Don't Buy Any Digital Camera Till You Read This

A big part of the reason why people are so hang up on having a lot of megapixels is because retailers and manufacturers promote it as the most important feature of a digital camera. When you don't know all the details that you need to look for in a camera, you might be tempted to choose based on megapixels alone.

However, besides a lot of megapixels, a digital camera needs other good features as well. The number of megapixels is important only if you want to create big prints out of your photos. There are other features that are just as important though. One of them is the speed with which the camera takes photos, because a slow model has a good chance of missing an action shot. Another is the size of the camera, since if it's too large you will probably leave it at home most of the time. And, if the camera lacks manual controls, you might not be able to take great photos in every condition.

Important Features

Megapixel resolution/count: when the purpose of your camera is only taking photos that you later email to a friend or take snapshot sized photos, you can use cameras with any number of megapixels. Still, a larger number of megapixels will offer you an increased flexibility when editing photos or printing them. Present day digital cameras usually have a minimum of 5 megapixels, more than enough to create 11 by 14 prints that are sharp.

Design, weight and camera size: a lot of people put a bigger accent on the size and weight of the digital camera than on the number of megapixels. For example, PC World tried digital cameras of all kind of sizes, from a few ounces to a few pounds in weight. While small digital cameras are easier to carry around, their size can also make them harder to maneuver, since the buttons are few and small. Another problem is that you will not find manual controls on cameras this small.

The zoom lens: digital cameras that are cheap usually come with a weak optical zoom. If you have a choice between two digital cameras, one with bigger resolution and one with bigger optical zoom, I'd recommend choosing the one that has the better optical zoom. Don't choose based on digital zoom though, as that is only software based magnification. If you buy a digital camera with high zoom ( they can go to 20X), you will be able to use them for sports and nature photography, as long as you also use a tripod to stabilize the image.

Getting the perfect camera, is never an easy thing, especially with the way digital technology is constantly changing. Fortunately, there are plenty of helpful websites online, that can narrow down your search and help you find the camera with all the features important to you.