Are you in the market for a new digital camera? If so, it’s easy to get confused by the wide variety of makes, models, and features available on today’s modern digital cameras. But don’t worry! There are really only a few things to consider when buying a camera. Keep these requirements in mind while shopping and you’ll end up with a camera that will give you years of quality service.

1. Camera Type. The first question you need to ask yourself is “What type of photography will I be taking?” For basic photography, the simple “point and shoot” cameras are the best option for you. On the other hand, professional photographers typically use an SLR (single lens reflex) camera because they are more feature-rich and provide the user with more creative and quality control.

Here’s the general price range for digital cameras ranging from entry-level to professional grade:

- Easy-to-use “point and shoot” cameras (subcompacts and compacts) - between $100 - $300

- Advanced point-and-shoot” cameras - $350 - $600

- SLR-like cameras - $450 - $1,300

- Professional grade SLR cameras - $500 - $7,000.

2. Shape, Weight, and Size. Although point-and-shoot cameras will be smaller in size and weight, the heavier and bulkier digital SLR cameras will take much higher quality pictures.

You should be able to grip the camera comfortably. A smaller camera body is more difficult to grip properly, and all-too-many point-and-shoot cameras don’t have a grip at all. If they do, it should just fill the inside curve of your fingers to fit properly.

3. User Controls. If you’re buying a basic point-and-shoot camera, look for one that’s easy to use. Controls for setting the picture resolution, flash mode, macro mode, and exposure should be easy to find and use, and most cameras provide a fully-automatic setting. More experienced photographers, though, like to be able to manually adjust the camera’s shutter speed and aperture to blur the image background or capture fast-moving objects clearly. Unless you’re a serious photographer who frequently needs to tweak manual settings, this may not be so critical to you.

4. How Many Megapixels? A digital camera’s megapixel rating determines the amount of fine detail that can be captured in a shot. Today’s cameras can range anywhere between 2 - 12 megapixels. At the lower end, a 2 megapixel snapshot would suffice for an email or web posting. However, if you’re planning on shooting photographs that may later be printed and will need to show a lot of detail, you’ll probably want to move up to at least a 5 megapixel camera. At the high end, a difference of a couple of megapixels either way won’t make much of a noticeable difference.

5. Optics and Responsiveness. Don’t obsess over megapixels, though. There are still other important issues to consider like lens quality and the responsiveness of the camera. Make sure you buy a name-brand camera with quality optics in it, like Zeiss or Sigma. It’s the combination of the lens’ quality and megapixel rating that primarily determines the quality of the image.

Better digital cameras have little-to-no lag time between when you press the “shoot” button and when the image is actually captured. If you’re going to be taking “action” pictures like kid activities or sporting events, this will be something to consider. Live action shots require a minimum continuous frame rate of five (i.e., 5 images captured when holding down the “shoot” button). If you purchase a camera with a slower frame rate, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to take quality action shots.

6. Zoom lens. There are different types of zoom lens - digital and optical. The digital zoom feature essentially magnifies and averages the center of the picture electronically, frequently resulting in a less than satisfactory picture. Optical zoom, on the other hand, is the best method of zoom available, as it physically moves the lens in or out to capture a particular subject. Camera buyers should try to get a camera with the highest optical zoom that they can afford.

7. Memory Card Format. The SD (secure digital) storage card is the most popular card format used today, and you can easily find them with a capacity as large as 32GB for most point-and-shoot digital cameras. The more expensive SLR digital cameras typically use the Compact Flash memory card; you can also find them in increments up to 32GB. Since the price for memory cards keeps dropping, be sure to buy some extras.

8. Battery - Type and Life. Check out what kind of battery your chosen camera uses. Some cameras use their own proprietary type of battery instead of standard AA batteries. All batteries will stop holding a charge eventually, so be sure to keep a fully charged backup battery with you at all times.

Some cameras tend to “eat” batteries; other cameras take much longer to drain them. Make sure you choose a camera that has a higher total picture count per battery charge.

9. And Don’t Forget the Accessories. Check out the accessories that generally come with all digital camera kits. If they’re not included, get an extra set of batteries and a charger. You may also want to buy a card reader for your camera’s memory cards. Color printers used to print your photographs are also a common add-on item.

Hemante Garces is a photography enthusiast who has spent a lot of time and money coming up with solid requirements for a digital camera purchase. He put this digital camera best to buy list together to assist other buyers also in the market for a digital camera.

Technorati Tags: camera, camera accessories, Canon, Consumer Electronics, Digital Camera, digital photography, memory cards, photographs, photography, point and shoot, slr camera

Tags: camera, camera accessories, Canon, Consumer Electronics, Digital Camera, digital photography, memory cards, photographs, photography, point and shoot, slr camera

Manufacturers Olympus and Fujifilm are finally deciding to phase out their line of xD flash memory cards after years of customer complaints, unacceptable compatibility issues and the onslaught of the more efficient SD memory card technology. There are even xD card readers that come with SD adapters, which is pretty much the manufacturers admitting xD’s shortcomings.

Irritated customers all over the country will say this has been a long time coming. The xD memory cards have caused a lot of people a lot of grief. Let’s take a look at some of the most reported issues that consumers have had with their xD memory cards.

Files Corrupted, Data Lost

One of the biggest issues customers have reported with the xD memory cards is their tendency to corrupt stored data. Considering these cards are used almost exclusively in digital cameras, losing irreplaceable memories to data corruption is an unforgivable offense. Corruption can occur for almost any reason: using low batteries or turning off the camera while processing or pushing unnecessary buttons while taking pictures.

The Very Short Life Of xD Memory Cards

Memory cards released today use “wear leveling,” which is a special technology that tracks the number of blocks of memory on a card and thereby extends the lifespan of a memory card. As memory cards continue to become smaller and smaller, this technology will become more and more important.

The manufacturers refuse to address this issue, choosing instead to continue releasing xD memory cards that do not utilize wear leveling technology. As a result, xD memory cards wear out before their SD equivalents.

Limited Memory And Speed

The xD memory card was initially released with 512 MB. These days, the manufacturers have increased this number to 2 GB, which, although it’s definitely a step up from the first number, it’s nowhere near what is necessary to store much of anything, particularly if a digital camera is used for recording video. The SD card, by comparison, is available in sizes up to 32 GB. The xD memory cards are also much slower than the competition.

Low Quality Meets High Prices

Most xD memory cards don’t hold much storage space, have more problems with data corruption, are slower than SD cards, and have short lives. Seeing as how they are inferior to the SD cards, it would make sense if they were also cheaper, but the 2 GB xD card is actually twice as expensive as a similarly sized SD card. In fact, there are some larger SD cards that are still cheaper than that 2 GB xD memory card.

Last Thoughts: xD Memory Cards Cost Too Much For Too Little

Today’s economy dictates that consumers must buy what hurts the wallet the least. It’s no surprise then that the xD is failing and Olympus and Fujifilm are starting to pull the product. If they are not going to make an effort to improve what they’re selling, then there is no reason for customers to stay loyal or new customers to make an effort to find them.

Smart media cards or an Olympus xD memory card will give you the space you need to enjoy the electronic gadgets of your choosing. Do you want to try one today? Only purchase memory cards from trusted online vendors for the most up-to-date products.

Technorati Tags: consumers, Digital Camera, Digital Cameras, digital equipment, digital memory, digital memory cards, digital storage, electronics, entertainment, family, home, memory cards, product reviews, shopping, technology

Tags: consumers, Digital Camera, Digital Cameras, digital equipment, digital memory, digital memory cards, digital storage, electronics, entertainment, family, home, memory cards, product reviews, shopping, technology