How to Choose a Digital Camera
Mega pixels are by far on e of the most important features of a digital camera. The higher the number of mega pixels, the higher the quality of your photos. Mega pixels can reach upwards of 8.0, 9.0, and 10.0 on the market right now. I have still seen some digital cameras with as little mega pixel as 1.6 still out on the market. For the most part a camera with a mega pixel of at least 3.0 will shoot very good quality photos. Choosing a camera with only 3.0 mega pixels is a great way to get into the digital camera world while saving a lot of money. About six years a go a 3.0 mega pixel camera cost me around $300. Today, you could buy a 3.0 mega pixel camera for under $100 easily. Personally, I suggest spending a few extra dollars and splurging for at least a 5.0 or 6.0 mega pixel camera. You don’t want to be too out of date with your new digital camera.
How easy the camera is to use is one of the next most important features in a digital camera. If you are not looking to be a professional photographer, I am assuming you don’t want to have to read the entire instruction manual to even operate your digital camera. Honestly, for the most part most digital cameras are going to be very user friendly. Kodak does advertise that their cameras were ranked #1 in ease of use and I have found this to be very true. My first digital camera was a Kodak with 3.0 mega pixels. The pictures were beautiful and I never had to resize them to email them. The settings on the camera were very basic and exactly the options I needed. Straightforward and easy to use for a beginner. Kodak digital cameras will almost always come with memory book software for your computer as well. I never read an instruction manual once and created fabulous scrapbook pages that printed out beautifully. Digital cameras from Sony and others can involve a savvier user. When I changed to a Sony digital camera I had serious problems emailing oversized photos that irritated family and friends who couldn’t see the whole photo because it was large. Also, red eye became an issue. Do not be afraid to return a digital camera if it does not meet your needs or live up to your expectations.
Uploading your photos with relative ease is also something you should consider when deciding how to choose a digital camera. Almost every digital camera will come with a USB cable that plugs into your computer to transfer the pictures. Kodak is on a mission to cover the United State with freestanding machines, similar to ATMs that allow you to print your pictures out immediately. This can be very handy if you are traveling without a computer to transfer your pictures into. Printing the pictures allows you to clear images from you memory stick and start taking more photos again. Other items that help in transferring pictures and printing pictures are docking stations. These docking stations allow you to simply place your camera onto them and print photos. Other good features to look for are cameras that come packaged with a mini printer meant just for reading your camera and printing photos. There are a lot of options out their for retrieving and printing digital photos.
Keeping these three categories in mind when your are deciding how to choose a digital camera will be a great starting point. Once you become more familiar with digital cameras you may want to upgrade to a more technical model, one with more mega pixels, or even one that allows you to edit your photos while they are still in the camera’s memory.
