Anatomy of A Digital Camera
The Batteries
There is a trend to
move away from AA battery sizes and move
towards battery packs that take up less space in a camera.
The advantages include less weight and easier loading. The
disadvantages are that you have to buy a specific type of
battery that will not be easy to find during vacations. an
advantage to the battery packs (Li-Ion) is that they do not
discharge as much as NiMh batteries and they can have more
power. If you do purchase a camera that uses AA batteries,
avoid using alkaline and buy Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries.
They are rechargeable batteries that normally outlast alkaline batteries.
I prefer using batteries rated at 2300 milliamp or higher.
These can be found at any store that carries tech gear
(electronics) and www.bhphoto.com
www.amazon.com www.costco.com
Remember, always carry a spare set of charged batteries. It doesn't
hurt to even carry more if you plan to take a lot of
photographs. If the
camera comes with a specialty battery pack, it usually is
charged with a power adapter that comes with the camera. If the camera
uses AA or similar batteries, a charger may not be part of the
camera sale. Power Adapters -
are not usually part of the camera kit, unless it uses a
rechargeable
battery pack. When you are
downloading your pictures the camera will be consuming power.
Kodak cameras have an optional base which is acts as a charger
and connects the camera to the computer. Are you used to
using floppy drives or pointing to multiple hard drives when you
need to save or retrieve files? When downloading your
pictures, consider using a card reader and bypass the
usual camera-to-computer connection. Note: Make sure
the card reader is USB 2.0 or the soon to be standard USB 3.0 and matches your memory card type. A card reader works
like a drive, allowing you to connect it to your USB port
without having to use your
camera, running down your batteries. Card readers typically
cost $6 and up.
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