Do you know what the best advice is for buying a digital camera? Apart from following your own common sense, the next best thing you can do is become informed. Read as much as you can about digital cameras, both pros and cons. Especially the cons. While it's easy, to find out how great a camera may be, you really need to focus on the negatives as well. Instead of using the camera with the most glowing reviews as a guide, why not focus on the camera with the least negative reviews. You need to consider both sides of the coin, as any honest digital camera guide will explain.
Technical specifications for digital cameras are easy to find, but need to be understood to be relevant. If you don't know what white balance, f-stop, ISO, or image sensor size mean, then their specifications are useless. You can generally find any cameras manual in an online format, by simply Googling the manufacturers website. Reading camera reviews and articles from well respected websites can then help you determine which of those specifications are meaningful.
Hands on experience has no substitute in the online world, and can only be truly tested by getting out to the different camera shops. Big box electronics stores can be great for this, as they often have lots of camera models available. Try to go during the non busy times, as you'll have more of a chance to play with all the cameras. During school hours, your also more likely to get older more experienced sales staff to help guide you to the best decision.
Online photography discussion forums can be an invaluable source of assistance as well. Find a few, and search them for the make and model of cameras your considering. Chances are, someone else has asked the same questions you have, and you can benefit from the answers they've received. If you can't find any, then ask away. Most photography buffs are keen to share their knowledge on the subject. This can be one of the most unbiased sources of honest opinions you'll find.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Digital Camera Buying For Busy People
So, you need to buy a digital camera either for yourself or someone else. The problem is, you've never bought a digital before, and you don't have the time to get up to speed on all the pros and cons of digital cameras. Well, that sort of speeds the process up already, as we've just eliminated all the professional grade cameras and move to the category of hobbyist or casual photographer cameras.
That eliminates a lot of cameras, and narrows down the list of features we need to concern ourselves with. The first item we need to consider is budget. For simplicity sake, let's consider two categories. Under $200, and $200 to $500 cameras. After $500 we're getting into semi professional equipment, and going with our previous assumption that's neither you nor the lucky recipient of your purchase.
There's plenty of good cameras in the under $200 category, but I wouldn't venture below the $100 mark. Unless of course you like standing in customer service lines. The Canon PowerShot A720IS, or the Canon SD1000 Digital Elph are both respectable cameras. Backed by the solid Canon name, with plenty of megapixels, and some nice features like image stabilization, in camera editing and large sized LCD screens. The SD1000 is what's considered a ultra compact, so it's smaller and easier to stow in tight spaces.
In the over $200 category, you get more features, more megapizels, some extra accessories, and generally a more durable camera. Cameras to consider here would be the Canon PowerShot SD950IS or the Pro Series S5. The S5 has a nice 12X optical zoom for those times when want to be out of the scene but still want a close candid shot. Don't be shy about spending the extra money in this category, as I've generally found that cheap electronics always comes back to haunt you.
That eliminates a lot of cameras, and narrows down the list of features we need to concern ourselves with. The first item we need to consider is budget. For simplicity sake, let's consider two categories. Under $200, and $200 to $500 cameras. After $500 we're getting into semi professional equipment, and going with our previous assumption that's neither you nor the lucky recipient of your purchase.
There's plenty of good cameras in the under $200 category, but I wouldn't venture below the $100 mark. Unless of course you like standing in customer service lines. The Canon PowerShot A720IS, or the Canon SD1000 Digital Elph are both respectable cameras. Backed by the solid Canon name, with plenty of megapixels, and some nice features like image stabilization, in camera editing and large sized LCD screens. The SD1000 is what's considered a ultra compact, so it's smaller and easier to stow in tight spaces.
In the over $200 category, you get more features, more megapizels, some extra accessories, and generally a more durable camera. Cameras to consider here would be the Canon PowerShot SD950IS or the Pro Series S5. The S5 has a nice 12X optical zoom for those times when want to be out of the scene but still want a close candid shot. Don't be shy about spending the extra money in this category, as I've generally found that cheap electronics always comes back to haunt you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)