Send us your digital camera questions

[June 25, 2008 UPDATE: Thanks to all who submitted questions and comments to us through this blog. You can find answers to some of the most common questions in the latest digital camera report from the July issue of Consumer Reports magazine. We've closed the comment section of this post. But if you still have digital camera questions, visit our digital camera discussion threads in our online Electronics discussion forums. —Ed.]

Digital camera manufacturers keep coming up with new and innovative features. On the surface, these should make cameras easier to use and help you take better pictures. Face detection, for example, tries to set focus, exposure, and color balance so that faces appear sharp, well exposed and the proper color.

But is face detection really all that helpful to you? Have you seen an improvement in your photos? Did you know that when a little green box appeared around your subjects, that the camera was trying to change the exposure, focus and color balance so that that particular subject looked the best? And what if you didn't want to use this feature?

We're interested in hearing questions like these from you about every aspect of digital cameras and digital imaging, which we can answer as part of our summer photography feature that will post online in June. We'll choose the questions of interest to most people.

The questions can include not only queries about digital cameras, but also lenses, digital imaging software, printing, and camera accessories. Also, if you have any questions on how digital imaging technology works, or particular features, we'd love to hear them.

Your input will help us create upcoming content on digital cameras and related products.

Comments

[Mark Hanf]

I own a Nikon D200 and perform a lot of night-time photography. What are the best electronic flash units that are currently on the market?

[Mark P]

You erroneously quoted the Canon EOS 40D as having a maximum ISO of 800 in the above URL. The camera actually has a maximum ISO of 3200.

[Sinisterfootwear]

I own a Nikon Coolpix 8800. It is a large digital camera that resembles a 35mm or digital SLR. It has a feature that I've only seen on one digital SLR, a swivel (or variable angle) LCD screen with Live View. I'm in the market for a DSLR, but I feel like I'd be downgrading if I lose that feature. Do you think this will be a common feature in future DSLRs?

[KR]

How does one go about picking a flash with a digital SLR camera. I intend to buy a Pentax K 200D. What features should I look for in a flash that complements the camera?

[Anna C]

How many HP and Lexmark printers now give the user an error message that the 'ink is past the expiration date'. When this happens, the printer will not print until a new ink cartridge replaces the old. A problem for those of us who buy extra ink when it's on sale or don't go through a lot of ink.

[annie blanchard]

i have an olympus d-200L digital. ido not have a cable for the computer but the one olympus sells is not compatible with my computer. the cable has a pin serial connection and i need a usp port connector
the olympus co. says its not possible to use it with my computer unless some where out there is an adapter that might work. do you agreee with this and please tell me if there is a way to load pictures from this camera to my computer. ty vm

[Peter Armstrong]

Is the wi-fi feature worth the extra dollars? I'm looking at the new Nikon sub-compact series and the offer both wi-fi and non wi-fi versions. It seems like the right camera for me, but is it worth the extra money to purchase the wi-fi version?

[Cathy]

I am getting ready to buy my first digital camera, I would like to spend under 200.00 and get the best I can for my money. I know very little about camera's so I would hate to waste my money on something I'm unhappy with.

I would like it to be small with a view finder and LCD display. Will be taking pictures of family inside and out.

Help

Cathy

[william rudder]

I have a lot od film camera equiptment all pentax would like to upgrade to digital will my k1000 and super me lenses work on the digital cameras?

[Joe]

BAD:
Proprietary computer connections(ie KODAK) - I shouldn't have to take out my card to get pictures onto the computer because I don't want some massive stand or I need to replace the cable.
Increase MP without increase in quality - higher MP means nothing if the quality of those pixels are bad, I'll buy a good 5MP camera over a bad 8MP one. I don't know anyone who uses a PaS for making 8x10's, they just want their 5x7's to look good.
Digital zoom - Its essentially useless and only lends itself to lowering picture quality. At the very least make it easy to turn off.

GOOD:
Decreased shutter lag - it's getting better, but there are still many recent cameras that are over 1 second, and that should be unacceptable when designing these cameras.
Photostitching - The single most useful feature in a PaS that I have ever used. Assuming of course that the software does it well, I've seen it horribly implemented as well. I'm amazed that this isn't a standard function by now.
Better low light pictures - People using consumer level cameras are taking pictures everywhere, but mostly indoors. Everyone claims that they have great low light ability, but they mostly fail to deliver.

[Don Brown]

What does "card not initialized" mean?

[Penny Salley]

I have three Nikon lenses from my Nikon film camera.
135mm 1:28
55mm 1:35
28mm 1:35

Want to know if I am able to use them on a Nikon DSLR and if so
what models accept them?

[mybabyqueenie]

My brother gave me a dig camera. Problem with it is that images could not be uploaded into a PC due to the inability of the card reader to 'read' the images stored in the compact flash ( SanDisk brand). Could it be that the 'format' of the compact flash is incompatible with the PC or the card reader itself? Thanks

[Diese]

I am looking to upgrade to a SLR Digital Camera. I take mostly stills but I do like the movie option on other digital cameras. Do SLR Digital Cameras record movies?

[Robert Eckerfield]

A light sensor fast enough to let the lens stop down to F16 or even F32, so we can get some depth of field on close-ups.

[Cheryl]

I would like a manual that not only is in English, was written by someone for whom English is their FIRST language. There are entire sentences that mean absolutely nothing to me because of poor grammar, wrong words, or incorrect tense. It is frustrating enough just trying to figure out what all the symbols mean. Thank you.

[keith ailor]

My family has had 4 different models of the Canon Elph. An unadvertised feature that I HATE is that the telescoping lens will get stuck in the out position. I will never buy another Canon camera again unless they specifically and publically advertise that "if your lens ever gets stuck or is non-functional, return it to place of purchase for free immediate replacement." I hope someone from Canon reads this.

[Brenda White]

I have an Olympus fe-290 that I bought recently. I like that I can tuck this camera into a pocket - no need for a fanny pack or tote. The pictures are excellent and the camera options meet my needs.

I selected this model for its large screen monitor, but that screen is a problem. It's problem with this camera and other makes and models in the past. the viewing screen is so reflective that in bright sunlight I cannot see the subject. I have to point and shoot "by guess and by golly" hoping that I am capturing my subject. It's impossible to see the focus mark or to reframe the subject when I just cannot see the image.

A friend showed me another model by Olympus that has a matte screen. It appears that it is easier to see the detail in the monitor screen.

I will definitely consider this aspect when I buy my next small, viewfinder-less camera.

[Jeff Boevingloh]

I like: A viewfinder. Outdoor photography can be very tough with and LCD screen. My Sony camera's viewfinder is a lower resolution version of what the camera will actually record (sort of of like through-the-lens features on SLRs) and will actually dim if there is insufficient light for the shutter speed. A viewfinder also has a diopter adjustment so that people who can't focus on very near objects can use the camera without reading glasses.

Don't like: Controls and buttons all over the back of the camera that make it very difficult to take pictures in active situations without accidentally changing modes or getting into setup menus.

[Nancy E]

I would like to see more colors. Jpg's with only 256 colors look like posters next to film camera photos. RAW is not the answer. Not everyone wants to do heavy (or any) image editing.

[Brad]

Lag is the biggest issue. Most of our pictures are of kids and the lag makes taking spontaneous pictures hard and posed ones even harder as the kids will not sit still to wait for the camera to reset. I do not mind face recognition, except it seems to contribute to the lag time.

I will never buy another camera without AA batteries and an SD card. I think card readers are great and have never used the camera to computer cord. I agree with the vast majority of those on here that megapixels do not mean squat. How many of us blow up our photos beyond 5x7? Most of mine are viewed on the computer or online anyway.

My current camera does not have a viewfinder or a flip out screen and I miss both. However my wife and kids never use the viewfinder, so this may be a generational thing for those of us who grew up using film.

[Mike Miloserdoff]

I recently purchased my third digital camera since the inception of the digital camera. I like the following in a digital camera:

- automatic operation, as well as totally manual operation ability, as well as aperture and/or shutter speed priority operation (I come from a Canon AE-1 timeframe, one of the the first dinosaurs of the "shutter speed / aperture priority" features); This permits the user to override settings for situations such as night photography WITHOUT the use of a flash, etc., as well as give the user point-and-shoot capability for more normal photos, which are the "bread-and-butter" of the camera's automatic operations; Shutter speed proiority allows the user to set a fixed shutter speed (such as a fast shutter speed for action shots), and let the camera program the lens aperture setting based on the user's shutter speed selected. Aperture priority is vice-versa.

- AA batteries; when it comes to battery power source, the lowest common denominator, AA batteries, seem to be the key to getting batteries anywhere on planet earth. I was once in a national park which had only one general store, and a man's comment to the woman he was with in the camera battery section of the store was "they don't carry my battery type.... :-{"

- Ability to mount on a tripod. Does it have a tripod mount on the bottom of the body? A lot of smaler digitaL cameras do not have the threaded tripod socket on the bottom of the body. If the user wants to delve more into photograpy other than point-and-shoot, a tripod mount is a almost a must;

- Some digital cameras were designed more ergonomically than others. I tend to like the cameras which have a "finger-wrap" on the front, usually a protrusion or little "bump" on the front right side of the camera body, which allows your fingers to wrap naturally around the camera to grip it. They usually have a small rubber strip on the protrusion at about where your finger pads touch the camera body. The "finger-wraps" seem to allow the user to naturally hold onto the camera, almost at the same slope that your fingers curve at the first and second finger joint, when you bend your fingers in a gripping position.

- Settings menus that are more-or-less intuitive. This is something that can only be evaluated in a "brick-and-mortar" store. Some menus are less intuitive than others, and cause confusion when you want to change a setting in fast-order to take pictures.

[S Campbell]

These items are important to me:
1. good, large optical viewfinder (that comes close to either the old film/SLR viewfinder or on an old rangefinder). [not so good: digital viewfinder; small, "tunnel-vision" viewfinder; LCD-only]
2. fast lens (e.g., f2.8)
3. wide angle for landscapes, architecture (e.g., 28mm equiv.)
4. ability to shoot RAW (and have the RAW processing time fairly quick)
5. ability to set f-stop and shutter speed when necessary -- or at least have the two items displayed.
6. ability to have a few common set-ups as pre-sets (e.g., no flash; 2-sec timer).
7. bigger sensor (rather than just more pixels crammed onto a small sensor). The Sigma DP-1 is one possible model of this.
8. short shutter lag.
9. decent flash -- powerful enough for 10+ feet and far enough away from the lens to avoid red-eye.

[Bob Kay]

I have a really nice digital SLR Canon 30D...but the real camera I have is a point and shoot pocket camera...ultracompact. I buy one every 4 to 6 months for the improvements. Really important function is the "shutter lag" which I think some companies exagerate. This has a long way to go in the ultracompacts... Also zoom needs to get up there and we are now weeing 4x, 5x finally hitting the market. Lastly, the screens are nice but the old viewfinder is just plain really missing on the ultracompacts. Lastly, a couple of really hard buttons need to be added that represent the most common uses (or touch screen buttons would be nice) - time delay, movie mode, scenic mode, people mode. it won't get easier to use than that.

[Patrick]

DSLR (Nikon D40)
Like: capture fast moving subject - kids!
Dislike: cannot see from LCD what I am shooting (only thru viewer)

Point n Shoot (Sony T-3)
Like: LCD shows what I am shooting
Dislike: always miss or blur when trying to capture our 5 year old in action.