Choosing A Digital Camera Choosing a new digital camera from the multitude that are available may seem like a daunting task to those who are starting out, but it needn't be so. It may help to ask yourself one or two questions before you start heading for the shops. First of all decide on your budget. The cheapest Digital cameras can be bought for as little as £100, the more expensive ones for many times that. How much are you willing to spend? Have a set figure in your head and try and stay within that. What exactly will you use the camera for? Yes of course you'll want it to shoot lots of pics for your website gallery, but perhaps you'll also want to use it for holiday photos as well. Is it important that your new camera has the facility to record short video clips? Do you want to be able to zoom in on distant objects? Dont make the mistake of thinking that in order to shoot top quality photographs, you have to spend hundreds of pounds. I've seen lots of blurred pics which have been taken with excellent cameras, conversely I've also seen lots of good photos taken with a basic digital camera.

Confused? Dont panic, read through our article and let us help you choose the camera that best suits your photography needs.

Camera Questions:

• 1. Sort out your budget. What is your absolute maximum spending limit? Stick to that!



• 2. What do you want the camera for? Close up photos mostly? Make sure it comes equipped with a Macro facility, this is an absolute nesessity for close-up work!! (see the glossary) Remember that you more than likely will also use the camera for normal everyday photos as well, so make sure it has a good range of features.



• 3. Check out the resolution level of the camera in megapixels, the more megapixels the better, but remember this probably comes at a price.



• 4. Do you intent taking lots of zoom photos, landscapes, etc? If so, you'll need a camera with a good optical zoom rating, the higher the better. Take note that this is totally different to digital zoom. (see the glossary)



• 5. Are you completely new to digital cameras? If so, you may want to start off with a good basic 'point and shoot' model. (see the glossary) One that requires minimum fuss and yet still produces good results.



• 6. Do you plan on taking lots of photos? The good thing about digital cameras is that you can just keep clicking away and edit out the bad photos later. Look for the amount of storage that the camera has, the more space in megabytes, the more pictures it can store.



• 7. Some devices such as handy-cams, phones, etc can all use the same type of memory card. Check to see if this is the case with the particular model you are interested in.



• 8. Narrow down your selection to a manageable level, ie, the models that have the most features that you require for the most reasonable price.



• 9. Talk to friends who may have a knowledge on the subject and ask their advice. Go online and search for unbiased reviews to find out about the faults, benefits and best prices for different models.



• 10. Final step, before making your purchase, try and actually hold, better still operate, each of the models in your final selection. Which one feels best for you? Once you've made your final choice, make your purchase. Hold on to your receipt and your packaging..... rush home, make yourself a cup of coffee and then.... force yourself to sit down and read through the introductory pages of the manual so that you are comfortable with the basic operation of your new camera. Finish your coffee and start snapping away!