A Simplified Guide to Buying a Digital Camera

When I decided to be the proud owner of a digital camera, I was stunned when I searched on Google the topic "How to choose the best digital camera". There were too many terms and technical stuff involved, and it made my head spin. However, after carefully reading through some sites, here is a simple camera buying guide (for newbies like you and me).

Before you embark on your camera buying journey, decide what you are buying the camera for. Are you just going to take pictures of your meet ups with your friends, or are you going to start a hobby in photography? Will you take pictures that you will upload on Facebook or Myspace, or are you planning to print large pictures to make banners or hang up in large frames on your walls? All these questions matter when it comes to deciding on a digital camera to buy.

Once you have thought that over, here are some of the more technical details you should consider for your purchase, put in very simple terms.

Megapixelsr
If you are buying a camera, this is usually one of the most common words you will hear along the way. What is a megapixel? A megapixel is a collection of one million pixels per inch of an image. A pixel is a tiny dot of information that forms one dot of that image. So, the more information you squeeze into that inch, the clearer the image that is produced. However, do consider that more information you have in a picture, the larger the amount of space that it will take up on your memory card. You don’t necessarily need a 20 megapixel camera to have a great quality photo. Higher megapixel cameras may only be needed if you are taking pictures which you plan to print large copies of, or you are planning to zoom a lot into later to get a cropped image. If you don’t need to do these things, it is rather a waste to buy an expensive 10 megapixel camera as the images will take up lots of space on your memory card and also in your computer. It would also be harder to upload onto social networking sites due to the large size. If you are pursuing a hobby in photography and want crystal clear perfection in your photos, then it might be worth the investment. Note that the words “higher resolution” mean a larger amount of megapixels.

Lensr
This is a very complicated thing to actually try and understand if you are not an avid or professional photographer. Let’s stick to the simple things that we can understand. One important thing that most people look out for is the lens zoom ability. After all, you do want to be able to take a picture of something quite far away once in a while. Take note that you will encounter two kinds of zooms, the digital zoom and the optical zoom capability of the camera. The more important one is the optical zoom, as the larger the optical zoom the clearer the zoomed subject will be in the photo. Digital zoom merely zooms in and enlarges the photo, and you tend to get grainier, blurred pictures. Regarding lens quality, there is no way to actually know if the quality of a lens is good without actually trying it out. Ask for a tryout during the purchase if you can to see if it makes you happy, or otherwise read reviews about the cameras you are eyeing online.
Size and Conveniencer
Cameras come in many sizes; it depends on what you are using it for and how portable you want it to be. There are generally two kinds of cameras found, the DLSR and the “point and shoot” type cameras. DLSRs are bigger and heavier but better quality cameras that are ideal for those who want clear shots and more features on their cameras. However, this is not an ideal camera for those who want to keep it simple and carry their cameras in their pockets. “Point and shoot” cameras come in smaller and more portable sizes.
Choose carefully. Some cameras also use batteries and cannot be charged, while other can be charged like a cell phone with a charger. If you are going to use your camera a lot, it is a nuisance to have to buy new batteries every day so take that into consideration.

Add-onsr
Cameras come with many accessories such as memory cards, cases, chargers/ spare batteries etc. Try and haggle with the salesperson if he can give you some of these free, or at a discounted rate. Do note that some cameras only can use a specific type of memory card, like Sony cameras which can only use the “memory sticks” from their company that cannot be used with any other camera. This might be troublesome in the long run as they usually cost more. Try and buy a camera which can use regular microSD or SD memory cards which you can buy in many different brands, costs and memory allotments.

Brandr
There are many brands that you can choose from, and different people will find different brands suitable. All brands have their pros and cons, so weigh them carefully. Educate yourself via reviews online.
There you have it, a simple guide to buying a camera. Happy shopping and I hope you buy the perfect camera for yourself!!