How to Buy a Digital Camera

OK, so you've finally realized that you're the only one on your block without a digital camera. There are, it seems, 50,000 models to choose from. How in the world do you select one? This brief primer should give you enough information to guide your decision. It explains the most important factors to consider in your selection. This guide is designed for amateur home photographers, NOT for serious enthusiasts or professionals, who may have entirely different needs. 

1. How many pixels?
   This answer has changed rapidly over the past few months, based on the prices of memory and cameras. I would recommend a camera with 2.0 or more Megapixels (million pixels) of resolution. This will allow you to easily provide any size picture that you can possibly use on the Web. In fact, you'll rarely find any situation where you can display over ONE megapixel of photo on the Web, but you may need to capture 2 megapixels to get a really clean photo even though it's much smaller. In addition, 2 megapixels or more will allow you to make very nice prints (on a good color printer) of at least 5 by 7 inches. If you're looking for really sharp 8 by 10 inch prints, you will want at least 3.0 megapixels.
   
   
2. Portability
   A missed photo opportunity has ZERO value. Make sure you choose a camera that is small and light enough so that you will actually take it with you when you go places! Then, be sure to find a small case that will let you carry the camera, at least TWO memory cards, and a spare battery easily. I would recommend against the Sony Mavicam series, for example, simply because they are a little bulky. I would recommend a camera whose width is no more than about four inches. But don't go crazy with size! A camera that's three inches wide or less probably does not have enough space for acceptable optics.
   
   
3. Viewing options
   Any acceptable digital camera needs BOTH an LCD viewer and a traditional glass viewfinder. Some REALLY cheap cameras do not have the LCD panel, which defeats part of the purpose of a digital camera. But under certain conditions, like bright sun, you still need the option of using the viewfinder.
   
   
4. Digital vs. Optical Zoom
   Another place to make a serious mistake is in the zoom capability of the camera. Digital zoom is accomplished simply by throwing away pixels. To get 2X magnification, they just use one-FOURTH of the pixels available, and ignore the rest. Voila, the picture is zoomed in. This is free for the maker to provide, since it requires no moving parts. But you've also lost 3/4 of your resolution! Now your crisp 5 by 7 is at best a pretty good 2.5-inch photo. Optical zoom allows you to frame the picture without almost no loss in resolution, limited only by the quality of the lenses. Don't even consider a camera without optical zoom. Be sure the camera can optically zoom at least 2X, and more would be even better.
   
   
5. Memory Types
   A few months ago, this was a serious concern. Now, with the recent invention of multi-format Flash Memory readers, it is much less of a concern. I would tend to steer away from the Sony memory stick, only because it is proprietary and therefore immune from price competition. (Didn't they learn ANYTHING from that Betamax debacle?) Other than that, Compact Flash (CF), Smart Media (SM), Secure Digital (SD), and Multi-media Cards (MMC) are all essentially equivalent. If you already have an MP3 player (or are thinking of getting one!) you might want to consider using the exact same memory for both! Right now, Compact Flash seems to be the most reasonably priced option. But the others are catching up fast. The newer Palm® devices can share your Secure Digital cards. 
   
   
6. Accessorize!
   Be sure to purchase at least TWO flash memory cards. Here's why. First of all, you'll have redundancy. IF something dreadful happens to a memory card, you will only lose half (or less) of your holiday snaps instead of the whole bunch. In addition, you'll have a little more flexibility if you want to keep some photos when you go out on another trip before downloading them. My second recommendation is to purchase a SECOND rechargeable battery. There's nothing worse than running out of juice right when you are about to take the world's most amazing picture. Flash photography can chew up batteries pretty fast. And you can charge one while you're using the other. Definitely worth the added expense. 

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