Point-And-Shoot Camera

Let's face it, as twenty-year-olds we're probably never going to look much better or have as much fun as we do now, so why not document our decade of no rules, little pay, and bad bars? We've all experienced the "day-after" effect of remembering little from the night before, and nervously scouring through MySpace and Facebook pages to recollect the previous night's happenings. So why not perfect our picture-taking talent, and learn a little bit more about digital point-and-shoot cameras?

A lot of cameras that we stuff in our pockets and pocketbooks have many different features that we know very little about. If you are like I once was, you keep your point-and-shoot cam on the full auto setting so it does all the work for you.

Don't get me wrong, full auto is great because it focuses the camera easily and adjusts the settings to match changing environments intuitively. Nonetheless, a lot of these modern cameras have cool features that can add some interesting effects to your images. Activating these features isn't difficult either, requiring little more than a menu adjustment. If you are thinking of getting a digital camera, but aren't sure which point-and-shoot you should buy without going broke, there are some great point-and-shoots that can document the next momentous night of hedonism in all its glory.

The Truth About Megapixels
A megapixel is equal to one million pixels. With a digital camera, a megapixel is a measure of the resolution, which allows you to capture a more detailed image. The more megapixels the camera has, the more detail the image will contain, and the easier it is to enlarge without losing image clarity.

Kodak.com does a good job of breaking the megapixel/print size relationship down into layman's terms: "An image file that is 1 megapixel (MP) can make a photo realistic print of 5 x 7 inches; a 2 MP file can make an 8 x 10-inch print; a 3 MP file can make an 11 x 14-inch print." A general rule of thumb to use when buying a digital camera is to find one that is no less than 5-7 megapixels.

Ready for Your Close-Up?
A great application for shooting close-up images is the macro mode. Most digital cameras feature a macro mode, which can be accessed by choosing the icon with a flower on your user menu, generally next to the two mountains (landscape mode) and MF (manual focus). When you shoot in macro mode, the image closest to the lens will have the clearest focus -- the subject farther away will reduce in focus -- this is known as depth-of-field, which is controlled by the camera's aperture.

Some cameras -- including many professional models -- have a setting called "Aperture-Priority," where users can switch and adjust their aperture for a more liberal or conservative depth-of-field. The macro mode adjusts the aperture automatically, giving the image a professional look. Just flick on macro, and you can shoot really clear, detailed close up images as close as 10cm from the subject. Canon Powershots are good cameras to consider which feature a macro mode, priced from $200-$400 depending on the model.

Steady Your Shots
Optical image stabilization or "IS" increases the stability of an image when your take a picture. Digital cameras, as a rule, are hardest to keep steady when shooting at slow shutter speeds and a long focal length. So if you're trying to zoom in on your subject in low light, cameras with optical image stabilization will help you a ton. (Try it the next time you want to shoot a picture of a friend in a dark bar without turning on the flash. The results will look much more natural.)

If you want to compensate for blurry images in low light environments manually, you can also bump up the shutter speed. Most cameras will do this automatically through different image stabilization features. Panasonic's Lumix line of cameras feature Mega OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) which corrects the image the moment you press the shutter button, compensating for image blur in all directions. Since the light is received near the center of the lens, this mode gives you clear pictures and higher resolution.

Try It Out
So the next time you are looking at a flower, and want to accentuate the shape of a petal, you know to switch the camera to the macro mode. On the other had, if you are at a dimly lit piano bar and want to capture the ambiance of the room, the intelligent OIS can help keep you shots steady so they stay in focus.

And finally, if you are having one of those enigmatic nights where everything is a discovery and nothing is out of reach, freeze the moment in time with clarity and detail, and post it on MySpace the next day.