Pocket camera buyers, check your digicam IQ

If you are a pocket camera buyer, you will find it interesting and helpful to check your digital camera IQ. Just answer these 20 questions, check with the correct answers given at the end, give yourself 5 marks for each correct answer and see the score for yourself. When you think a statement is not fully correct, take it as 'false'. A score of more than 50 is good, more than 75 excellent.

digital camera questions

1. I have a pocket camera of 4 megapixels. It is not enough for amateur shooting during picnics etc, and I should buy one of  at least 10 mp as the new technology demands cameras with higher mp's. [True/false?]

2. My pocket camera has ISO range of 100 to 1600. It also has shutter speed of up to 1/800 second. It is definitely better than my friend's camera with ISO up to 800 and shutter speed up to 1/400 seconds.  [True/false?]

3. I should buy the first camera out of the two with the same price:

A. 4 mp; zoom 3x optical; CMOS sensor; good battery life; in-camera red-eye removal 

B. 5 mp; zoom 4x digital; CCD sensor; in-camera editing tools; very small size  [True/false?]
4. My mobile phone camera is 8mp, no zoom, with no flash. I should spend money on a pocket camera even  if  my pocket allows me to buy a digicam of only 5mp, 3x zoom, inbuilt flash. I use camera for routine shooting of my children, social events, picnics, etc.  [True/false?]

5. A12 mp camera that came with my friend's mobile phone he bought last year [=2011] is no better than my 5 mp pocket camera that I bought 4 years back as my camera has better lens, some zoom, more controls. [True/false?]

6. A pocket camera with shutter speed of 1/3200 will shoot excellent shots in low light. [True/false?]

7. A pocket camera if used properly can give excellent shots at day time but has severe limitations in poor light. [True/false?]

8. A pocket camera's sensor is smaller than that in a digital SLR. [True/false?]

9. In most conditions, if used professionally and with manual controls, a good pocket camera will give as good quality photos as a DSLR or a reel camera. [True/false?]

10.Other things being equal, a light weight camera is better to handle than a heavy camera.

 [True/false?]

11. The quality of picture taken from a digital camera depends more on lens quality, stability, composition of shot, light and sensor quality much more than megapixels, available zoom, editing software that comes with it, and numerous customised modes given in the camera. [True/false?]

12. Some cameras produce 'red eye' when the subject is standing directly under the sun. [True/false?]

13. Photos taken by my cameras in low light often have shakes. The defect is with the camera's image-stabilisation mechanism. [True/false?]

14. Pocket cameras are not meant to be used with tripods. The results are no better. [True/false?]

15. Pocket cameras give you all the freedom to just keep shooting, but you must prepare yourself well with right exposure, light, composition etc. You cannot edit a poor photograph to perfection with Photoshop later on. [True/false?]

16. Digital camcorders have more zoom, bigger lenses and better optics. The shots taken by them are therefore better than digital still cameras. If I intend to buy a mid-range camcorder, I need not go for a still camera. [True/false?]

17. A 5mp camera can take a shot of 2mp too. The mp specification tells you the maximum size of photos that can be taken with that camera.[True/false?]

18. Photos taken with pocket cameras, when copy-pasted into a computer, will give poor quality images. [True/false?]

19. We can use ordinay cells into a digital camera. It is a marketing trick of camera makers to advise that we use only rechargeable or heavy-duty cells. [True/false?]

20. All pocket cameras are the same. It is the person behind the camera what matters. [True/false?]

Correct answers:

1 F
2 F
3 T
4 T
5 T
6 F
7 T
8 T
9 F
10 F
11 T
12 F
13 F
14 F
15 T
16 F
17 T
18 F
19 F
20 F