Some good sources are Steve's Digicams and Digital Camera Resource . As we pointed out last week, digital cameras are not as light sensitive as film cameras. Still, some offer the ability to set an ISO at 400 or 800. Color Fidelity Just as different films produce slightly different colors in identical situations, so too, different digital cameras reproduce slightly different color in their images. These differences are usually marginal, and often can be fixed or adjusted using an image-editing application.
Different cameras can also produce slightly different image sharpness.
This can be difficult to do yourself, though some magazines and Web sites attempt it. If possible, find a helpful camera store salesperson. Startup Time Startup time is the length of time between turning the camera on and being able to take a picture. There's nothing worse than having a picture opportunity right in front of you, but missing it because the camera took too long to turn on. A startup time of a couple of seconds is about as good as is currently possible, but some cameras take as much as ten seconds.