Refine search for Digital Cameras

  Leave a comment      Email TrustedReviews Newsletters

Also vitally important to camera performance is the quality of the electronics and software that turn what the sensor sees into the finished colour photograph that you see. The best manufacturers are constantly striving to improve their image processors to speed up performance, improve colour rendition and exposure, and to reduce image noise at high ISO settings. Again this is something that you can only learn about by reading reviews or by trying the camera yourself before you put down the cash. Turn it on and see how fast it starts up, take a picture with it and see how quickly it is ready to take another one, and then turn the ISO setting up a few stops, take a picture and zoom in on it to see how much image noise you can see.

Battery life
More advanced electronic systems are usually also more efficient, which means better battery duration, and some cameras can take over 400 shots an a single charge, but it’s still worth taking a look at the capacity of the battery. Many digital cameras these days have proprietary Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, which work better in cold conditions and don’t suffer from the “memory effect” that was a major problem with older types of rechargeables. The downside of Li-ion batteries is that spares and replacements are very expensive, and if you run out of power while out shooting there’s nothing you can do about it until you get home to your mains charger.

Some cameras, particularly larger compacts, run on AA batteries. While they are bigger and heavier than Li-ion cells, they do have a couple of advantages. High-capacity rechargeable Nickle-metal hydride (Ni-MH) AA batteries are relatively cheap and very efficient, and while they don’t perform as well in the cold as Li-ion cells, it’s easy to swap out a cold set for a warm set from your pocket. Also, AA batteries are available almost everywhere in the world, so if you run out of juice on a day out you can just pop to the corner shop and get a new set.

Add your comment