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Choosing the right digital camera



Once you have decided on getting a digital camera, the next thing to consider is your purpose for buying the digital camera.

Are you getting the camera for taking vacation pictures? Or is it going to be used for your school or business projects? For instance, if it is meant for taking pictures while you are on holiday, you might want to consider a digital camera that is more compact and uses commercially available batteries.

A bigger flash memory card should be purchased too if you intend to take a lot of pictures or go for a long trip. As for school purposes, entry-level cameras with an affordable price tag and reasonable capture resolution should be ideal.

Thus, knowing the purpose for buying the camera is very important, and it will really help you find the most suitable one for your needs.

What do you want to spend on?

As with all other purchases, you have to decide on how much you are willing to spend on the new digital camera. Most entry-level cameras range from about US$250 to US$400 while mid-range ones start at US$500 to a little over US$700. Anything above US$800 is considered high-end.

Digital SLR cameras (such as the Nikon D1x and Canon EOS-D30) for professional photographers can go as high as US$3,000 and above.

With a budget set, you can then decide on whether to spend more for a camera that has higher resolution or one that has more manual controls. Generally, the more compact the camera, the more expensive it is. The ones with higher capture resolutions or more powerful optical zooms also cost more.

Hidden costs

We'd advise you to factor in the cost of additional higher-capacity flash memory cards because most cameras come with a pathetic in 8MB or 16MB storage that keeps only a handful of images at the highest resolution. 64MB memory cards can cost anywhere from US$40 to US$90, depending on type and brand.

Buying used

If you are on a really tight budget, you may also want to consider getting a used or second-hand digital camera.

 

 
« 1. Digital or film? | 3. Frills or key features? »
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