Digital cameras make taking pictures easier than ever, here is information on Canon models.
Compared with the Niépce Camera Obsucra, Canon is still a rather young company. They first created cameras in 1966. But since then, Canon has become known the world over as the leader in cameras. With the arrival of digital cameras today's photographs are instant. What once was considered a luxury a couple of years ago is now a necessity. Digital cameras and digital pictures have changed the way many people take and use photographs. If you are in the market for a digital camera, Canon has one that will fit your needs. From the "point and shoot" amateur, to the professional photographer, Canon markets 20 different kinds of digital cameras.
With so many different kinds of cameras, you need to have some idea of what you need before you head out to the store. When you talk about digital cameras, you will hear the word, "megapixels". A "megapixel" is the number of tiny dots, times a million, that your picture will be. For example, a 3.2 megapixel photograph will have 3,200,000 tiny dots making up your picture. The more megapixels, the sharper your picture will be. So what do you need? If you're looking to print out a basic photograph, 4x6 inch, you can get by with a 1.1 to 2 megapixel camera. But if you want bigger pictures, you're going to need more megapixels. For 5x7 inch pictures, look at 2 to 3 megapixels. For 6x9 inch pictures, 3 to 4 megapixels. And 8x10's, 4 to 5 megapixels. Anything over an 8x10, you're going to need more than 5 megapixels to produce a good photograph. Once you figure out megapixels, we can move to cameras. Canon digital cameras are best described in one of three different categories- basic point and shoot, intermediate and professional.
POINT AND SHOOT
The most basic Canon digital camera is the PowerShot A310. This is a 3.2 megapixel camera with a 5.1x digital zoom. Point the camera at your subject, press the button, and the rest is done for you. It will focus for you, add a flash if it needs it, and even reduce red eye. Similar to this is the PowerShot A400. The only major difference is the zoom. The A400 has a 2.2x Optical Zoom and a 3.3x Digital Zoom. With an optical zoom, the lens does the zooming. With digital zoom, the lens doesn't move. The camera electronically zooms in for you. The optical zoom will cost you an extra $30 or so in this case. You can find the A310 for around $150, the A400 for around $180. With all the Canon digitals, you can take limited, lower quality video, ranging from 30 seconds to two minutes depending on the settings you use.
Moving up in quality, and price, we have the PowerShot A75 and PowerShot A85. Again these are similar. The A75 has 3.2 megapixels, the A85 has 4.0 megapixels. Both have 3x optical zoom. The A75 adds a 3.2x digital zoom, the A85, a 3.6x digital zoom. The A75 is in the $250 range. The A85, because of the extra megapixels, runs around $300.
These are small cameras, but nowhere as small as the SD110. This camera is only 3.5" long. It weighs only 5.8 ounces. It is very James Bond-like. But despite its size, the SD110 still has 3.2 megapixels and 2x Optical/3.2x Digital Zoom. Look for this camera in the $275 range. Again, the SD10 is nearly identical. This camera has 4.0 megapixels and a 5.7x Digital Zoom. It only weighs 3.5 ounces. It runs about $350. The PowerShot S410 is also very similar. The only major difference between this and the SD10 is the S410 has a 3x Optical/3.6x Digital Zoom. It's also around $350.
The next level of cameras are similar to the ones we've only talking about, except with more "oomph". The PowerShot A95 is like the A75 and A85. It jumps up to 5 megapixels however. It also comes with a 3x Optical/4.1x Digital Zoom. This camera is in the $400 range. The PowerShot A500 is tiny like the SD models. However, it too has 5 megapixels and a 3x Optical/4.1x Digital Zoom. It's around $450.
INTERMEDIATE
These cameras give you more control. No longer do you have to point and shoot. You still can, but these cameras give you the choice of adjusting the shutter and the aperture. They also contain more features. The most basic of these cameras is the PowerShot S1 IS. It has 3.2 megapixels and a 10x Optical/3.2x Digital Zoom. With the long zooms, it also has a pretty good stabilizer, so your pictures aren't blurred by "camera shake". This camera costs around $400.
The PowerShot S60 and S70 are comparable to the A310 and A400. The S60 is a 5.0 megapixel with a 3.6x Optical/4.1x Digital Zoom. The S70 is 7.1 megapixels with a 3.6x Optical/4.1x Digital Zoom. The S60 is in the $500 prices range, the S70 in the $600 price range.
The G6 is a good choice for those who want a full-featured camera with the photo quality that you would see in the professional digital cameras. The G6 has a refined body design, with a larger grip, compared with the previous G series cameras. It's also smaller and lighter. The G6 has 7.1 megapixels and a 4.0x Optical/4.1x Digital Zoom. It runs about $700.
The last intermediate camera is the PowerShot Pro1. It has 8 megapixels and a 7x Optical Zoom/3.2x Digital Zoom. The Pro1 is one step below professional. It has many professional features in it, however unlike other professional cameras, you cannot switch lenses. The Pro1 is around $1000.
PROFESSIONAL
We are down to our final three cameras. The kind the pros use. The Digital Rebel is the most popular. The Rebel looks like a regular film 35mm camera. It acts like a regular, film 35mm camera. The difference is it is a digital camera. The Rebel has 6.3 megapixels. The lenses are interchangeable too. So depending on the type of lens you get (and there are 50 of them), you can get a real tight zoom shot, or a "real wide "fish-eye" shot. The Rebel costs around $1000, for the body only. Lenses are extra, and expensive- anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.
The EOS 10D is not all that different from the Rebel. They both have 6.3 megapixels and interchangeable lenses. The difference in the EOS 10D is that it is faster and has more memory. You take continual shots, 3 per second up to 9, before it processes the images. For that feature, you'll pay about $400 more. The EOS 10D sells for about $1400. Again, that's for the body only.
The EOS 1D comes in an 8.3 megapixel model and a 11.1 megapixel model. Want a fast camera? This will take 8.5 pictures per second, up to 40 frames. It also has all the professional features you could ever want. The 8.3 megapixel camera runs $4500. The 11.1 megapixel camera runs $8000.
One last point, with your camera, you are going to need a media card (or two or three). This is the "film" to you digital camera. It's what the pictures are stored on. Once you download your pictures or print them, the media cards are reusable. But there are many different kinds of cards, and each of these cameras uses different kinds. Ask your salesperson for help on picking media cards.
As you can see, there is a camera for everyone and in everyone's price range. Your next step is to head to the store where you can look at and get a feel for each. But at least now, you have a basic understanding of what you will need when it comes to Canon Digital Cameras.
