Before Buying A Digital Camera
These days digital cameras come in various sizes, brands, colors, zoom, video playback, resolutions, etc. There are far too many different features put in the little gadget and that makes lots of first time buyers overwhelmed with the plethora of choices. The ads didn't help much either since every digital camera manufacturers obviously say that their camera lines are the best.
So what exactly are the things we should pay attention to before buying a camera? Well, you could start by asking yourselft what is it that you want and need from the camera. Ask yourself these three questions :
- What kind of picture that I want to take with my new camera?
Before you jump in to a store and buy a digital camera it's important to understand what kind of pictures are you going to take with your new camera. An average person usually buy a camera to take interesting things and events in their daily live and vacations. For these kind of people a typical point-and-shoot camera will do just find. However, if you are a photography enthusiast you will need a better one like a digital SLR camera with external flash, manual zoom and loads of manual settings.
- How much money would I willing to spend?
This is a very important because a digital camera price range is from about $150 to more than $10.000 for professional cameras. When looking for a new camera always limit yourself to stay within budget. So you need to really understand the features that you need and want so you each dollar you spent are spent for the features that matters most FOR YOU and not just superficial and useless feature.
- What are My resources?
More often than not when you buy a new camera you end spending more to buy all the accessories. For example if you need to edit the resulting pictures you will need an editing software. Since the software bundled with a digital camera usually next to useless you wil need to buy an image editing software if you need to make any serious enhancements and manipulation. You will also need spare batteries, fast batter charger, additional memory cards and perhaps a camera bag.
Once you've answered these three questions the next thing you need to answer is what kind of features you expect from the camera :
- Resolution
For image resolution just grab any camera with at least 6 megapixels resolution. Manufacturers tend to use high resolution as the main selling point but resolution has little to do with the end quality of the pictures.
- Image Processor
Every digital camera is equipped with an image processor which is the the brain that determines the quality of images taken. For example Canon cameras use the Digic image processor. Usually the latest processor has better quality from the many improvements made from it's predecessor. If you have the budget make sure the camera you're buying use the latest processor.
- Memory
These days digital cameras are equipped with large internal or built-in memory. But still you would use them all with a couple shots thanks to the increasing image resolution in new digital cameras. You must get a high capacity memory card if you need to take lots of pictures. Depending on your case you may even need more than one memory card. - Look And Feel
And ergonomic camera will feel comfortable to hold in your hand. It also means that the buttons are on the "right places" and do not hinder the picture shooting process. Some cameras look pretty but when you try to take a picture you notice that your fingers will block the view or the buttons just make it hard for you to make adjustments, change settings, view the recently taken pictures, etc. - Battery Life
A digital camera is one gadget that eat up batteries fast. Thanks to the increasing processor power, flash and huge lcd. That is why you should use a rechargeable batteries even when the camera can use standard AA batteries like some Canon Powershot cameras. A rechargeable battery last longer so you won't have to keep changin batteries after a couple of shots. The charging method is also an important point. Some cameras use special docking system to charge the battery so where ever you're taking the camera you will also have to take the dock or you won't be able to charge the battery when it run out of power. - LCD
An LCD is an important feature for a digital camera. You will use it much more than the viewfinder when taking pictures. It also allows you to view the recently taken pictures. Big bright LCD is the norm for new camera but remember that the bigger the LCD the more power it use.
Now, using the information from the first and the second set of questions you are more likely able to visualize the kind of digital camera to buy. The final thing you need to do is comparing prices and reading reviews. Thankfully, the internet has make it easy for everyone to compare digital camera prices and also allow us to learn from customer reviews and ratings.
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