Is your Digital Camera Compatible With Your Computer?

So you recently bought a digital camera or perhaps your thinking about it. And perhaps you may be wondering how many pictures will your computer hold? First you need to answer a few questions to come to an accurate conclusion. First, how big is your hard drive and how much free space does it currently have? You can find the answer to that question by first left-clicking on "My Computer:" Right-click on "C drive." A menu should appear. Left-click on "Properties." A pie chart should be displayed that will show you the size of the hard drive and how much of the disk drive is free. Your next step is too know how many mega pixels does your camera have? A pixel is a light sensing cell on the image pickup device.

The higher number of pixels, the higher the resolution or picture quality of the camera. A higher pixel number will also require more storage space in your camera and computer for a picture. How much storage does each picture need? If you have a 2M pixel camera, a high resolution picture will require storage in the range of 500kb. Two 500 kb pictures would occupy 1 MB. If that one picture requires 500kB of storage, you should be able to store 2000 pictures of that size in 1 gigabyte of disk space. I usually store my pictures in one folder in my computer called "Camera Pics" and then create sub-folders within that folder with different names depending on the occasion the pictures were taken at for easy reference later on.

Most camera manufacturers will provide software to allow you to transfer and edit pictures from your camera. But some of that software is not the easiest to install and operate. There are a few ways to do the transfer without the camera software. If your camera has a memory card, you can buy a memory card reader and use it to read the pictures from your camera. The memory card reader plugs into a free USB connector on your computer. When you plug a memory card into the memory reader, you should notice a new hard drive on "My Computer."

Your computer will consider the memory device to be a hard drive and will allow you to manage pictures as if they were files on a hard drive. Many new cameras are directly supported by Microsoft XP If you plug a USB cable into the camera and a USB slot on the computer, you might discover that your computer knows how to read the pictures off the camera. Digital cameras offer an economical way to get into photography. After you pay for the camera, it doesn't cost anything to take pictures. You just need a computer to allow you to view and save your pictures. After you have saved a bunch of pictures in your computer, I suggest you to transfer them to a CD or DVD. If you do not, someday you may lose all your pictures if your computer ever crashes.

One other thing you need to be aware of is that older computers will have a hard time working the large megapixel cameras that are being produced today. If you have an older computer and go out and buy yourself a 8 or 10 megapixel camera, you may suddenly find you that you may have to buy a new computer too, or at least upgrade the one you have. The hefty picture files that are created by these large megapixel cameras use a tremendous amount of computer memory and can cause an incompatible computer a lot of problems.

The average needs of most people really do not require a large megapixel digital camera unless you plan on printing large photos. So it is best to keep this general rule in mind when considering a digital camera. A typical 2-megapixel camera will produce a very good 4 x 6 inch image using a typical desktop color inkjet printer. With a 4 -megapixel camera, you can turn out a very good 8 x 10 print, which is the largest print anyone who is not a professional is likely to need.

Doug Rogers has worked as a freelance photographer for the past 25 years in various fields of photography. In the past two years he has become an avid and devoted fan of digital and video photography and a life long lover of new technology. For tips on better digital photography and the latest reviews on the newest digital equipment that hits the market, Subscribe to his monthly Newsletter "The View Finder" at http://www.best-digital-cameas-review.com

---

How To Avoid Or Reduce Red-Eye

Photography with the aid of a digital camera is beyond... Read More

Camcorder Techniques: How To Make Home Movies Your Family And Friends Will Be Excited To Watch

Pre-Production:It's all got to start somewhere, so before you even... Read More

Get Closer to Your Subject

Almost any shot will look better if you take two... Read More

Magic and the Photograph

It was widely reported in the press (15 September 1997)... Read More

Is your Digital Camera Compatible With Your Computer?

So you recently bought a digital camera or perhaps your... Read More

Canadas Digital Cameras, Digital Camcorders and Cheap Memory Cards Canada

Digital SLR Camera or Digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is... Read More

Getting The Right Digital Camera For You

There are really great advantages in digital photography:You can shoot... Read More

Black and White is Beautiful

Think about Laurel and Hardy for a moment, or Charlie... Read More

Passionate Organizing: How To Create A System To Organise Your Digital And Traditional Photos

Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer,... Read More

Using Film Speed Effectively

So you have this great new camera. Now you're standing... Read More

Disposable Cameras for Weddings

Disposable wedding cameras (also called single-use cameras) will never replace... Read More

Removing a Textured Pattern from a Scanned Photo ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

One of the most common problems when dealing with scanned... Read More

Is Film Better than Digital for Weddings?

As a professional wedding photographer I get this question asked... Read More

Canon-Powershot-A80 Review

Last month we bought the Canon Powershot A80 online for... Read More

Photography Has No Gender

Women photographers are fortunate. Unlike other titles, photographer has no... Read More

Guidelines for Printing Great Photos at Home

So you have this great digital camera and you've taken... Read More

The Paradigm: Going Digital

As you might imagine the paradigm shift from traditional film-based... Read More

The Beginner Buyers Guide To Digital Cameras, Or The Ins And Outs Of Megapixels

The most important part of buying a digital camera is... Read More

Entering the World of Digital Video Cameras

Gone are the days when you would need to employ... Read More

Terms Used The In The Stock Photography Business

So you are a small business person or web designer... Read More

Start Your Own Photography Business from Home

Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills... Read More

Everybody is Fixing Their House or Apartment Up These Days. Use That Digital Camera to Capture

That's right, you go through all the trouble of making... Read More

Is Digital Photography Expensive?

Being such a fascinating device as the digital camera, this... Read More

Tips for Taking Better Vacation Photos

Photos are a great way to share your travel experiences... Read More

Video Camcorder Formats and Media

There are way too many tape, disk and stick formats... Read More

Online Photo Sharing: Not Just for Family and Vacation Photos

You may have joined the photo-sharing craze to share your... Read More

Specialized Styles of Photography

Outlined below is a list of genres that call for... Read More

The Truth About Pixels - Part I: Digital Cameras

Most digital cameras today boast of greater resolution and picture... Read More

Digital Camera Reviews and Ratings De-Mystify the Choices

Shopping for a new digital camera can be quite frustrating... Read More

How Many Megapixels Do We Need?

Are you having megapixel envy each time you walk by... Read More

The Best Wildlife Camera To Take On Safari

Good wildlife camera equipment on safari can make the difference... Read More

How To Reduce Red Eye The Easy Way With Any Pro Or Point & Shot Camera

There is one simple technique any body can do to... Read More

Digital Image Files ? Megapixels, Megabytes, or DPI?

When I promised readers that I was going to do... Read More