Finding the Right Digital Camera
There may be a huge assortment of digital cameras to choose from now, but choosing one for your purposes is easier than it may seem. The first thing to consider is what you might want out of your camera. What are your purposes? Professional or home-use? How many pictures do you want to be able to take, and do you want them to be professional quality, or the same quality as your current conventional film camera?
On the low end of the price scale, the point and shoot digital camera is the most basic. It has somewhere between 3-4 million pixels, and the photo quality is typically the same of an inexpensive conventional film camera. Point and shoot digital cameras are easy to use, and easy to carry. The cost of these typically ranges from $100-$500.
Just higher on the scale, 5-7 million mega pixel cameras offer something the point and shoot digital cameras do not: the ability to focus through the lens. Additionally, these cameras offer more sophisticated controls to allow the photographer experiment with several settings, and allowing for more creativity.
Professional digital cameras have between 6-12 million mega pixels. These kinds of cameras have the same kind of controls that their less expensive equivalents do, as well as a few more. Additionally, there are a lot more ports for accessories and other equipment professionals often need.
Canon is one of the more notable names in the digital photography space. Two of the most popular cameras are the Digital Rebel and the G6. The Digital Rebel is considered an easy camera to master, and it comes with a 3 megapixel sensor and a 18-55 millimeter lens. The Canon G6 come with 7.1 megapixels, and is a very small camera, easy for carrying and storage. The G6 has a 35-140 mm lens, wireless remote control, tutorial CD roms, and a Windows and Mac Driver for uploading images. The lithium battery allows the photographer to shoot more than 500 images, and it comes with USB cables for computer adaptability.
Sony also has an impressive array of digital cameras to choose from, both for the amateur hobby photographer, and the professional. Sony's cameras typically range from 2-6 megapixels. The Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P72 has 3.2 megapixels and a smart zoom lens. The Sony DSC-T5 is a tiny camera - less than an inch in thickness, and has a total of 5 megapixels.