Sunday, November 15, 2009

Thinking about buying a digital camera for yourself or someone else?

First, think about how will you use the camera.. Is it to take photos you can e-mail to friends and family, post on the Internet or maybe to replace a camera that uses “film”? and do you want a digital camera that is easy for anyone in the family to use and/or small enough to take anywhere?

Personally, I recommend setting a budget and sticking to it!! You can buy a good camera today for $75-$150. Try to buy the least expensive camera that suits your needs because this technology is changing much too rapidly to invest a lot of money, unless you are buying it for WORK...

For those of us over 40, there may be some basic things to look for...

• the larger the LED display panel in the back the better
• you may want to be sure it has a view finder (many don't) and those of us who are older are used to using one
• most digital cameras offer digital stabilization, but be sure it does - great feature
• at this point, it should have a minimum of 7 mega pixels (7MP or higher)
• zoom - the higher the better and I'm talking about OPTICAL zoom
(don't pay attention to the digital zoom, that's hype-and not relevant)...
• many of us who travel, want the flexibility of using standard batteries, such as AA, in a pinch
versus having to recharge built in or non-standard batteries if ours run low

So, figure out how much you want to spend before you reach the store and if you have plenty of time before you need to buy the camera, do some price comparisons – always ask if they are selling any discontinued models.. remember the technology is changing so rapidly that yesterdays newest” model is today “special”…

Ask about the extra features… such as in-camera red-eye removal, automatic exposure fix, optical or mechanical image stabilization, face detection, 720p HD movie capture

Good luck and happy shopping..

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