Editor's Notes

Whats your megapixel count? How much zoom is enough? Do you need to get more flash range? Hows the color you get from your image processor? These are questions that would not have been heard five years ago but are more and more commonly heard over store counters these days. It seems that if you want to go out and buy a digital camera you need lots of facts and figures to get the camera thats just right for you. Theres the pixel resolution to considertoo little means you might not be able to make the size prints you desire, while too much may be a waste for those shooting exclusively for e-mail and the web. What about that zoom range? Do you really need a combined zoom of 40x, with 10x optical and 4x digital? Just how far into the distance do you need to grab an image, and what do you give up when you swap optical for digital zoom?

How about flash coverage? Most built-in flashes cover a maximum of about 10 feet, and perhaps less at zoom settings. This seeming contradiction comes from the fact that the lens might lose a stop or more when zoomed out. Does the camera have a hot shoe or flash socket for taking an auxiliary flash? And what about that image processor? In fact, the sensor does not deliver anything but signalsits in the on-board microprocessor where most of the image work is done. Does the image processor in your camera integrate the signals and encode your added attributes (white balance, sharpness, etc.) in a way that delivers pleasing results? Frankly, some do a better job than others. All this might be too much to handle, especially with the blitz of new cameras that seem to come out every few months or so.

Making decisions about which camera is right for you is compounded by the frequency of new camera intros mentioned earlier. For example, in the digital SLR field there are new entrants coming from Olympus and Pentax. A few months back youd be hard pressed to find a digital SLR body under $2000. Then the Canon 10D came out at under $1500, and we hear the price for a body in some new models will drop even further. When should you buy? Well, the easy answer is: When you need to have it. But there are also a slew of new 5-megapixel non-interchangeable lens digicams coming out that are impressive indeed, like the new Pentax Optio 550 reported on in this issue. Having worked with one we can tell you that it delivers great image quality and is considerably lighter than any digital SLR could be. Is that the right camera for you, or do you need the facility a digital SLR affords?

Questions, questions: and only you know the right answer. Our best advice is to start with the digicam that you can afford and to learn everything you can about this exciting world of digital photography. Then, when you hit the wall of what the camera can do for you (and that might take some time to hit, as many cameras have so many fun and creative options) move on up to the next level of features. One good thing is that by the time you do the prices will have dropped, and what you spent today for a modest digicam will be the price of a more full-featured camera tomorrow.

But getting on board as soon as you can is the best way to go. There are few cameras that make it into our pages that dont make the grade. Most will deliver many hours of fun and enjoyment, and serve as your path into what digital photography can do for you. Once you have a set of digital images you can also engage in some real fun with the host of software programs that enhance your images in ways you might never have thought possible. There seems to be no limit to what programmers can do and we now have software that can yield amazing results with pushbutton ease.

So dont feel rushed about getting the highest megapixel count, the longest zoom range or the biggest flash you can fit on your camera. Use what you have, or can afford to begin this journey, and get a taste of what all the excitement is about. Once you get started youll begin to understand that digital is as much about gear as it is making images that you can share to show your take on this amazing world. Its just that digital allows you to do it all with newfound ease.