Things to Consider When Buying a Digital Camera

There are a lot of digital cameras available on the market at the moment. Choosing the "right" one for you can be daunting. By looking at a few critical features can save a ton of money and and aggravation on your part.

The first thing to consider is what kind of pictures do you want to take with your camera? Do you want to photograph large scenic vistas, fast action sports or just the occasional snapshot of grandma, the kids or the dog?

The largest focal point on selling cameras is how many mega pixels they have. The more mega pixels, the larger the print will be. For normal snapshots you can get a 4x6" print done (old film camera size). 6-8 mega pixels will give you a print of 8-10" and anything over 8 mega pixels will give you the sharpest image with the best of details. Not so long ago, you would have to pay a decent amount of cash for something like this. However they are now starting to come down in price quite dramatically so you can get one relatively cheaply. All cameras now will store these images on a memory card (normally sold separately) so the higher quality photo, the less pictures you can store.

What type of memory card does the camera have? Does the camera have a limit on what sized memory card you can use? This will depend on the type of memory card it holds. The most common type is Secure Digital (SD), they go up to 16gb in size which will hold thousands of photos. Other types of cards are CompactFlash (CF) and xD-Picture Cards. Along with having the right type of memory card you will need to have some way of reading that card to transfer them onto your PC. Most laptops have a card reader which you will just slot into the side. But if you are using a home PC they normally don't have this so you will need to purchase a card reader or just use a USB cable to plug your camera straight in. From there you can then send photos to your friends and family.

Digital cameras need batteries of some kind to operate. More and more cameras these days are using Lithium batteries, they are generally more expensive but they take a lot more photos before needing a recharge. Consider purchasing a second battery of this sort if you plan on shooting for long periods of time. The alternative is a camera with AA or AAA batteries. These can run out quite quickly though and can get expensive replacing them all the time. I would always go with Lithium celled batteries for maximum photography time and the expensive involved.

Try it before you buy it. Most retailers will have cameras on display in a cabinet. Ask them if they can take it out and let you take a few test pictures with it in the shop. You just want to get a feel for the camera to make sure it's something you can work with. You don't want to be using a camera which isn't comfortable for you. Think of things such as the weight and are the buttons easily reachable and user friendly.