Buying a digital camera can be a scary
proposition, especially if you’ve
only dealt with 35mm cameras in the
past. Though the market used to be pretty
small it’s exploded, leaving consumers
a huge range of options from $20 point
and shoot digitals to $1,000+, professional
level digital single lens reflex setups.
So what sort of camera is right for
you?
The biggest thing to keep in mind
when buying a digital camera is what
you plan on using the camera for.
For example, if you want a small,
easy to carry camera for taking photos
at parties and emailing them to friends,
you probably want a small, ultra-light
camera. These cameras are point-and-shoots
with little or no zoom and a relatively
low resolution, but the small resolution
won’t matter unless you’re
printing the photos larger than 4x6,
and the ultra-small size of these
cameras makes them easy to drop into
a purse or shirt pocket for a night
out.
Or, maybe you want to use your digital
camera in the same way you did your
35mm, sending a few photos to friends
and printing others out for storage
in albums or for a few larger wall
hangings. Then consider buying a digital
camera in the point-and-shoot range,
something with a resolution between
three and five mega pixels. Though
these cameras may not always fit in
a shirt pocket, they’re still
easy to carry and use. Most come with
a decent optical zoom that will allow
you to get close to your subject,
a few different shooting modes for
taking portraits, indoor, and outdoor
shots, and various other features
depending on the model and manufacturer.
The higher resolution will allow you
to print out crisp photos, either
at home or at a photo processing store.
If you’re buying a digital
camera to compete with your 35mm SLR
or want to get into more advanced
digital techniques, you’ll want
something in between the point-and-shoot
and the full-on, professional digital
SLR. You fit into the “prosumer”
category, squarely in between the
professional and the standard consumer.
In the past five years the digital
camera market has really responded
to this section of the market, offering
up a large number of fully-featured,
relatively inexpensive cameras. Digital
SLRs with a full range of interchangeable
lenses usually start around $1,000,
while other cameras with many of the
features of the SLRs but without the
interchangeable lens system can be
had for much less.
Whatever you’re looking for,
be sure to do your homework while
buying a digital camera and try out
a few cameras before you buy. If the
camera you buy matches your needs
well, you’ll be taking great
pictures for years.
