How to Buy a Digital Camera

Tips for buying a digital camera

1. Like much technology, the marketing of digital cameras is surrounded by a great deal of jargon and details that only serve to confuse us consumers. Instead of becoming swamped in the details, consider two important items before you start shopping. The first is budget. Digital cameras can cost as little as $150 and climb into the thousands of dollars. Only a professional photographer is going to need one of those really expensive cameras. Still, it is easy to start shopping for a modestly priced digital camera and end up buying an $800 model.
2. The other fundamental issue to consider is how you will use the camera. If you want a camera that stores a couple hundred images, that is easy to operated and that fits into your pocket, then the less expensive models will suit you just fine. However, if you are an amateur photographer who likes to control exposure and who appreciates the ability to zoom in or out, then you will likely want to spend a little more money for a camera that has those features.
3. Okay, now it's time for a little jargon. The detail that catches up most people when they go shopping for a digital camera is megapixels. The amount of megapixels a camera reproduces essentially equals the quality of the image resolution. This becomes important when you print photographs from your digital camera, especially if you are printing photos that are bigger than the standard 4x6 size. Digital cameras that are 2 megapixels or less will give you fine shots, especially for sharing via email and for smaller prints. Digital cameras with 4 to 6 megapixels will allow you to enlarge your photographs without losing a huge amount of detail. Most people manage fine with 3 to 4 megapixel digital cameras because most people are not going to be printing large photographs. Three to 4 megapixels allow you to make prints suitable for framing.
4. The next thing to consider is storage capacity. The more megabytes a digital camera has, the more photos it can store. The casual photographer who snaps photos of family and friends at gatherings can usually get by with 200 shot storage capacity, which a digital camera with 32 megabytes or less will deliver. A digital camera of up to 128 megabytes will store up to 400 photos. You can buy a digital camera that stores over 400 photos if you think you will need that kind of capacity. Of course, higher storage capacity means a higher price.
5. Finally, if you are a serious amateur photographer, you will want to look at digital cameras that allow you to adjust the light exposure, shutter speed and range capabilities. The amount of control you have over these features will effect the price of the camera.

Caution

Digital cameras eat up batteries at a pretty fast rate; after all, those batteries have a lot of work to do. Make sure you are familiar with the kind of batteries your digital camera uses and that you always have some extra ones one hand.

Where to buy a digital camera

HSN.com allows you to shop for digital cameras by megapixels and by brand.

Browse digital cameras at B&H Photo-Video by brand, zoom and lens capacities, and megapixels.

Circuit City offers digital cameras by price, optical features and megapixels.