Need A Nerd - Ask us anything techie

Capturing life in pixels

The sun is out and it's holiday time.  We've entered the season in which trigger happy photographers make the most of their many opportunities to capture every unforgettable (and/or every definitely regrettable) moment!

Digital camera technology has come a long way in a very short time. It seems there are cameras everywhere, even in our phones - they're often inconspicuous, sometimes tiny and generally oh so easy to use. The result? A huge increase in the number of pictures taken - and they're all snapped at no extra cost, until we want to print them or need to buy extra media to store them.

So - and this is really hard for a techie guy - let's forget about the techie specifications such as megapixels and optical zoom specs and how many photos can be stored.

Let's just get back to the basics of owning a digital camera:

•    Digital camera or mobile phone? A phone will be more convenient if you always carry it with you. The trade off is that only a few, more expensive mobile phones take great quality images. Give it a couple more years and you'll be laughing at this statement.
•    What will encourage you to use your camera? Ask yourself if the physical size is a barrier to using it.  Only camera enthusiasts will want to lug a large camera around with them.  Most of us just want to take a snap when the opportunity arises. An ultra compact camera that you can carry in your purse or pocket may be just the ticket. Perhaps think about having a party or everyday camera and a 'serious' camera.
•    How tough does your camera need to be? Different cameras will be more resistant to water, temperature changes, general knocks and the prying little sticky fingers of children!
•    How easy do you need it to be? Do you want to simply click and capture, or to adjust the settings to capture that perfect image? For those of us who are uninspired by reading instructions then the click and capture option will produce a generally good result.
•    The size and quality of the display screen is important. How does it perform in the sunlight?  You will want to see the images you take in a variety of conditions so make sure you test drive where possible.
•    Taking the piccies is one thing, do you need help transferring images to your computer, or organising them, or adding them into slide shows, or e-mailing them to family and friends? Who will help you with this?
•    How will you store images and back them up? A picture accidentally deleted or lost in a hard drive malfunction is a memory gone forever.

As with anything techie these days you have a great deal of choice about what will look the part and fit with your fashion sense.

Naturally I'd recommend you consider function over fashion but hey, I don't really expect you'll take fashion advice from a Nerd.

So to my last words for this column... enjoy your happy snapping!