Categories of Cameras:
When purchasing a digital camera, you have a lot of choice. As a result, there are some decisions that you need to make. First, you will need to decide what type of camera you need. Second, determine what types of cameras are suitable to your needs. For example, you will need to consider what types of batteries you want, memory cards, and the size of the camera.

Budget Cameras:
This category of cameras is intended at users who are looking to start digital photography but don’t want to spend a lot of money, before they know enough about photography. The cameras range from disposable digital cameras to decent point-and-shoot cameras. These cameras should be suitable for 4”x6” prints. As time progresses, higher quality digital cameras will be built into more devices like camera phones, PDA, watches, and etc.

Amateur Cameras:
These cameras are intended for users who know something about digital photography, or want to invest in a nice and high-quality camera to learn with. Cameras in this category typically offer ease of use with very high specification components. They have a lot of settings, but not a large range of controls that you can get from professional cameras. Typically, you can make 11”x17” prints with cameras these cameras.

Professional Cameras:
These cameras are as the title states, they are intended for professionals to use. The lower-end professional cameras have a similar resolution to some high-end amateur cameras. The main difference is that, they have more elaborate setting control, better lenses, and better flash options. In some of the cameras, you can use lenses from your own older SLR film cameras. The resolutions on these cameras could exceed 11 megapixels (11 million pixels). Therefore, they are intended to produce very high quality prints for newspapers, magazines, and books.

Factors to Consider:

Batteries:
Batteries are important to digital cameras because if there is no power left, you wouldn’t be able to take the special moment. If your camera uses disposable alkaline batteries, I suggest you getting a set of rechargeable batteries. They will save you a lot of money in the long run, compared to getting manydisposable batteries.

Power Conservation Tips:
Turn off the LCD:
LCDs are power hungry, when you aren’t using it turn the LCD off. If you are low on power and want to make some more pictures, turn the LCD off and use the viewfinder instead.
Stop the Zoom:
Some cameras automatically release the lens when you turn the camera on. Unfortunately, it drains power significantly. To prevent this from happening you can change the settings to the sleep mode.
Turn off the Flash:
When you aren’t using the flash, turn it off when you think the lighting is adequate for pictures.
Plug in:
Some cameras have power adapter which allows you to plug in your camera to a wall socket, you will be able to save your battery power when you use the power socket.

Resolution:
A photograph is measured in the number of pixels in the picture. A pixel is a tiny dot of colour. The different pixels are arranged to form a picture. In digital photography, we measure in megapixels. One-megapixel is the same as one million pixels. Nowadays, most cameras have more then 3 Megapixels, which is the perfect resolution for a beginner’s camera. Here is a chart that gives you and idea about the recommended resolution for prints.

Click to Enlarge image:

Memory Cards:
A memory card is the “film” in digital cameras. They come in a variety of types, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Compact Flash (CF) is currently the most popular because it has become relatively cheap. Also, it has the largest capacity, with about 4GB. Furthermore, professionals use microdrives, which are tiny hard drives that fit inside the CF slot. Microdrives are currently at about 5GBs but they are increasing in capacity frequently. Another popular format is called Secure Digital (SD), which is much smaller then Compact Flash cards, which leads to smaller cameras. Remember, you can never have too much memory, invest in a larger capacity memory card when you purchase your digital camera. Keep in mind that there are new memory card types appearing annually; choose a type that you like. I have decided to talk about the most popular types of memory. Here is a chart to help you make a decision on the memory card size right for yourself.

LCD:
The size and quality of the LCD screen is important to your decision of buying a digital camera. It is important because you will be viewing the photos you took on the camera. This means you will be using it to determine unwanted and wanted pictures. The problem is that if the LCD isn’t big enough you can’t see the picture as clear as you should. Larger LCDs are being bundled with newer cameras that are relatively affordable.

Zoom:
Zoom is an important factor because it helps you get closer to the subject. There are two types of zoom available in digital cameras, digital and optical zoom. Digital zoom is a way of magnifying the picture by processing techniques. Unfortunately, digital zoom gives very low quality; I have disabled digital zoom on my camera and I suggest you do so too. Optical zoom is where the magnification is done by using the camera’s lens. It would be ideal to use the Optical zoom over digital zoom because of the quality difference.

Form Factor:
A digital camera wouldn’t be useful if it doesn’t fit in your hands. Digital cameras come in different sizes and shapes. You should test what type of camera fits in your hands. For example, I personally don’t like hold a very small or a big camera. You should find out what type of camera you like the most and then test the camera. The best way of testing the camera is going to the electronics store and see how it feels in your hands.

Accessories:
Like most electronics, there are several accessories available for digital cameras. I will talk about accessories that you should use and why you could benefit from it. You don’t need to purchase the accessories, but you can choose what you think is useful for you.

Tripods/Monopods: ($30+)
If you have problems taking sharp, clear images, it could be because your hands were shaking. You can get a tripod or monopod to solve the problem. Usually, blurry images are caused by camera shakes. It is important to keep the cameras steady if you want perfect pictures that look sharp and clear. Also, it is extremely important to keep the camera steady when you tweak the settings and take long exposure shots. Therefore, getting a tripod or monopod will help you significantly. Tripods or monopods come in a range of different sizes, big and small.

Card Readers: ($20+)
Card readers are an essential piece of equipment for any serious digital photographer. They were originally designed to make life easier for photographers. Instead of transferring photos directly from the camera, you can use a card reader to transfer them from your memory card. This is useful because you don’t have to use your digital camera’s batteries when you transfer the pictures.

Spare Camera Batteries: ($30+)
When your digital camera runs out of power, it is very frustrating. Digital information can’t be stored or transferred without power. Therefore batteries are the lifeblood to digital cameras. It would be frustrating without power because you can’t get that perfect photo and it would be useless until you get it charged. This is why I suggest investing in a set of rechargeable batteries. Remember, there are many types of batteries on the market, make sure you get the correct one. There are alkaline batteries, which can be easily bought everywhere. But, I suggest you get a set of rechargeable AA or AAA batteries instead of using Alkaline. Only use your alkaline batteries, as a backup, when your rechargeable batteries are out of charge. The other type of batteries are specific to your camera, is a standard size battery, which I also suggest getting a second pair. Therefore, no matter which type of battery your camera uses, I suggest you invest in an extra pair of camera batteries.

Cases and Bags: ($10-$20+)
Digital cameras aren’t amazingly durable and cheap, so make sure you protect your investment with either a case or bag. The camera would be much safer, and easier to carry. I prefer using a case or a bag because it can protect your camera from sand, dust, dirt, and water. They are available in all types of sizes and styles. Some cases even allow you to use your digital camera underwater. These cases are more expensive and are only designed for some models. The cases usually come with cameras straps to put the camera around your neck or wrist. This provides an extra layer of protection for your camera, by preventing it from falling to the ground.

Lenses and Flash guns: (Prices vary from different manufacturers)
The quality of your photos depends on the quality of your lens. Flash guns can help improve the brightness of your pictures. Unfortunately, on most cameras, the lenses are built onto the camera. This means, you don’t have any upgradeability of the lens in the future. But, if you own a camera with a removable lens, you can replace the lens with a higher quality one, with better zoom. Flash guns assist you when you are taking photos in low light settings. Most digital cameras have internal flash that works fine in normal use. But, you might want more light for the best possible results.

Read the Reviews: (add hyperlink to links section)
After you choose a couple of suitable cameras, you can get a photography magazine or go to a website and read the review. There are some places you can look for review in the links section. I suggest looking through reviews because the experts have put the cameras to the test and checked every aspect of the camera.

Conclusion:
As you can see, purchasing a digital camera isn’t an easy task. There are many factors to consider, and suitable accessories like the camera’s, battery life, LCDs, Zoom, and the many accessories that go with the camera.