Tip #2347 - Digital Camera Buying Guide
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Digital
Camera Buying Guide
We've had some people
ask us what the best digital camera is to buy these days and so I thought
I'd give you a little guide that may (or may not) help you in buying the
right camera for your needs.
I found some recent
reviews done for digital cameras and here is a list of some of them that
sounded the most reliable, the most well rounded for various needs and
at some of the best prices available today.
1.) Kodak
EasyShare V570 - This camera is completely automatic but it has
several preset "scenes" for different levels of picture taking.
These different modes help to extend the camera's uses in a good way.
It also has a dual lens, which includes a 23mm wide angle lens. This camera
is well liked because of its versatility and camera tricks that it is
capable of doing.
Res: 5.0mp
Zoom: 5x
Storage: SD/MMC
Price range: $302-427
2.) Panasonic
Lumix DMC-FX9 - This digital camera comes with Panasonic's Mega
OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), which gives this camera just a little
more oomph. It has 6-megapixel resolution and excellent battery life.
This one comes with one of the lowest prices available for all it has
to offer.
Res:
6.0mp
Zoom: 3x
Storage: SD/MMC
Price range: $244-400
3.) Fujifilm
FinePix S5200 - This camera comes with a 10x optical zoom and
a 5.1-megapixel package. This one also has some good physical features
with its small size, great grip and a solid feel. This camera is good
for everyday shooting in any sort of lighting and it does well to set
a standard for cameras with this sort of zoom and appearance.
Res:
5.1mp
Zoom: 10x
Storage: xD
Price range: $259-411
4.) Sony Cyber-shot
DSC-S600 - This digicam is one of Sony's entry-level models for
their 2006 cameras, but it comes with great resolution at 6-megapixels.
Some photographers like a little extra highlighting and shadowing, which
this camera does well. But, if you don't like full contrasting in your
photos, this may not be the one for you.
Res:
6.0mp
Zoom: 3x
Price range: $166-222
In case you're looking
for something a little more "big boyish," let's move on to some
different ones. This next list is some of the most popular digital cameras
for 2006. You can also check out the provided links to learn about all
of the extended details about each camera. You can read recent reviews,
find out about picture quality, speeds, weight, LCD monitors, comparisons
to other cameras and many other overview topics. There is also a pull
down menu at the top of each review that will let you in on even more
information about the camera. There's also an option for you to buy the
product if you so choose.
1.) Canon
EOS 30D
Res:
8.2mp
Zoom: 9x
Price range: $1304-1399
2.) Olympus
E-330 EVOLT
Res:
7.5mp
Zoom: 14x
Price range: $999-1099
3.)
Nikon D200
Res: 10.2mp
Price range: $1699
4.)
Canon EOS 350D Digital Rebel XT
Res:
8.0mp
Price range: $795
5.) Canon
PowerShot SD550 Digital ELPH
Res: 7.1mp
Zoom: 3x
Price range: $355
6.) Kodak
EasyShare P880
Res:
8.0mp
Price range: $437-599
7.) Olympus
SP-500 UZ
Res:
6.0mp
Zoom: 10x
Price range: $250-379
8.) Sony
Cyber-shot DSC-P200
Res:
7.2mp
Zoom: 3x
Price range: $276
9.) Fujifilm
FinePix S5200
Res:
5.1mp
Zoom: 10x
Price range: $303
10.) Olympus
Camedia SP-350
Res:
8.0mp
Zoom: 3x
Price range: $312
These are just a few
of the good digital cameras you will find out on the market today. Here
are some suggestions for you as you go about looking for a camera to buy.
- Set up a budget
before you go looking. You need to budget yourself, so you don't go
over the price you have set in your mind. You can usually find something
with most of the features you are interested in at the price you want.
You also don't want to go too low, because a camera with a very
low price could be unreliable.
- Ignore digital
zoom. You need to focus more on optical zoom.
- Small doesn't mean
underpowered. Small digicams are very powerful for photo taking as well,
so a smaller camera might fit your needs even more.
- Look into getting
a camera with a magnified photo preview. The magnifier will help you
to determine the sharpness of a photo you take.
- Plan on purchasing
some extra media memory to go along with your camera, depending on how
much memory you think you're going to need.
- Don't get caught
up in megapixels. Consider them, but think about other things too. Megapixels
aren't everything in a digital camera. If you're going to be doing a
lot of cropping with your photos, you may need more megapixels, but
if you're not planning on doing much editing, look into other features
more carefully.
- Look into getting
a camera with preset scene modes. These will help you with lighting
conditions and may help your pictures turn out more like you want.
- Check into flash
options.
- Consider a weatherproof
camera.
- Consider battery
life.
- Check out camera
reviews before you head to the store. You can read the ones I have pointed
out above or do a search online for even more of them.
There's a lot of information
available out there and making sure you research every aspect of the camera
you're interested in buying will help for a longer camera life and it
will help you get everything you want out of the camera you buy.
Also, check out this
tip for information
on megapixels, zooms, storage, battery types, formats, flash and much
more.
~ Erin
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