Buying a Digital Camera

Trying to figure out what digital camera to buy can be overwhelming. The best way to begin figuring out what kind of camera to buy is to figure out what it is you want to do with the camera.

1. Do you want a light-weight camera you can take just about everywhere?
2. Do you want a camera that uses a memory card that will slip into your computer, printer and/or laptop? If so, this can limit your options.
3. How much do you want to spend?
4. Do you want to be able to take movies?
5. Are you trying to shoot in low-light conditions?
6. Do you want to be able to use manual settings?
7. Where and how do you plan on using the camera?
8. Do you want to take pictures for your web site?
9. Do you plan to make enlargements (possibly posters)?

These are just a few questions to help you figure out what it is you are looking for in a camera.

Under $100

There are digital cameras available under $100, but most are off-brand. I recommend sticking with well-known brands like Kodak, Sony or Fuji. If you don’t recognize the name brand, you probably don’t want to buy the camera.

Around $100
There are several very good digital cameras available in the $100 to $125 price range. This price point offers a good quality photo (usually around 6 to 8 megapixels).

Around $200 to $500
If you need higher quality pixels, lenses, you can find higher quality cameras in this range. This is probably for those of you with specific needs that require higher quality photos (like printing poster prints).

Around $800 and up (and the up goes way up)
Digital SLR cameras — these cameras allow you to use manual settings as well as change lenses while still offering the benefits of digital. These cameras do not, however, film videos.

When I’ve needed to buy a camera, I used a great camera review website, Digital Photography Review at http://www.dpreview.com/. The site lets you select the options you want, and it gives you a range of recommendations. The reviews are very complete, and I’ve used the site to guide my camera purchases for my community college when I advised a student newspaper. I was very happy with the reviews and my ultimate purchase.

What Else Do You Need?

When you buy a digital camera, there are a number of extra things you should consider purchasing as well:

1. Extra memory cards: Memory cards are pretty cheap. You can buy a 1G memory card for around $10 to $15. When you are on a field trip, you might not be able to download photos as often, so it is nice to have two or three extra cards. You can reuse cards over and over, so you might just want to start with one extra card.

2. A card reader. This reader lets you download memory cards onto your computer. You can buy a card reader that reads just one type of card, or you can buy a multi-card reader. Although my laptop has a built-in SD card reader, I still have a multi-card reader. It lets me collect photos from a variety of cameras. If a mom takes a great photo during a field trip, the multi-card reader would let you download a photo to your computer no matter what kind of memory card her camera uses.

3. Rechargeable batteries and a battery charger. Digital cameras eat regular batteries fast. You’ll want to invest in rechargeable batteries. You should have enough batteries to replace your camera’s batteries. For instance, if your digital camera uses two AA batteries, you’ll want to own at least four AA batteries. If your camera uses a special battery, you will definitely want to buy a spare battery. You can’t buy those just anywhere, and you don’t want to be stuck somewhere without batteries or a place to charge.

4. Camera bag. Be sure to purchase a camera bag to protect your investment. You’ll want a bag that fits your needs. Pay attention to the size. I have several camera bags including one that is the size of a backpack. It gives me options depending on what camera I am taking and what I need to carry.