| For the advanced amateur photographer, there | | | | If the minute appearance of artifacts concern |
| are many choices and decisions to make | | | | you, there are many artifact removing software |
| concerning picture quality. First, there is your | | | | on the market. At the highest ranges of ISO |
| budget to consider. Then you have to decide | | | | (1600 - 3200) you can expect some loss of detail |
| what type camera would fill your needs. Vacation | | | | as well. However, the top of the line EVF |
| pictures and family album shots require only a | | | | cameras include sophisticated software that does |
| point and shoot camera that fits in your pocket. | | | | a great job in retaining most of the lens detail at |
| Two hundred dollars will buy a decent camera | | | | these lofty ISO settings. |
| that will take great pictures if you don't demand | | | | Other characteristics that affect picture quality |
| too much of it. Like wall sized photographs or | | | | are distortion, trueness of color rendition, and |
| digital art images. | | | | cropping ability. All zoom lenses show some barrel |
| If you like taking beautiful pictures and enjoy | | | | distortion at the wide end and to a lesser extent, |
| seeing them enlarged for the wall, then a DSLR or | | | | some pincushion effect at the telescopic end. The |
| a prosumer EVF camera is needed. Professional | | | | pincushion effect need not concern you too much |
| photographers prefer the top of the line DSLRs | | | | because the usual subject material seldom includes |
| that cost thousands of dollars but repay them | | | | straight lines that could make the distortion |
| many times over by doing their job. The two | | | | obvious to the eye. On the other hand, even a |
| thousand dollar versions are quite bulky and heavy | | | | small amount of barrel distortion can be easily |
| for the amateur photographer to lug around all | | | | seen in architectural photos. There are some |
| day. An alternative is the micro four thirds EVF | | | | cameras that digitally correct for some if not all |
| (Electronic View Finder) type. Weighing half of a | | | | of this defect. If not, there are software |
| DSLR, these cameras are nearly as good in | | | | programs that can correct for barrel distortion |
| picture quality as their larger cousins. | | | | without affecting the quality of the image. One |
| A point made by DSLR owners is that their prime | | | | such is RadCor, a software that corrects for any |
| lenses often sport a faster lens opening, making | | | | distortion from specific makes of lenses and |
| them able to capture low light pictures more | | | | cameras. |
| easily. Since the doubling of the ISO setting on | | | | While it is true that RAW images can produce |
| your camera effectively doubles the size of the | | | | extremely sharp images, most of us rely on the |
| lens opening, very little is lost in the way of | | | | convenience of JPEGs. For this reason it would be |
| quality. A good EVF prosumer camera show little | | | | well for you to pay attention to the type of |
| or no artifacts or loss of detail at 200 or 400 ISO. | | | | engine used to convert the camera images to |
| A good example is the new wide to telephoto (28 | | | | JPEGs (fine or regular). The latest in converter |
| - 280mm) zoom lens by Panasonic Lumix GH1. It's | | | | engines is the Venus Engine with dual CPUs used |
| widest opening is only F4.0, half the opening size | | | | by the Panasonic Lumix GH1.This latter is affected |
| of a F2.8 prime lens. But by raising the native ISO | | | | by the number of pixels you have to work with, |
| from 100 to 200 you are effectively can capture | | | | more being better. Of course, there is such a |
| the same low light photo as the prime lens at the | | | | thing as too many pixels, having you end up with |
| same shutter speed. As for the smoothing and | | | | extra large image files that require a huge |
| blurring of backgrounds when using telephoto lens | | | | memory capacity fin your computer. The bottom |
| settings, it is true that the larger openings of | | | | line when choosing a digital camera is to examine |
| prime lenses does this nicely. But the gaussian | | | | the test photos and use the comparisons with |
| filter effect available in most image editors | | | | other cameras to help make up your mind. There |
| simulate this effect quite well. | | | | is no substitute for quality. |