Buying a digital camera is an important decision to make – you’ll use the camera you buy to capture a multitude of treasured and unique moments in your life and the lives of others, so never underestimate the significance of getting one for yourself.
Even though there is a seemingly unlimited list of models and makes to choose from, buying a camera can become much easier when you narrow down the search by first specifying what you need from it. For this you must ask yourself a few questions: are you planning to use your new camera to pursue a career in photography, or do you just need something to take pictures with, plain and simple? Or maybe you’re looking to take up photography as a hobby. Then comes the question of your budget: how much are you willing to spend on your camera, and how long do you hope to use it? If you want to make it last for a number of years, getting something of higher quality will be worth the extra money spent.
After you’ve answered these questions you have a rough idea of what you’re looking for. However, you may still have questions about the properties that your camera should have to be considered “good.” To judge this it would be useful to get in the know about the technical lingo that is used to describe cameras. You may have heard people referring to cameras in terms of megapixels and ratios and apertures and exposure and all of it may have made your head spin. Make it a goal to find out what they were talking about. A useful tool for this is the Digital Camera Glossary at http://cameras.about.com/od/digitalcameraglossary/Digital_Camera_Glossary.htm
After you get a good general idea of what some of these words mean, you can make a decision about what quality you’re looking for. Keep in mind that there are a number of factors to take into consideration, including resolution, lens aperture and zoom and the presence of other features that will help you take good shots, including the presence of auto-focus and anti-shake technology, and the software that comes with the camera to help enhance your shots.
Resolution depends not only on the number of megapixels but also on the size of the prints that you take. Megapixels range from values such as 1.3 MP, which is more than adequate for small 4x6 prints, up to 10 MP, which are of very high quality. Aperture size determines how much light you need to take a good shot, as the larger the aperture, the less light you need. A reasonable aperture would be around f/2.8, though better values are widely available. When considering these facts, keep your target in mind. If you will be taking a lot of indoor shots and don’t want to use the flash too often, a camera with a wider aperture would be best, if you can afford it. The same may be in order if you’ve just had a baby and want to stuff your album with newborn pictures: keep in mind that the baby’s eyes may be sensitive to the flash. If you’re a beginner and you’re not that great at keeping the camera still, consider one with anti-shake or point-and-shoot options.
Similarly there are hundreds of things to take into account before buying a new camera, but once you know roughly what you want, the process becomes much simpler.
Even though there is a seemingly unlimited list of models and makes to choose from, buying a camera can become much easier when you narrow down the search by first specifying what you need from it. For this you must ask yourself a few questions: are you planning to use your new camera to pursue a career in photography, or do you just need something to take pictures with, plain and simple? Or maybe you’re looking to take up photography as a hobby. Then comes the question of your budget: how much are you willing to spend on your camera, and how long do you hope to use it? If you want to make it last for a number of years, getting something of higher quality will be worth the extra money spent.
After you’ve answered these questions you have a rough idea of what you’re looking for. However, you may still have questions about the properties that your camera should have to be considered “good.” To judge this it would be useful to get in the know about the technical lingo that is used to describe cameras. You may have heard people referring to cameras in terms of megapixels and ratios and apertures and exposure and all of it may have made your head spin. Make it a goal to find out what they were talking about. A useful tool for this is the Digital Camera Glossary at http://cameras.about.com/od/digitalcameraglossary/Digital_Camera_Glossary.htm
After you get a good general idea of what some of these words mean, you can make a decision about what quality you’re looking for. Keep in mind that there are a number of factors to take into consideration, including resolution, lens aperture and zoom and the presence of other features that will help you take good shots, including the presence of auto-focus and anti-shake technology, and the software that comes with the camera to help enhance your shots.
Resolution depends not only on the number of megapixels but also on the size of the prints that you take. Megapixels range from values such as 1.3 MP, which is more than adequate for small 4x6 prints, up to 10 MP, which are of very high quality. Aperture size determines how much light you need to take a good shot, as the larger the aperture, the less light you need. A reasonable aperture would be around f/2.8, though better values are widely available. When considering these facts, keep your target in mind. If you will be taking a lot of indoor shots and don’t want to use the flash too often, a camera with a wider aperture would be best, if you can afford it. The same may be in order if you’ve just had a baby and want to stuff your album with newborn pictures: keep in mind that the baby’s eyes may be sensitive to the flash. If you’re a beginner and you’re not that great at keeping the camera still, consider one with anti-shake or point-and-shoot options.
Similarly there are hundreds of things to take into account before buying a new camera, but once you know roughly what you want, the process becomes much simpler.