Digital Camera Reviews Be careful when reading any digital camera review!

Some digital camera reviewers never cease to amaze me. I often get calls from people who are getting ready to replace, upgrade, or even get their first digital camera. If they've done some research on the Internet they usually are totally confused. The reason is they have read all the digital camera reviews and can't find a model with a perfect rating.

OK people, listen up. Digital cameras are a lot like cars. Everyone has an opinion, some are died in the wool followers of a brand, some hate all of them, some expect a $200 model to have features and work like $1000 model. There is no perfect digital camera, just digital cameras that work best for you.

See, that's the point and why there are so many different makes, models, and opinions. What may be perfect for one person isn't a good fit at all for another. My mom just wants to take pictures, no hassles, no thinking, and easily upload them to the computer. My sister knows a little about photography and wants to take sweeping vistas photos. My aunt wants to take pictures of her roses and it's important to get accurate colors and minute details.

In the examples above, each have some specific needs and expectations. And although you might find one model that does all three, there's usually a model that is perfect for each one. But the real surprise is in the reviews for each of the models that I ended up recommending for each person.

Let's take my Mom for an example. For my Mom, the Kodak Easyshare C180 was a good fit. It shoots on auto, has easy software to auto upload to the computer, and takes pretty decent pictures. If you read the reviews, there are 10 one star reviews at Amazon. but if you take a closer look, each of these reviews zeroed in on something that was of a personal nature at best and just flat out crazy on some.

One said that the USB connector was wrong and it didn't work. One said it only has a LCD, no separate viewfinder. Another said it had light leaks when you pointed it directly at the sun. Then there were some that said it was bad right out of the box, took terrible pictures, and so on.

Then there were about 65 glowing reviews extolling all the great features and pictures. So who do you believe? After reading the poor reviews, I went with the 65 that liked the camera. And as it turns out, my Mom loves it and is a happy camper. She gets good results, has no problems with taking pictures or uploading them to the computer. And I made the mistake of showing her how to email them so she constantly is spewing photos to all of us on her email list =8~).

A photography buff or advanced user is going to be concerned with things my Mom could care less about and vice-versa. I personally would never use the software that comes with any camera to upload to the computer but many people are very concerned about that area. I know that any LCD is going to be useless in bright sunlight and would never get a camera without a separate viewer. My mom doesn't care, she just points and shoots. If it doesn't come out like she wants it she shoots another photo.

The bottom line on digital camera reviews is to read the negative and the positive to get an idea if the reviewer has valid comments, good or bad. If they are brand zealot, whining, have unrealistic expectations, or just flat out got a bad camera (it happens - these are electronics and even if they only have a 1% failure rate somebody is going to get one), take the review with a grain of salt.

Keep in mind that most people who take the time to make a review are usually extremely happy, or really upset. That's the nature of the beast. Judge each review based on the merits of what is said, what impact that has on you, and if the reviewer has gone sideways. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but keep in mind the source.

And don't just rely on the online reviews. Talk to people, ask what they like or don't like on their digital camera. Try to come up with a list of must have features for you and the type of photos you take. Don't forget to consider your budget too, there are very good digital cameras at almost every price point. Above all don't get lost in the weeds, figure out the best one for you based on your criteria.

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