Standard Plus Digital Cameras

These digital cameras are a clear step up on entry level models. The main difference is that they are likely to include fully manual exposure controls including aperture and shutter priority, have longer zoom lenses or both. This type of camera is likely to appeal in the main to people who enjoy photography, would like to improve the photos they take, but do not want to spend a fortune of their camera. Cameras are typically found in the range £110 to £250.

Megapixels also start to increase at this level. The minimum number of megapixels is likely to be six. This now stretches up to 12 megapixels at the higher end. Cameras in this category are likely to have up to six times zoom lenses. These are twice as long as a standard lens. Although this does not tip them into the super zoom category they are twice as long as standard.

Some of the cameras in this section can be further enhanced. This can be achieved by buying accessories such as lens converters and underwater cases. A lens converter will increase either the telephoto or wide angle capability of the lens. You may also find macro and fish eye lens converters available for a small number of cameras. Canon also offer an add on flash pack to boost the power of the built in flash units for some of their cameras.

At this level you can find very impressive picture quality. Focusing tends to sharpen up, colours should be good and you should also find an increasing level of detail being picked out in each shot.

The range of features continues to grow and you should expect to see features such as manual focusing, slower shutter times, control over flash levels and higher ISO ratings. Image stabilisation and face detection focusing are also being rolled out. On some cameras you will also find pop up flash units and also twisting LCD screens. The twisting screens help in bright lights and also when you are taking photos at difficult angles.

Most cameras in this section are made of plastic. Although they typically have a better quality feel than entry level digital cameras.

In terms of movies I would expect cameras to offer 640 x 480 resolution and recording speed of 30 frames per second. This makes them suitable for TV playback. Movies will include sound and many cameras will allow you to zoom in when shooting a movie. Typically this uses a digital zoom feature rather than optical zoom.

You are also likely to find some cameras offering a range of aspect ratios. The aspect ratio determines the dimensions of a photo. An aspect ratio of 3:2 is perfect for 4 x 6" prints as the photos will not need to be cropped at all to fit on the paper. 16:9 is for viewing images on a widescreen television and 4:3 is perfect for viewing on a computer monitor.



Pros:
Manual exposure mode
Wide range of general features
Accessories available
Plenty of megapixels

Cons:
Build quality

Canon Powershot A2000 IS The Canon Powershot A2000 IS has 10 megapixels and a 6x optical zoom lens. Canon have also equipped the Powershot A2000 IS with image stabilisation, a 3 inch LCD screen and red eye correction. Related pages Canon Powershot A2000 IS Review
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Standard Plus Digital Cameras