About Technology

By Timothy Cashman

People are spending more and more money these days on digital cameras. While there are "traditionalists" who still cling to using film, the numbers of people moving to digital is sure to increase. But which camera is right for you?

Walk into any major electronics store and you're bound to be overwhelmed with choices. Not only that but some of the vocabulary will confuse you as well. Not everyone knows what "red-eye" and "pixels" are right? This is actually one of the reasons I think reading a digital photography book is very helpful PRIOR to actually buying one.

First thing you need to do is to consider your budget. Digital Cameras can range anywhere from $50 (actually sometimes even lower) to upwards of $500. Don't be fooled by all the bells and whistles if you never plan on using them. Stick to your budget! You can always upgrade to something else down the road if you really want to.

Now it comes to actually selecting a camera. Try to go for one that has at least 5 mega-pixels (this refers to color resolution). This really is the norm for digital cameras these days. The higher number of mega-pixels your camera has, the higher the quality of your color pictures.

The next thing you'll want to look for is how much memory can your camera hold? Most if not all cameras come with built in memory, but the capacity of that memory is usually pretty low. More expensive cameras have larger capacity for memory, but you can easily get around this with a basic camera while also purchasing what is known as a "flash-memory-card." This also makes downloading pictures from your camera to your home computer "a snap!" Flash-memory-cards come in a variety of storage capacity, so again think in terms of your budget and also ask yourself, "how many pictures will I be taking with this camera?"

Last but not least, take a look at the zoom feature of the camera. As usual the more expensive cameras can zoom to amazing levels, while your average camera just goes to average levels. Again, I know I'm repeating myself, stick to your budget and ask yourself "What kind of pictures will I be taking with this camera?" Baby-drool is probably not something a lot of people want to see up close. But a flower in a nature preserve may be something to zoom in on.

As long as you stick to your research, your budget, and the overall reasons for your use of a digital camera, then buying a digital camera should not be a difficult task!