It’s always difficult when buying a first or new piece of technology to actually assess what is meant by the variety of technical terms, and if you don’t know exactly what people mean when they start talking in camera reviews about the various specifications of a camera then you may end up making the wrong decision.
Below is a jargon buster to help when it comes to searching through the camera reviews for the ideal camera and specifications for you.
Aperture priority
Aperture priority is a feature which lets you control the background of your picture and decide if it is to be in focus or not. For example, you may want a clear picture of St Paul’s Cathedral but to have the rest of the background having a “blurry” or shadowed appeal. By choosing a camera that has AP as a feature, you can have the instant ability to do this, among many other effects.
Burst mode
Burst mode is a function which lets you take pictures of fast moving action. It allows you to take pictures in quick succession when you take a finger off the shutter button.
Digital single-lens reflex
Digital single-lens reflex cameras (or DSLRs as they are more commonly known) are the pinnacle or digital cameras and are often considered to be the most professional cameras because of their large sensors and variety of settings. In addition, these are the cameras which tend to have the most number of accessories because their users tend to use them for professional or frequent purposes.
High Definition
High Definition or HD is a big buzzword now and although people understand that it gives them the benefit of sharper and more accurate pictures or quality, many don’t know exactly what it means. For example, you may hear the words HD said alongside 1080p and this means that the camera takes a picture in 1,080 horizontal lines and then scans them progressively making for a detailed and realistic looking picture. 720 refers to a similar situation but less horizontal lines (720 obviously).
720p – though this is still HD, 720p footage has a lower resolution. You won’t capture quite as much detail, though motion tends to be smooth.
Image stabilisation
This is a small mechanism which allows the camera and the picture to compensate for jittery hand movements during photography and is a bonus for anyone who has tremors or is likely to be taking photographs for long periods of time.
ISO
ISO is a function which allows for less blurring photos without using a flash. It basically means that the higher the ISO is then the more sensitive the camera is to light.
Macro mode
The Macro mode of a camera is the feature which allows for a detailed close up. It can also be disabled if this is preferred.
Megapixels (Mp)
These are the tiny dots of colour which make up an image. The higher the number of pixels, the more detail the picture will contain.
PictBridge
This allows you to print pictures directly from your camera at home with your own printer. All you need is to connect the camera to a PictBridge enabled printer and you can print without first uploading the pictures.
Charles Reybreck is a freelance writer with an interest in consumer issues, such as laptop and camera reviews.
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