Digicams!

Computers sparked off the digital revolution almost two decades ago - push button phones, digital meters, the Internet etc. have created a digital world around us. And "digital cameras" help to capture the images of this digital world.

I was really impressed by the picture quality of a Canon PowerShot last week when we took some pictures of our ongoing inter-departmental cricket tournament in my company. It was a 3.2 mega pixel, 2x zoom camera and its owner is none other than the CEO of my company.

Digital cameras used to cost a small fortune earlier, but over the years the price has really come down and now a good, basic model is available for less than Rs. 10,000/-.

So, here's a run down on what to look for before you go and get your hands dirty with one of those sexy looking digicams...

Watch out for DPI or dot pixels per inch.
In simpler terms, this is the resolution. This is what determines how sharp your picture is going to be.

Optical zoom matters.
This is what controls the size of the picture by movement of the lens. It adjusts resolution to maintain detail.

The lens system makes all the difference. The optics of the lens define picture quality. (read: Carl Zeiss by Sony).

Check out the post-image processing built into the camera. Like the traditional camera where the film quality can make a difference in the quality of the picture, the picture quality of a digital camera is a function of the post-image processing built into the camera.

Printer interface - How well does the digital camera interface with the printer?

Handling audio-video - Not all digital cameras handle audio and video. If you are going for one that has audio and video capability, make sure the camera has enough storage.

Red-eye removal - At times, because of lighting, the subject's eyes appear red in color. With this technology, the redness can be removed.