Choosing a Digital Camera for Beginners

Digital photography is the perfect way to capture this generation’s need for instant gratification. You can snap a picture, view it instantaneously, download it to your computer, and send it out in an email or post it on the World Wide Web. You can’t do that with cameras that use 35mm film. With all the major camera makers offering multitudes of different digital camera options how do you know which camera will work best for you.

There are three basic things you need to know when it comes to buying a digital camera; how much is your buying budget, what type of picture do you want to take, and what do you intend to use the pictures for?

How much money you can afford to spend can have a big impact on which make and model you can purchase. If you only take the odd picture now and then you probably aren’t really looking for a higher-end model. If you’re this type you can get a good digital camera for $50 to $100 that is a simple point-and-shoot camera.

On the other hand if you like to take pictures of everything you and your family and friends do then you probably will need to spend more to get a good quality camera that will let you capture all those special moments. Cameras in the $200 to $300 range are a good choice to get you started.

Once you know how much you are willing to comfortably spend it’s time to consider the type of pictures you’ll be taking. If you are going to be carrying the camera everywhere you go then size and weight is something to think about. DO you mainly take pictures of friends and family or are you into taking outdoor landscape panoramic photos?

For family shots a digital zoom with flash is all you need. For picturesque landscape photos you’ll need an optical zoom lens and a camera with a panoramic setting. You’ll also need to store all those photos so memory size is another consideration to make. The more pictures you take the more memory you’ll need between downloads to your laptop or PC.

Digital cameras also need power so battery life is also important. Many cameras use 2-AA batteries which are easy to store and replace. Others use rechargeable batteries that normally last longer then AA but they must be recharged on a consistent basis.

The last thing to think about is how do you intend to use your pictures. For portrait style high resolution pictures that you want to print in larger sizes you’ll need a camera with a high megapixel count. The more megapixels the sharper the image; and the more expensive the camera. For the beginner who just wants to print off normal sized photos the number of megapixels a camera is rated for is not as big a deal.

For the novice digital camera buyer keeping in mind your budget, what type of pictures you want to take, and what you want to do with them will help you make the right decision when buying a new digital camera.