How to buy a digital camera 9 vital points

1. Determine what you need

Some questions to ask yourself before you go shopping

What do you need the camera for?
What type of photography will you be doing? (portraits, landscapes, macro, sports)
What conditions will you be largely photographing in? (indoors, outdoors, low light, bright light)
Will you largely stay in auto mode or do you want to learn the art of photography?
What experience level do you have with cameras?
What type of features are you looking for? (long zoom, image stabilization, large LCD display etc)
How important is size and portability to you? Don’t forget to ask for free or discounted bonuses including camera cases, memory cards, extra batteries, filters, free prints, cases etc. I even know of a couple of stores that offer camera lessons that you can ask to be included. Some stores will also consider giving you a trade in on older gear.

position to make a decision when you see what’s on offer. You’ll probably find the sales person asks you this question anyway – so to have thought about it before hand will help them help you get the right digital

Megapixels are NOT everything

These days, with most new cameras coming out with at least 5 megapixels, it isn’t so crucial. In fact at the upper end of the range it can actually be a disadvantage to have images that are so large that they take up enormous amounts of space on memory cards and computers.
One of the main questions to ask when it comes to megapixels is ‘Will you be printing shots’? If so – how large will you be going with them? If you’re only printing images at a normal size then anything over 4 or so megapixels will be fine. If you’re going to start blowing your images up you might want to pay the extra money for something at the upper end of what’s on offer today.Read more:

Keep in mind the ‘extras’

Keep in mind as you look at cameras that the price quoted may not be the final outlay that you need to make as there are a variety of other extras that you might want (or need) to fork out for including:
Camera Case
Memory Cards
Spare Batteries/Recharger
Lenses (if you are getting a DSLR)
Filters (and other lens attachments)
Tripods/Monopods
External Flashes
Reflectors

Optical Zooms are King

When you’re looking at different models of digital cameras you’ll often hear their zooms talked about in two ways. Firstly there’s the ‘optical zoom’ and then there’s the ‘digital zoom’.
you should only take into consideration the ‘optical zoom’ when making a decision about which camera to buy. Digital zooms simply enlarge the pixels in your shot which does make your subject look bigger, but it also makes it look more pixelated and your picture ‘noisier’ (like when you go up close to your TV).
If you’re looking for a zoom lens make sure it’s an optical zoom (most modern cameras have them of at least 3x in length – ie they’ll make your subject three times as big – with an increasing array of ’super zooms’ coming onto the market at up to 12x Optical Zoom

Read reviews

Before buying a digital camera take the time to do a little researchRead some reviews in digital camera magazines or online to help you narrow down the field

Hands On Experience

Once you’ve narrowed down your search to a handful of cameras head into your local digital camera shop and ask to see and play with them. There’s nothing like having the camera in your hands to work out whether it suits your needs

. Negotiate

After you’ve selected the right digital camera for you it’s time to find the best price Don’t forget to ask for free or discounted bonuses including camera cases, memory cards, extra batteries, filters, free prints, cases etc. I even know of a couple of stores that offer camera lessons that you can ask to be included. Some stores will also consider giving you a trade in on older gear