Choosing Your Digital Camera

I am assuming found this article because you are having a hard time finding the best digital camera under 200 dollars as I recently did. With all of the technical jargon that gets tossed around the greasy sales world, it has become very hard to stay focused when searching for your new camera. With the holidays around the corner, everyone is looking for the best value for the lowest price...I used these exact three steps to find the best digital camera under 200 dollars when I recently purchased a digital camera for my mothers anniversary trip (and yes, I did go over my budget a little with the extra memory cards...love you mom).
Step 1: Figuring out what you need
The best digital camera under $200
A mistake I commonly see, are buyers being sucked into buying cameras that are beyond what they really need. Some questions to ask yourself before you start shopping:
* What's your budget?
* What do you need the camera for? (Taking Snapshots, Video, or Professional Photography)
* What conditions will you be mostly photographing in? (indoors, outdoors, low light, bright light)
* Will you largely stay in auto-focus, or are you learning the art of photography?
* What type of features are you looking for? (Optical zoom vs. Digital zoom, external flashes..)
Ask yourself these questions prior to buying your new camera and you will be ready when you need to decide what type of zoom you want.
Step 2: Deciding how many Mega-pixels are needed
Mega-pixels are not as MEGA as they used to be...
One of the main features used to sell digital cameras is how many mega-pixels a digital camera has. When digital cameras were initially released (and selling for excess of $300-400 for a basic model), the mega-pixel rating of the camera was actually a very important statistic. As most cameras then, they were at the lower end of today's camera functionality and even a 1 mega-pixel increase was a significant upgrade. I would recommend a 10 MP camera if your spending over $100

canon powershot elph 520 hs 10 1 mp cmos digital camera with 12x optical image stabilized zoom 28mm wide angle lens and 1080p full hd video recording bllue, canon powershot elph 110 hs 16 1 mp cmos digital camera with 5x optical image stabilized zoom 24mm wide angle lens and 1080p full hd video recording silver, canon powershot d10 12 1 mp waterproof digital camera with 3x optical image stabilized zoom and 2 5 inch lcd, panasonic dmc fz150k 12 1 mp digital camera with cmos sensor and 24x optical zoom black, panasonic lumix ts4 12 1 tough waterproof digital camera with 4 6x optical zoom orange, sony nex f3kb 16 1 mp compact system camera with 18 55mm lens black, nikon coolpix l120 14 1 mp digital camera with 21x nikkor wide angle optical zoom lens and 3 inch lcd black, nikon coolpix p510 16 1 mp cmos digital camera with 42x zoom nikkor ed glass lens and gps record location red, nikon 1 j1 10 1 mp hd digital camera system with 10 30mm vr and 30 110mm vr 1 nikkor lenses white, panasonic lumix dmc gh2kk 16 05 mp live mos interchangeable lens camera with 3 inch free angle touch screen lcd and 14 42mm hybrid lens black, panasonic lumix sz7 14 1 mp high sensitivity mos digital camera with 10x optical zoom black, panasonic lumix sz1 16 1 mp digital camera with 10x optical zoom silver, canon powershot sx150 is 14 1 mp digital camera with 12x wide angle optical image stabilized zoom with 3 0 inch lcd black, panasonic dmc fh25k 16 1mp digital camera with 8x wide angle image stabilized zoom and 2 7 inch lcd black, canon powershot a3400 is 16 0 mp digital camera with 5x optical image stabilized zoom 28mm wide angle lens with 720p hd video recording and 3 0 inch touch panel lcd black, panasonic lumix zs20 14 1 high sensitivity mos digtial camera with 20x optical zoom red dmc zs20r, canon powershot sx260 hs 12 1 mp cmos digital camera with 20x image stabilized zoom 25mm wide angle optical lens and 1080p hd video red, olympus tg 820 12mp shockwaterfreeze proof camera red v104060ru000, panasonic lumix zs15 12 1 mp high sensitivity mos digital camera with 16x optical zoom silver, canon powershot s110 12 1 mp digital camera with 5x wide angle optical image stabilized zoom black, polaroid z340 3x4 instant digital camera with zink zero ink printing technology, nikon d600 24 3 mp cmos fx format digital slr kit with 28 300mm f3 5 5 6g ed nikkor lens, sony cyber shot dsc w650 16 1 mp digital camera with 5x optical zoom and 3 0 inch lcd black 2012 model, nikon coolpix s01 10 1 mp digital camera with 3x zoom nikkor glass lens silver, nikon coolpix p7100 10 1 mp digital camera with 7 1x optical zoom nikkor ed glass lens and 3 inch vari angle lcd, canon eos rebel t3 12 2 mp cmos digital slr with 18 55mm is ii lens canon ef 75 300mm f4 5 6 iii telephoto zoom lens, sony alpha slt a57 16 1 mp exmor aps hd cmos sensor dslr with translucent mirror technology and 3d sweep panorama body only, olympus om d e m5 16mp live mos interchangeable lens camera with 3 0 inch tilting oled touchscreen and 12 50mm lens black, canon eos 60d 18 mp cmos digital slr camera with 3 0 inch lcd and 18 135mm f3 5 5 6 is ud standard zoom lens, sony a77 24 3 mp digital slr with translucent mirror technology body only, canon eos rebel t4i 18 0 mp cmos digital camera with 3 inch touchscreen and full hd movie mode body only, ge power pro x500 bk 16 mp with 15 x optical zoom digital camera black, sony cyber shot dscw610 14 1 mp digital camera with 4x optical zoom and 2 7 inch lcd silver 2012 model, panasonic lumix ts20 16 1 mp tough waterproof digital camera with 4x optical zoom blue, canon powershot a4000is 16 0 mp digital camera with 8x optical image stabilized zoom 28mm wide angle lens with 720p hd video recording and 3 0 inch lcd red, canon powershot a4000is 16 0 mp digital camera with 8x optical image stabilized zoom 28mm wide angle lens with 720p hd video recording and 3 0 inch lcd black, canon powershot d20 12 1 mp cmos waterproof digital camera with 5x image stabilized zoom 28mm wide angle lens a 3 0 inch lcd and gps tracking blue, nikon d5100 16 2 mp digital slr camera 18 55mm g vr dx af s zoom lens with 16gb card case filter tripod cleaning accessory kit, nikon coolpix s8200 16 1 mp cmos digital camera with 14x optical zoom nikkor ed glass lens and full hd 1080p video red, nikon d7000 16 2mp dx format cmos digital slr with 18 105mm f3 5 5 6 af s dx vr ed nikkor lens, canon powershot elph 320 hs 16 1 mp wi fi enabled cmos digital camera with 5x zoom 24mm wide angle lens with 1080p full hd video and 3 2 inch touch panel lcd silver, fujifilm finepix real 3d w3 digital camera with 3 5 inch lcd, canon powershot a2300 is 16 0 mp digital camera with 5x digital image stabilized zoom 28mm wide angle lens with 720p hd video recording red, sony cyber shot dsch90bbdl 16 1mp camera with 16x optical zoom black bundle, panasonic lumix dmc gx1k 16 mp micro 43 compact system camera with 3 inch lcd touch screen and 14 42mm zoom lens black, canon eos rebel t3i 18 mp cmos digital slr camera and digic 4 imaging with ef s 18 135mm f3 5 5 6 is standard zoom lens, nikon coolpix s3100 14 mp digital camera with 5x nikkor wide angle optical zoom lens and 2 7 inch lcd silver, nikon coolpix s6300 16 mp digital camera with 10x zoom nikkor glass lens and full hd 1080p video black, canon powershot sx260 hs 12 1 mp cmos digital camera with 20x image stabilized zoom 25mm wide angle lens and 1080p full hd video green, kodak m583 digital camera value bundle kit w case 4gb card rechargeable battery charger red,