How To Choose A Digital Camera Here's some basic advice when looking how to buy a Digital Camera

OK, you've decided to buy a new digital camera. 

You head down to your local camera or electronics store and Wham! Every digital camera ever made and known to man (at every possible price) overwhelms you. And if you have someone from the camera store offer to help, they probably start spewing statistics or features you never heard of or understand. 

Looking at all the camera choices, you soon realize that there’s enough bells and whistles on the camera to make you think you’ve ended up looking at the controls of the space shuttle!

But there is a rhyme and reason to this madness so let me give you a few tips about the different types of digital cameras plus the different types and associated costs. This will definitely help you navigate through and the different models and choices. And you will be able to make the best choice for you on how to buy a digital camera that fits.

Lets break it down into three different types of digital cameras and do a quick outline of what makes each type different (and cost different).

Point-and-Shoot Digital Cameras Models

The most popular entry-level camera is referred to as a point-and-shoot, since it does most of the work for you. You just point it in the right direction and start taking pictures. 

Unfortunately, these models are only as good as their manufacturers make them. So, in many situations they do great, but in some difficult lighting situations (low levels of light) they may have problems. These digital models are priced from around $50 and can go to about $500 for the very high end. 

Many point-and-shoots digital cameras are capable of taking some great photos but limit your ability to grow as a photographer. However, they are typically quite portable, are reasonably priced, and great for everyday use.

If you're going to buy a point-and-shoot, here are some things to consider… 

• "Mega pixels" determine how much information is captured by the CCD (which is the light-gathering chip). The size of the image is directly tied to this number. Between 5 and 12 Mega pixels is more than sufficient to make an 8x10 enlargement. Did you catch that? 5-12 Mega pixels are all that you need. Don’t let some smooth talking salesperson tell you otherwise. 

The camera companies keep making cameras with bigger and bigger Mega pixels numbers. In the end, the only thing these "extra" Mega pixels do is to eat up your media card and hard drive space.

So, in review: 5-12 Mega pixels are fine.

• Another feature to look for is the size of the LCD screen. The LCD is the viewing screen on the back of the camera. 

You will be using the LCD to take and view your images on most cameras so bigger is definitely better! If you can afford a camera with a 3-inch (or larger) LCD, buy it! 

In the long run, you will be pleased that you can actually see what you are taking pictures of. It's also a plus when showing an image to someone else just after taking it. Back in the old days, we had little tiny 1-inch screens if any, and used the view finder as the primary tool.

Just look for a big LCD, at least 2.5 inches or larger.

• What about that whole zoom debate, digital or optical??? 

Let’s make this easy. An optical zoom utilizes the optics in the lens to enlarge the image. While a digital zoom takes part of the image and enlarges it digitally. The problem is that you lose picture quality. I never use a digital zoom for any reason, the quality is impacted severely and the quality is very poor. 

All digital cameras utilize digital zoom, so there is no getting out of it. Just don’t rely on digital zoom settings. It really is not a good feature, but many marketing people like to boast that their camera has 30x digital zoom. 

Don’t be tricked by this ploy. Don’t pay extra money for the digital zoom. Buy a camera with a 28mm or 35mm lens that zooms to about 70mm and you will be happy. When you want more zoom, you’ll be ready to step into a DSLR and spend thousands of dollars on a real lens (something to look forward too?)

• Now which brand should you buy? Nikon or Canon? Sony or Panasonic? 

Check out the different menu selections and figure out which menu makes the most sense to you and which ones your fingers can even manipulate.

Most companies make pretty good cameras and you probably won't go wrong with any unit. If you really want a specific brand, go ahead, most since most point-and-shoots work fine. 

Personally, I would recommend Canon or Nikon because they are the leaders in professional cameras and it is the same all the way down to the point-and-shoots. Again, if you know someone with a same or similar model you can see for yourself which one feels right in your hands and has all the features that you want. 

• What about all the buttons? 

The buttons can be very overwhelming, but they are there to help you. Think of the buttons as friends and not enemies. 

There is usually a menu button that will let you set the main features up. You can decide which "quality" setting to use when taking photos and this will change the file size for each image. 

I normally would say that "fine" is a good setting which is usually about 5 mega pixels. Some of the cameras allow you to shoot in "RAW" mode which is a great idea for those of you that like to play with your image in the computer. 

If you think "RAW" means uncooked, just leave it on the JPG (aka JPEG) setting. JPEG, which stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group uses a compression algorithm to save files that are smaller in file size This will help you save space on your media cards and will allow you to download and display the images on your computer and is much faster than when using the "RAW" setting. 

You can also set your ISO or the sensitivity to light. 

DSLR Cameras (Digital Single Lens Reflex):

This is the "bad boy" camera and normally means you can interchange lenses. A lot of first time buyers shy away from this type of camera, but they do open up a world of creativity that is easy to access with a few tips and some practice. 

Nikon and Canon do lead the way for entry-level to professional cameras as mentioned. They do make some of the best digital cameras and continue to manufacture great models with the latest technology for any level of photographer imaginable. 

Entry level DSLR’s include the Canon Rebel series and the Nikon D3100. These are affordable cameras that you can grow with. They normally come standard with a 55mm lens and are not very fast (as far as light gathering ability goes, more about that later). 

But the ability to control the shutter speed and aperture are leaps and bounds beyond the point-and-shoot models. These models also have very sensitive CMOS technology to shoot in very low light situations.

First, a quick lesson about shutter speed and aperture. Inside each digital camera is a light gathering chip (the CCD). How much light falls upon it determines the exposure of the image (amount of light). 

The lens has something called an iris that works like your eye. It can be made to be large or small and that’s one of the ways to control the amount of light that exposes the chip. 

Another way to control how long you let the light expose and that’s the job of the shutter. The shutter can be opened and closed for various lengths of time and this is referred to as the shutter speed. The shutter is opened in increments of one second… for example 1/250th is literally 1/250th of a second and so forth. 

So, when you hear someone say, "what was the exposure?" What they are asking is what shutter speed and aperture setting you used. So there are two settings of interest.

For example f/5.6 is a common f stop setting (aperture setting) for a lens. So, if someone says, "1/250 at f/5.6," you now know what they are talking about. They had the shutter speed set to 1/250 of a second and the aperture (f stop) set at 5.6. When someone asks how fast a lens is, they are speaking about the "f stop" rating of the lens and how much light it can gather. Here’s where it gets a little confusing, so read on to understand.

The smaller the number, i.e. 2.8, the more light it can gather in dim settings and the faster the shutter speed can be set. So, all f/2.8 lens are considered fast, while a lens that only opens up to f/3.5 is considered to be "slower." 

The standard lens with most entry-level DSLR’s is a f/3.5 or higher. Wait, your lens has two numbers listed… f/3.5 - f/5.6? Well, that is a zoom lens with more than one focal length (like a 35mm-70mm or 28mm-105mm). 

What that means is when you are at 35mm, the widest field of view your lens can be set at is f/3.5 and when zoomed to the highest setting, 70mm, it can be set to f/5.6. The larger the diameter of the lens, the more light it can gather and the "faster" the lens.

For example, if you see a professional photographer at a sporting event, the lens is likely to be huge (in both length and diameter)! They are f/2.0 to f/2.8, usually between 400mm and 600mm in size and can cost more than $3500 for the best models! 

What’s the advantage of a fast long lens you ask?

A telephoto lens not only makes things look closer, but it "compressses" the image to create a style that is impossible to achieve with any normal lens. The depth of field, or the "zone of focus" is greatly defined so that the subject that is in focus can literally “jump out” in the photo. 

The zone of focus for a normal lens, say a 50mm, at f/2.8 – f/4.5 is about 3-5 inches depending on the model of lens. 

What does this all mean? 

Well, if you focus on someone’s eyes, the areas in front of and behind the eyes will be in focus. But with a long lens, say a 200mm, the zone of focus is going to be much less. 

Depending on the lens, it could be less than an inch. So, focus is very critical and the farther away from the zone of focus you get, you will start to see the types of photos that professionals with long lens get. 

Take for example, the Olympics. Have you seen the images from the 100 meter dash? One lone runner jumping in joy at the finish line, with nothing in focus but his face. That is a long lens effect. 

Now, look at any image of yours from a normal focal length lens, say a 50mm. Everything is in focus from the foreground to the background. That is the effect you get with that length of lens.

Final Words

Your final choice should be based upon your immediate and long-term needs. If price and budget are your main concerns, the point-and-shoot is most likely your best choice and you can purchase models for as little as $50-60. 

If, your budget allows you to spend a little more, you can get a camera that offers more flexibility and will give you the opportunity to grow more as a photographer. 

A DSLR allows you to interchange lenses and many other pieces of photographic gear (like an off-camera flash) that can allow you to take professional quality images in any situation.

Here's a few other articles that can help you choose a good digital camera:

• Digital Camera Under $100
  Best Deals for the entry level shopper

• Easy Digital Camera
  Keep it simple digital cameras

• Digital Camera Reviews
  Read the reviews carefully, some may not apply