There are so many digital cameras currently on the market with more being introduced weekly - how does one make the decision of which digital camera to choose?
Choosing the right digital camera for you requires a few choices and decisions for you. I suggest following things should be considered while buying a digital camera:
1. Buy the camera with the highest resolution you can afford, at least 8 to 10 megapixels (8 million to 10 million pixels), if possible.
How much resolution you need depends on what you plan to do with the pictures taken by the digital camera. If you plan to take pictures only for online use, such as to e-mail to friends and family or to place on a web page, the 1-2 megapixels will accomplish this. However, if you plan to print large photos or need clearer pictures for business use, you will need more pixels. A good rule of thumb is to choose a digital camera with the highest resolution you can afford. While resolution is important, there are many other features, which influence a camera's output. Make sure the camera you choose has a combination of features important to you, not just high resolution.
2. Buy the camera with the highest zoom facility. This is the feature which you will use the most. Give preference to the optical zoom over digital zoom. Buy digital camera with atleast 3x optical zoom, if possible.
Optical zoom is essential for better quality pictures. Optical zoom actually moves the lens to capture the image, while digital zoom captures fewer pixels and magnifies the captured image. Pictures taken with digital zoom are often blurry and look digitized.
3. A digital camera with glass lens is preferable to a digital camera with plastic lens. Try to buy a digital camera with 100 percent glass lens, if possible.
4. Choose a digital camera with LCD screen which allows you to review pictures on the camera. This is a huge advantage, as it gives you the chance to see if the shot turned out the way you hoped it would before you download the pictures on your computer or print them out.
5. Buy a camera with as much storage capacity as you can afford. More storage capacity means the camera can store more pictures, so you won't need to download or erase them as often.
6. Also consider the batteries, chargers and battery-saving features of the digital camera. A digital camera with more than 150 photo shots with a single charging of the batteries is a good choice.
7. Consider some additional features like, flash modes, face detection technology, image stablization technology, autofocus, manual focus, shutter-release lag times, USB connectivity, a battery-time-remaining indicator, AC adapter, video-output connections for outputting to a television, variable shutter speeds, self-timer, voice memo, video capture, size and weight, etc as per your requirements.
8. Last but not the least, choose the digital camera that offers most of the features and options you want, at a price you can afford. When you narrowed down few models, then read out online reviews, from sources you trust, to learn what consumers think of those models. Finally choose the one that fits best in your hands and is easiest to operate.