About Digital Cameras

Quality
The quality of digital cameras is improving rapidly, but a 5 megapixel (mp) camera on highest resolution should allow you to print a good quality A4 (half-page) print, while a 7 megapixel (mp) camera should give beautiful A3 prints.  More Megapixels means a higher resolution, and therefore better quality, but the amount of storage needed to save high quality shots needs to be considered. 

Memory
Digital Cameras store photos on memory cards, such as Compact Flash (CF) and SmartMedia (SM) Cards or Memory Sticks (some Sony cameras). Most cameras come with the bare minimum of memory and downloading to your computer can take ages. If you want to take photos at higher resolutions and/or avoid having to constantly download your photos, it is a good idea to purchase extra memory.  We can help you get the most out of your equipment with flash memory upgrades and fast card readers.

Computers
Your computer should have at least 64mb RAM and a hard disk drive with a few gigabytes available.  You will also want a USB port compatible with your camera, for quick & easy downloading of photos, and a cd burner for archiving your photos.  Once you have got started, you may wish to consider purchasing a card reader that plugs into your computer to speed up your downloading. Some printers also come with card readers.   

A computer is useful (but not essential) for digital photography. Many cameras and printers allow direct print connection, either via cable or infrared between the camera and printer.  There are also many printers that have memory card slots and allow you to print directly from your memory cards.  Or you can take your memory card to a photo shop and have them print the photos and burn a copy to CD.   When travelling, you can download to a portable hard-drive .

Software
Basic software is usually included with each camera, but once you get started, purchasing a good quality program for photo editing, organising and printing can save a lot of time and trouble.