Digital Camera Primer: Look Before You Buy

As with any type of electronics, such as computer notebooks, printers, or a computer desktop, buying a digital camera presents you with a myriad of choices. Each digital camera manufacturer has more than a dozen offerings, ranging from the more basic "point and shoot" camera to the top of the line professional single lens reflex digital camera. So, it's important to consider a number of factors before you buy. Here's a primer to get you started.

Digital Camera Cost

Just a few years ago, inexpensive digital cameras had terrible optics and were an overall disappointment. Not anymore. Today, even a $149 camera has more features than a $799 camera had in the past. Of course, you can pay more than $10,000 for a camera, but for most casual photographers a camera under $500 will have everything you want and then some.

Megapixels

It wasn't that long ago that a three-mexapixel digital camera was considered state-of-the-art. Today, fairly basic consumer models are seven- or eight-megapixels, which allows you to considerably crop any photo and still get a high-quality print. For that reason, don't consider buying a camera that's less than five megapixels.

LCD Display

It may not seem like the most important part of a camera, but the size of the LCD display will make a big difference while you're shooting your photos. A two-inch LCD is great, but a three-inch is even better since you'll be able to see at a glance whether the photo you just took is fuzzy or if it's a keeper. Beyond size, make sure that the LCD display is clear in all lighting conditions - indoors, outdoors, and at night. If you can't see the photo you just took, it defeats the purpose of having a digital camera.

Shooting Modes

Many digital cameras offer a variety of shooting modes as well as manual settings. Many of the ultracompact consumer cameras, however, do not have manual overrides, and you must choose among the shooting modes provided. If you're in the market for a "point and shoot" digital camera, that's no problem. On the other hand, if you want to be able to change the aperture or shutter speed, make sure you buy a digital camera that allows you to do manual settings. Similarly, if you'll primarily use your camera in a specific environment (at sporting events, for example), make sure that the digital camera you select has that specific mode. Keep in mind that some digital cameras even have underwater capability or an "eBay" setting for taking photos of items you want to auction on eBay, so don't assume the way you'll use your camera is unique.

Storage Medium

Unfortunately, there's not an industry standard when it comes to storage cards. Make sure that you understand the type of film card your camera uses, and that you have a reader that will allow you to transfer your photos from your camera to your computer desktop or laptops. Alternately, many cameras come with software (usually on a DVD) that will allow you to plug your camera directly into your desktop or notebooks and upload your pictures.

After You Buy

Once you've purchased your digital camera, take time to practice and play with the various settings. It's often said that digital cameras are more like computer peripherals than cameras, so keep in mind that there may be a learning curve. Once you've mastered it, however, you'll be amazed at the enjoyment you'll get from your new purchase.

Why I Buy My Computers and Other Electronics Online

I must admit that I'd be absolutely lost without the growing number of desktop and laptop computers, printers, digital cameras and all the other assorted electronic equipment in my house and home office. I know I once got along without all this gear, but that was back in the olden days, in the last millennium. Today I absolutely depend on it. What this means is that I buy a lot of stuff, and I have formed some definite opinions about where I do my shopping and what places I avoid like the plague.

I hate to say it, but #1 on my list of places to avoid are the big electronics chain stores. They are certainly convenient and their prices are usually in the ballpark. And all their glossy brochures have lured me more than once when I quickly needed some RAM, a disk, or a new inkjet printer. Problem is that their sales people are embarrassingly clueless and often only interested in selling extended service contracts. No thank you.

When I build a new desktop computer I occasionally buy the parts from a local electronics superstore. Those places are a geek's paradise, or they could be if it weren't for a couple of really annoying deal breakers. First, half of the boards don't work after I bring them home. And second, I absolutely refuse to buy things that are only a good deal after a mail-in rebate or two. I've been burned too many times with rebates. No more.

Office supply stores are stocking more and more electronic equipment. So when I go buy a ream of paper or some other small stuff I often end up looking at their laptops and digital cameras. And once I even bought a notebook computer there, something that I later regretted as there was, of course, no service or support. I actually like the office supply stores and have no problem buying things like laser printer cartridges there, but that's about it for computer stuff.

Another bad practice that's taking over is luring customers with low prices, make them wade through several order screens, and then break the bad news, like some gargantuan shipping charge or that, sadly, the item is not in stock. Do that to me once and I won't be back.

So where do I get most of my electronics gear? Online. I love being able to browse online stores at my leisure, without any sales pressure and usually with all the information I need. I like neat, clean just-the-facts stores that specialize in the kind of gear I want. I don't need useless "reviews" by folks who always seem to have an axe to grind or hate everything. And I don't need long lists of the 99 lowest prices on the web. All I want is information and a good selection. I do expect a degree of customer support in case I have questions, and most of the better online stores can handle that easily.

Had someone told me 10 or 15 years ago that some day I'd buy things like laptops, digital cameras, printers or even desktop computers online from some website far away, I'd have laughed. But that's where I get most of my electronic equipment and gadgets from these days, and I've rarely ever had a bad experience. Those online stores seem to try a lot harder, and that's good news for guys like me.