Digital Camera Primer: 5 Factors To Guide Your Next Digital Camera Purchase

There is no limit to the number of choices you have when you decide to purchase consumer electronic products. Desktop computers, laptops, cell phones, printers, and especially digital cameras offer tons and tons of different models with options enough to confuse anyone who is not up on the product offerings.
That's why, when buying a digital camera, it is important to consider a few basic factors before you slap down your cash or enter you credit card number at an online store.
Here are some of the things to consider before ordering.
Digital Camera Cost
It has not been very long since digital cameras were very expensive and produced very poor quality images. Those days are gone. Today, $139 will buy you a 12-megapixel camera with enough features to satisfy the nerdiest of photographers. And $699 will even buy you an excellent digital SLR camera with a starter lens.
More important than the cost of the digital camera its quality and performance. Don't make the mistake of buying for price only. Check the user Star Ratings at the online stores. Those ratings are usually very accurate. They reflect what photographers with a similar budget to yours think of the camera that they bought.
Are Megapixels Still Important
Again, thinking back a few years, a three-megapixel camera was the dream of many folks. It was top of the line, and it was very expensive.
Now, the average sensor size is about 10-megapixels, with many going up to the 15-18 megapixel range.
With that in mind, the answer is, yes, the number of megapixels is still important. However, the quality of those pixels is equally important. You must understand that designers are stuffing more and more pixels into a sensor that is the same size as before. If the quality of those pixels is not upgraded along with the amount, the picture quality will suffer.
Getting a good 10-megapixel camera will give better photos than a 15-megapixel camera with poor picture quality.
LCD Screen and Display
Quality of the LCD screens is also improving. Along with that, many of the optical view finders have disappeared, especially in the compact digital cameras. That's why getting a large LCD screen with a display that is visible in all situations, including sunlight, is important. Look for LCD screens that are at least 2.7 inches in size and get the highest resolution your budget can afford.
Shooting Modes
Some people just want to "point and shoot." Of course, most cameras will provide that option. There is a "goof-proof" setting on every camera that will let the camera make every setting for you.
However, if you want a good camera that you can have some personal input into the settings if you want, there are lots of choices for that too. What you need to look for are the basic shooting modes, like portrait, macro, sunny, cloudy, and night settings. In addition to that, make sure you can set the camera to manual modes, such as Aperture priority and Shutter Speed priority just in case you get more adventurous with your camera and want to take control.

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 pink, canon powershot a2300 is 16 0 mp digital camera with 5x optizal image stabilized zoom 28mm wide angle lens with 720p hd video recording silver, nikon coolpix s4100 14 mp digital camera with 5x nikkor wide angle optical zoom lens and 3 inch touch panel lcd plum, kodak z990 easyshare max camera with 30x optical zoom and 12 mp blackbundle wmemory card rechargeable batteries hdmi cable and memory card, canon powershot a1300 16 0 mp digital camera with 5x digital image stabilized zoom 28mm wide angle lens with 720p hd video recording black, sony cyber shot dsc w610 14 1 mp digital camera with 4x optical zoom and 2 7 inch lcd blue 2012 model, sony nex 7 24 3 mp compact interchangeable lens camera body only, nikon coolpix l810 16 1 mp digital camera with 26x zoom nikkor ed glass lens and 3 inch lcd blue, pentax k 30 weather sealed 16 mp cmos digital slr with 18 55mm lens black, nikon coolpix l26 16 1 mp digital camera with 5x zoom nikkor glass lens and 3 inch lcd silver, nikon d5100 16 2mp cmos digital slr camera with 3 inch vari angle lcd monitor body only, olympus tg 320 14mp touch series camera with 3 6x optical zoom blue, 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 green, canon eos 5d mark ii 21 1mp full frame cmos digital slr camera with ef 24 105mm f4 l is usm lens, nikon 1 v1 10 1 mp hd digital camera system with 10 30mm vr and 30 110mm vr 1 nikkor lenses black, nikon coolpix p7700 12 2 mp digital camera with 7 1x optical zoom nikkor ed glass lens and 3 inch vari angle lcd, canon powershot sx50 hs 12 1 mp digital camera with 50x wide angle optical image stabilized zoom, leica 18176 v lux 40 14 1mp compact system camera with 3 0 inch tft lcd body only black, nikon coolpix s3300 16 mp digital camera with 6x zoom nikkor glass lens and 2 7 inch lcd purple, nikon coolpix l810 16 1 mp digital camera with 26x zoom nikkor ed glass lens and 3 inch lcd red, nikon coolpix s800c 16 mp digital camera with 10x optical zoom nikkor ed glass lens and 3 5 inch oled touch screen black, sony nex 5rkb 16 1 mp compact interchangeable lens digital camera with 18 55mm lens and 3 inch lcd black, nikon coolpix s6300 16 mp digital camera with 10x zoom nikkor glass lens and full hd 1080p video blue, panasonic lumix ts20 16 1 mp tough waterproof digital camera with 4x optical zoom orange, sony cyber shot dsc w690 16 1 mp digital camera with 10x optical zoom and 3 0 inch lcd black 2012 model, nikon coolpix aw100 16 mp cmos waterproof digital camera with gps and full hd 1080p video orange, nikon coolpix s9100 12 1 mp cmos digital camera with 18x nikkor ed wide angle optical zoom lens and full hd 1080p video black, canon eos rebel t2i 18 mp cmos aps c sensor digic 4 image processor full hd movie mode digital slr camera and ef s 18 135mm f3 5 5 6 is ud standard zoom lens, nikon d600 24 3 mp cmos fx format digital slr camera with 24 85mm f3 5 4 5g ed vr af s nikkor lens, fujifilm finepix s4000 14 mp digital camera with fujinon 30x super wide angle optical zoom lens and 3 inch lcd, canon eos rebel t2i 18 mp cmos aps c sensor digic 4 image processor full hd movie mode digital slr camera with 3 0 inch lcd and and ef s 18 55mm f3 5 5 6 is lens, sony cyber shot dsc hx30v 18 2 mp exmor r cmos digital camera with 20x optical zoom and 3 0 inch lcd black 2012 model, evga geforce 8400 gs 512 mb ddr3 pci express 2 0 dvihdmivga graphics card 512 p3 1300 lr, sony cyber shot dsc hx100v 16 2 mp exmor r cmos digital still camera with carl zeiss vario tessar 30x optical zoom lens and full hd 1080 video, canon eos 60d 18 mp cmos digital slr camera with 3 0 inch lcd body only, olympus om d e m5 16mp live mos interchangeable lens camera with 3 0 inch tilting oled touchscreen silver, nikon coolpix s3300 16 mp digital camera with 6x zoom nikkor glass lens and 2 7 inch lcd silver, olympus tg 1ihs 12 mp waterproof digital camera with 4x optical zoom, canon eos digital rebel t3i 18mp slr camera 18 55mm 75 300mm super bundle, canon powershot sx40 hs 12 1mp digital camera with 35x wide angle optical image stabilized zoom and 2 7 inch vari angle wide lcd premiere bundle with 8 gb secure digital high capacity sdhc memory ca, sony cyber shot dsc wx150 18 2 mp exmor r cmos digital camera with 10x optical zoom and 3 0 inch lcd black 2012 model, nikon d5100 16 2mp cmos digital slr camera with 18 55mm f3 5 5 6 af s dx vr nikkor zoom lens and sigma 70 300mm f4 5 6 sld dg macro lens with built in motor 16gb deluxe accessory kit, nikon coolpix s4300 16 mp digital camera with 6x zoom nikkor glass lens and 3 inch touchscreen lcd plum, olympus xz 1 10 mp digital camera with f1 8 lens and 3 inch oled monitor white, canon powershot s100 12 1 mp digital camera with 5x wide angle optical image stabilized zoom silver, canon eos rebel t3 12 2 mp cmos digital slr camera and digic 4 imaging body with 1 year usa warranty, nikon d800e 36 3 mp cmos fx format digital slr camera body only, canon powershot sx130is 12 1 mp digital camera with 12x wide angle optical image stabilized zoom with 3 0 inch lcd, pentax optio wg 2 16 mp digital camera azure bluesuper bundle includes 16gb memory card reader battery case tripod floating wrist strap screen protectors lens cleaning kit, nikon coolpix p510 16 1 mp cmos digital camera with 42x zoom nikkor ed glass lens and gps record location black,