Choosing a digital camera, Latin abbreviations

Riches Communications Newsletter

Issue 5, April 2003

In this issue:

- Choosing a digital camera
- Latin abbreviations
- Other web sites of interest

Choosing a digital camera

Digital cameras are getting cheaper all the time. The technology is rapidly improving and the competition for market share between manufacturers has kept prices down.

There are many cameras to choose from but there are several features you should look for when buying your digital camera, such as:

- At least 3 megapixels if you plan on printing enlargements
- Rechargeable battery pack and spare
- Docking station or card reader for transferring photos to PC
- Plenty of memory cards (at least 128 megabytes in total)
- Compact camera case
- Lens filter (cheaper to replace than a scratched lens)

Determine your budget and any particular features you need, such as a zoom lens or whether you need to take panoramic shots. You can use the internet to find reviews of camera models and to research prices from the various retailers. The major manufacturers of digital cameras are:

- Nikon, known for SLR cameras, their digital products are excellent
- Canon make some of the smallest, full-featured cameras
- Kodak, popular due to the docking station for transferring photos
- Sony, good cameras but use their own proprietary Memory Stick
- Hewlett Packard, known for scanning/printing but one to watch

Other traditional SLR manufacturers such as Olympus, Ricoh, Pentax and Minolta have digital camera products as well.

Useful links:

Steve's DigiCams has detailed reviews on nearly every model of digital camera available.

CCC Camera House for Australian online digital camera shopping.

DealTime to compare camera prices at US online stores.

Digital cameras in Adelaide - where to buy them.

Digital cameras in Brisbane - where to buy them.

Digital cameras in Melbourne - where to buy them.

Digital cameras in Sydney - where to buy them.

Latin abbreviations

Latin abbreviations or shortened forms are in common usage but they are often used incorrectly or excessively. Some of the more familiar ones and their Latin and literal meanings are:

• c. ‘circa’, approximately
• cf. ‘confer’, compare
• e.g. ‘exempli gratia’, for example
• et al. ‘et alii’, and others
• etc. ‘et cetera’, and so on
• i.e. ‘id est’, that is
• NB ‘nota bene’, note well
• PS ‘postscriptum’, postscript
• viz. ‘videlicet’, namely

Punctuation used with these shortened forms is as shown. Probably the most overused is ‘etc.’, which is often added to the end of a list and can convey a lack of precision in your writing. In formal writing terms like ‘such as’ and ‘for example’ are preferred to abbreviated shortened forms. Abbreviations are usually more appropriate in situations where space is limited, such as tables or captions.

Other web sites of interest

Top Secret Recipes - if you have ever wanted to know how to make KFC coleslaw, this is for you!

time and date.com - excellent site with time zone information, calendars and calculators

Google Zeitgeist - see what people are searching for on Google