Getting The Best Darn Digital Camera

May 18, 2009

by Chris Campbell

Before beginning the hunt for a digital camera, there are a few questions you should be able to answer. Knowing the answers to these questions can significantly increase your odds for getting the best camera for you, as well as making your ultimate buying decision quicker. While, this is not an exhaustive list, it covers the basics, which you can fine tune as your shopping process goes on.

Digital SLR photography, is one those hobbies that is rich with technological jargon. It gets worse, if your one of the perfectionist type that really likes to minutely analyze any major purchase . . . intent on getting the best digital SLR camera for your money. You could be in for a long bumpy ride. Today it’s time to shorten that ride and smooth out the bumps.

Canon is the most prolific camera maker today. Part of that reason, is they cater to every level of photographer. From absolute novice to seasoned professional. That’s also why they sell more cameras and camera lenses than anyone else.

Megapixels used to be the single biggest feature in determining the price of a camera. As memory storage has gotten cheaper, megapixels are still a feature to consider, but not nearly as much as a few years ago.

I’ll make it even simpler for you. Pick any one of the following three digital SLR cameras, and you won’t be disappointed. They are the Canon Digital Rebel XTi, the Nikon D40, and the Olympus Evolt E510.

Consider image quality when purchasing your camera. While this one is a little harder to quantify, you can get a good idea by talking to sales people, and asking lots of questions.

Speaking of more money, lets talk about my second favorite choice for best canon digital camera. The Canon PowerShot G9 is designed for those amateurs who are getting a little more serious about the photographs they take, but don’t have the budget or inclination to move up to the more expensive and demanding world of SLR photography.

Every photographer takes pictures for different reasons, values different attributes in the finished pictures, and handles a camera differently. And so will you. A good hands-on exercise before making your final selection, would be to go to a speciality camera store with lots of models on hand, during a non busy time. Try out as many models as you can, taking pictures of people, things, shadows, and any odd lighting areas of the store you can.

How you plan to develop and display your photos is quite important as well. The image quality and resolution of your pictures will look vastly different when displayed on your cameras LCD vs blowing your pictures up to poster size to hang over your fireplace.

Not specifications like burst mode, megapixels, ISO, or sensor size. The best digital camera, is the one that enables YOU to take the best pictures you can.

A final note about special features would be prudent here. Plan on doing any underwater shooting? Does the camera have an optional underwater housing available? Got shaking hands? Maybe image stabilization would be a good option for you. Some cameras even do red eye reduction editing right on the camera, before you download your pictures. All these come at a price, so carefully consider whether the features are worth it to you. Knowing specifically what your looking for can only hedge your bet in getting the best digital camera for you.

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