1) 3x, 5x, 10x - Denotes the focal length ratio of a zoom lens (e.g. 35-105 is 3x, 38-380mm is 10x, divide the last number by the first). Optical zoom is always better than digital zoom

2) Backlight - The illumination for a color LCD display. Early color LCD used high voltage fluorescent lamps, newer LCD screens now use white LED light bulbs which are much more energy efficient.

3) CCD - Charged Coupled Device, a light sensitive chip used for image gathering. This is one of the most important components in the camera since it converts light into the digital data.

4) LCD - Liquid Crystal Display. Most of these nowadays are high resolution TFT devices, much like a LCD TV. There are some black and white ones, but not many. Note: like TV and computer screens, LCD measurements are taken on the diagonal. 2 inch, 2.5 inch sized LCD is the measurement from opposite corners.

5) Megapixel - CCD resolution of one million pixels (a "mega pixel"). Digital cameras are rated by Megapixels. You multiply the horizontal resolution by the vertical resolution to get the total pixel count:

1280 x 960 pixels = 1 Megapixel
1600 x 1200 pixels = 2 Megapixels
2048 x 1536 pixels = 3 Megapixels
2272 x 1704 pixels = 4 Megapixels
2560 x 1920 pixels = 5 Megapixels %u2026 and so on

MP - Abbreviation for MegaPixel, i.e. 5MP or 5MPixel

6) Optical Zoom - Means that the camera has a real multi-focal length lens. Optical zoom is always better than digital zoom. Didn't I say that already? Why? Because digital zoom magnifies the center portion of the picture and degrades the rest of the image.

7) Pixel - The individual imaging element of a CCD. In a CCD, the pixel is where the CCD captures light. On an LCD screen, the pixel is the individual output point. This is what is meant by the figures 1280×960 and etc listed above. It means that there are 1280 pixels by 960 pixels in the display or CCD. Higher numbers are always better!!

8) Red-Eye - An effect caused by an electronic flash reflecting off of the human eye and making it look red.

Red-Eye Reduction Mode - A special flash mode whereby a pre-flash or a series of low-powered flashes are emitted before the main flash goes off to expose the picture. This causes the pupil in the human eye to close and helps eliminate red-eye.

9) USB: - Universal Serial Bus - the data I/O port on most digital cameras and found on modern PC and Mac computers. Faster than the serial port. Up to 12Mb/s with v1.1 interfaces.

USB 2.0: - The newest USB standard, close in throughput speed to FireWire now. Up to 400Mb/s.

10) Viewfinder: - The eye level device you look through to compose the image.

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