Digital Cameras Buying Guide

The Basics: Digital Cameras

The prices of digital cameras have dropped in recent years to a point that they are about as affordable and flexible as similarly equipped film cameras. Most digital cameras will provide the same quality or better for a similar price, so there is no important reason for the average photographer not to buy a digital camera.

Instead of recording images on film as regular cameras do, digital cameras capture images with a CCD (charge-coupled device, a light-sensitive circuit) and record them on magnetic media. The number of images you can store at once depends on the amount of memory you have (storage media come in sizes from 16MB to 256MB and more) and the resolution of the images you are taking. The magnetic storage disks or cards are removable, and you can transfer images via special connectors to a computer for manipulation, e-mailing, Web-site posting, viewing on a TV, incorporation into an A/V or multimedia presentation, or printing. Some printers can connect directly to your digital camera for direct printing without a computer.

There are three basic body styles to consider. The compact or ultra compact digital camera fits inside your shirt pocket. There is a “wow” factor to these cameras, and they are convenient, but you will be paying a premium for the size or lack thereof. The standard camera is bigger, provides better quality for the money, and is usually able to provide all the features that a typical “point-and-shoot” photographer needs. The digital SLR camera provides the best quality shots of the three. The lenses can be changed, and the camera provides a great deal of flexibility. The cost is higher than either the compact or standard digital cameras.

Creative Zen Nano Plus MP3 player Expert Review

Why settle for a boring white or silver MP3 player when the Creative Zen Nano Plus is available in a virtual rainbow of ten color options? This stylish little portable comes with either 512MB or 1GB of Flash memory. With no moving parts, Flash memory is completely skip-free, making the Nano Plus ideal for a listener with an active lifestyle.

In addition to MP3 files, the Nano Plus is also compatible with WMA, which some audiophiles consider to have a better sound compared to similar-size MP3 files. The player has five preset equalization curves designed to enhance specific types of music, as well as a user-defined custom setting. The Nano Plus’s frequency response is 20Hz to 20,000Hz, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 90dB.

The Nano Plus is a very flexible system, with an LCD display that can flip to make it easier for left-handed users to read. There are a variety of shuffle modes to add fun to your playlist, and the Nano Plus also includes a FM tuner. Instead of always loading files from a computer via the USB 2.0 port, this MP3 player allows you to record audio directly into memory using either the line input or the built-in voice microphone.

In addition to digital audio files, the Nano Plus can be used as a data storage device, as it appears on a computer as an external drive. It can play for up to 18 hours on a single AAA battery, and by using disposable batteries, you know replacements are never far away. The Nano Plus MP3 player is a colorful way to get MP3 and FM playback in an attractive and tiny package.
We tested the 512MB version, which has an MSRP of $79.99. The 1GB Nano Plus has an MSRP of $109.99.

Warranty
90 days labor, 1 year parts

Apple iPod shuffle MP3 player Expert Review

Apple’s iPod and iPod mini turned the MP3 player genre on its ear and have become the new standard by which other portable audio players are measured. Well, Apple is at it again, this time with a miniscule Flash player called the iPod shuffle. This unit takes everything music fans love about the original iPods, such as click-wheel control and iTunes AAC compatibility, and puts it in compact, more affordable package. About the size of a cigarette lighter, the shuffle is small and light enough to go anywhere.

The iPod shuffle’s name refers to its playback abilities. This player lacks a display to show what songs are loaded. iTunes software on a PC or Mac is used to fill up the player; a playlist can be dragged and dropped into the shuffle, or iTunes will autofill the shuffle with whatever songs it randomly chooses from a user’s iTunes music library. The shuffle then has two playback modes–it will either play the downloaded list in order, or it will pick the tunes and play them back in random order. You know, shuffled.

Unlike the hard drives used by the original iPods, the shuffle sports a skip-free Flash memory system. The shuffle is available with two storage capacities, either 512MB or a more practical 1GB, which will store about 16 hours of music coded at 128kbps. The shuffle will play MP3, AAC (iTunes), WAV, and Audible audio book formats.

The iPod shuffle connects to a computer via USB cable, or the player can plug directly into a USB slot. It has a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery good for about 12 hours of playback, and it can recharge by either the supplied power adapter or from the USB connection when plugged into a computer. It comes with adequate-sounding earbuds and a USB cable. Expect the unexpected when you (iPod) shuffle it up.

The $99.00 MSRP is for the 512MB version; the 1GB version has an MSRP of $149.00.

MP3 Players Buying Guide

The Basics: MP3 Players

Rare just a few years ago, MP3 players are ubiquitous today, and their popularity is not expected to wane any time soon. Apple’s iPod lineup currently dominates the digital audio player universe, but numerous manufacturers like Creative, SanDisk, and iriver, as well as traditional brands such as Panasonic, Sony, JVC, and Samsung, produce a wide variety of players, many of which are giving the iPods a run for their money.

The category name of MP3 players is a bit of a misnomer, as many digital audio players can store music files in multiple formats. These may include WMA, WAV, ATRAC, OGG, and others, in addition to MP3. iPod has also become a generic name for an MP3 player. This is somewhat ironic, because while iPods can play MP3 files, they primarily operate with AAC files, the format of choice for Apple’s popular iTunes Music Store.

MP3 and other formats utilized by digital audio players are data-compression techniques that drastically reduce the size of the original CD music files. This data-reduction amount is variable: a higher reduction rate (i.e., a lower bit rate) results in a smaller file, but the smaller the file, the poorer the sound quality. At higher bit rates (least compressed, best sounding), the sound comes closest to the original CD recording quality. High-quality audio should at least be sampled at 128 kilobits per second (kbps), which results in an MP3 file of about 4MB for a 3- or 3-1/2-minute track. To combat the loss of sound quality, a number of newer digital audio players incorporate technology that helps restore sound details lost during the compression/decompression process.