Frequently Asked Questions

Please find below many of the most common questions we are asked by out customers regarding electronic products. Can't find what you're looking for? Contact us and we will respond promptly to your query.

Do all digital cameras suffer from shutter lag?

It is true that digital cameras do suffer from shutter lag. Shutter lag is the time in between clicking the shutter button and the picture actually being taken. Once the button is pressed digital cameras get to work setting the focus, white balance and exposure time. The end result, a brief pause before the picture is taken can be very annoying and can prove to be the difference between a great picture and a missed opportunity. As with most things in the world of digital cameras shutter lag times are decreasing as the technology evolves. In fact in higher spec digital cameras shutter lag has almost been eliminated. It won’t be a problem with the majority of pictures that you take, but it is something to be aware of.

How can I tell which digital cameras allow playback through my television?

Not all digital cameras allow playback through your television. When you are reading specifications for digital cameras look out for ones that have "video out" under interfaces.

Digital cameras seem to have lots of features that I'll never understand. They must be difficult to use.

It's true that digital cameras, particularly at the higher end of the market do have some pretty amazing features. It is also true that these will really only be of use to serious photographers who want to experiment with their digital cameras and want to learn and use all that their camera has to offer. Even then digital cameras come with a fully automatic mode that will allow you to use it in a similar way to a traditional point and shoot camera. The important point to remember here is that feature rich digital cameras also cost a lot of money. If you are not planning to make use of all the available features then I would suggest that you buy a model with a smaller feature set and save yourself a lot of money. You will find that digital cameras that are more basic in the functionality that they offer are also more easy to use.

I find all the different memory cards confusing. What's the difference?

It is a fact that there are many different types of memory card around. Normally a digital camera is compatible with just one type of card. Sometimes a digital camera can use a variety of different types of cards. The important point is to make sure that the card you buy is the right type for your camera. If you are not sure make sure it is probably best to buy from your local camera shop where the staff should be able to help you. The most common type of card is the SD (Secure Digital) card. Fuji and Olympus tend to use xD cards, while Sony use their own Memory Sticks. More advanced cameras still tend to use CompactFlash because of the high storage capacities available on a single card.

What size memory card should I buy?

This mainly depends on the number of megapixels your camera is capable of and the type of file your camera is set to save the photos as. Typically cameras save pictures as a JPEG file (.jpg) and at 8 megapixels you can store approximately 357 photos on a 1GB card whilst at 16 megapixels you would only be able to get 178 on the same card. If your camera is set to save in RAW format which is uncompressed, each picture will take up around 10 times more space per picture than JPEG.

What are compression modes?

Digital cameras use different compression modes to store images. If you use high or fine or super fine etc. compression modes then the image produced will be much sharper. Pictures taken at a high resolution will also take up more room on the storage card. Therefore if you are using digital cameras with relatively small storage cards then they will soon become full if you are shooting at a high resolution.

Are digital cameras under £200 worth the money?

It all depends on what you are looking to get out of using digital cameras. Digital cameras have really come down in price and some of those available for under £200 are very good cameras indeed. In fact there are digital cameras on the market for under £100 that will do a very good job if you are looking for a camera that will take good quality snap shots and is easy to use.

Why are some memory cards cheaper than others?

Higher priced memory cards have a higher speed rating. This means that the picture is written to the card faster and the digital camera becomes ready to take the next shot quicker. This is really only an issue for anyone using digital cameras and wanting to shoot a number of pictures very quickly. It is also felt that the faster memory cards are of a little higher quality.

I have seen effective pixels referred to on specifications for digital cameras. What does this mean?

Not all the pixels that are on a digital camera's CCD can be used when the photograph is taken. Some fall outside the range of the lens and some are painted black to help with colour balance. Therefore it is the number of effective pixels that people need to look out for when buying digital cameras.

What is Digital Zoom?

Digital zoom causes digital cameras to zoom in on the centre section of an image. The centre area will then look bigger, but the same number of pixels are used. This means that the quality of the image is reduced. If a zoom lens is important to you then make sure that you look out for digital cameras that come with an optical zoom. Digital cameras with optical zooms will produce images of a far higher quality.

Do all digital cameras offer a movie mode?

The vast majority of digital cameras come with a movie mode. It is normally only those at the very low end or very high end that may not. The reason why those at the high end do not have a movie mode is that they are aimed at professional or very serious amateur photographers and the view is that they will not be spending time shooting movies. Almost all cameras shoot colour movies with sound now.

As it stands more and more cameras are offering a movie mode with a resolution of 640×480 and a speed of 30 frames per second. These figures may not mean much to you, but this resolution and speed provide TV quality movies. An increasing number of cameras can also shoot movies that are only limited in duration by the capacity of the memory card and batteries. One more feature worth mentioning is that cameras also let you zoom in on the action while you are shooting the movie.

Do you need a card reader to upload images from digital cameras?

You don't necessarily need a card ready to upload images taken by digital cameras. Digital cameras come with a lead that will connect them to the PC and you can upload your pictures through that cable. Some people do experience difficulties from time to time uploading their images using this method. A card reader simplifies the process by creating another drive on your computer and from there it is relatively straight forward to transfer your images from the card to the PC.

Do all digital cameras use batteries very quickly?

It is certainly true that all digital cameras use batteries quickly. There is some good news though in that the latest digital cameras are a lot more efficient in the way that they use power and this means that batteries last a lot longer.

There are also one or two things that you can do to conserve the life of your batteries and get more out of them. The simplest way is to turn off the camera when it is not in use. I know that this sound obvious, but it can be tempting to leave digital cameras running so that you are always ready to take your next shot. Another tip is to turn the LCD screen off when it's not in use. The LCD screen is a big power user and therefore can run your batteries down very quickly. From my own personal experience I am also well aware that overuse of movie mode on digital cameras can drain the life out of a battery quicker than anything.

More and more digital cameras will also take rechargeable batteries. Some come with rechargeable lithium ion batters and a charger. For those that take AA batteries you can pick up a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger to help keep down running costs.

What do digital cameras use a LCD screen for?

The LCD screen that is found on the back of digital cameras comes in very handy indeed. It has two functions. First it displays menu options. For example it controls the deletion of images that you don't want to keep. It's main function is that it allows you to see the picture that you are about to take before you take it and how it turned out afterwards. For me this is one of the biggest advantages digital cameras offer an inexperienced photographer. The ability to see exactly how you picture turned out immediately after taking it allows you to identify areas that you can improve on. It can also allow you a second chance with a photograph. If you take it and don't like the look of it you can always delete the image and take the picture again.

I have heard that digital cameras use a CCD. What is it?

The CCD is the Charge Coupled Device. It is a light sensor that sits behind the lens in digital cameras. It records the image when you take a photograph. It is a grid made up of millions of tiny light sensors. The capacity of the CCD is measured in megapixels. The higher the number of megapixels the higher the resolution of the picture.

I have seen that some digital cameras have a burst mode. What is it?

Digital cameras with burst mode have the ability to take a number of pictures in quick succession. The number of frames that can be shot is denoted by frames per second and the number of seconds that the camera is able to operate for in this manner.