer all the basic functions of an average camera.

I am sure buying a digital camera is no longer a task for you.

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