Welcome to our simple "Buying a Digital Camera" guide which you should find useful if you are just looking to buy your first digital camera or upgrading to a better model.

 TYPES OF CAMERA :- There are four main types of digital cameras ranging from simple point and shoot models that start at around £80 up to top end professional D-SLR cameras costing many thousands of pounds. So, let's start by having a look at what type of digital camera would suit you: 

COMPACT CAMERAS (Point & Shoot) These are simple easy to use cameras for people with little experience of photography who just want a small pocket sized camera that takes good photo's and will produce standard sized prints with little effort. A budget of between £70 and £100 will get you one of these models.

COMPACT CAMERAS (Advanced) Advaced compact cameras are still easy to use in their Auto modes, but will give the user more control of how the image will look, they have Aperature Priority, Shutter Priority & Manual modes where the experienced user can set the exposure themselves, they also have a better build quality with higher specified lenses etc. You will normally have to pay in excess of £200 for a new camera of this type.

SUPERZOOM CAMERAS This type of camera makes a good all-in-one solution and offers the same features found in the Advanced Compact but with a large optical zoom lens that will cover just about any subject from general snaps to wildlife & sport.  These cameras are aimed at enthusiast's and make an ideal traveling companion, Mp ratings are usually around 10 Megapixels and prices are normally upwards of £200.

D-SLR CAMERAS D-SLR cameras give top quality results and are aimed at enthusiasts up to pro users; they are designed so that you can change lenses to suit almost any photograhic situation, accessories such as powerful flash units, battery packs, remote controls etc can be added to make your own system.  Build quality is very high with entry level models costing around £300,  pro models are expensive and can cost many thousands of pounds.

 "TIP":  Publications such as "What Digital Camera" or "Which Digital Camera" -  are full of useful information about buying a digital camera with recommended best buys.  Also you could visit an Internet digital camera review site to compare different models try  http://www.dpreview.com/  and  www.steves-digicams.com/ .

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 FEATURES :- You should  by now have a basic idea of which type of digital camera appeals to you, and we can now move on to look at what features you can expect to find in digital cameras..

MEGAPIXELS :-   All digital cameras will have a Megapixel rating this is because they use a sensor to capture your image digitally, the sensor achieves this by having a surface covered in light sensitive elements that gather individual pieces of your image called a pixel, one million of these pixels are known as a Megapixel (1 Mp) .

Don't be to worried about Megapixel ratings as most basic point-and-shoot cameras start at a rating of 8 Mp these days and thats more than enough to give a print up to 12" x 8" in size, as a general rule the more pixels you have the bigger you can make your prints without losing image quality.

IS (Image Stabilisation) :-  This feature is now becoming very common on  digital cameras and is well worth having.  I think at one time or another we have all taken photographs in poor light that have been ruined by image blurring .  This feature allows you to use shutter speeds two or three times slower than normal and compensates for any camera movement giving you a sharp image. 

ZOOM LENSES :-  Most digital cameras will have a zoom facility that enables you to get a closer view of your subject; they are refered to by how many times they can enlarge the subject - a rating of x3 will make a distant subject 3 times larger, x6 six times larger, and so on.  Digital cameras achieve this in two ways:

Digital Zoom :-  This works by the cameras software cropping away the photo's outer edge and then enlarging what remains to the original size, resulting in a lower quality final image.

Optical Zoom :-  These work by enlarging the image using a zoom lens, similar to a pair of binoculars, this results in a true high-quality image.

"TIP": Our advice is that, when choosing a Compact digital camera make sure that it has an Optical Zoom and not just a lower quality Digital Zoom.

SCENE MODES :- Not everyone wants to learn how to set up a digital camera to give the best results in every circumstance.  Camera manufacturers are aware of this problem and supply most of their cameras with preset "Scene Modes" that optimise the cameras settings for various subjects automatically, making creative photography as simple as choosing the required Mode from a dial on the camera body (as shown).

Symbols are used for the Scene Modes to make it easier to choose which one to use.  If you look carefully at our example of a Scene Mode dial, you will see that one symbol is of a lady's head and this setting is for shooting close-up portraits; mountains with a cloud is for landscapes, a running man is for fast moving action - easy isn't it?

 

 

 

 

 

VIEWFINDERS & SCREENS :-   All Compact digital cameras  come with an LCD screen built into the back of the camera.  This screen is very useful, as you can see what your photo will look like before you take it and then you can immeadiately review what you have taken and, if you do not like the result, you can simply erase it and try again.

Most Superzoom cameras also come with a small EVF (electronic viewfinder) as well as the screen - this is similar to those found on Camcorders and is like looking at a small TV screen to view your picture.  This gives you a choice of using the screen or EVF to suit the lighting conditions you find yourself in.

Digital SLR cameras are different from the other two types of camera in that they have a high-quality optical viewfinder which uses a system of mirrors to allow you to look through the actual lens. They also come with a screen on the rear of the camera, screens on early D-SLR cameras could only be used  to review the pictures you had taken and view menus - but recent models now give you a live view of the scene as in the other two types of camera.

"TIP":  If buying a Compact digital camera I would look for a model that, in addition to the screen, also had an optical viewfinder (i.e., what you look through on traditional film cameras). The reason we recommend this is that, in very bright sunshine, the screen can be difficult to see and, if this is the case, you can always use the optical viewfinder and still get your picture. 

STORAGE AND MEMORY CARDS :- Most basic and some of the advanced compact cameras come with some internal memory built in to store your photos, but this is often not enough, so they also use small re-usable Memory Cards. You remove these when full and either take them to your favourite processor to get a set of prints (your Card is then returned to be used again and again), or you can use a card reader to transfer your images to your computer to process as you wish.

                                                                                     

Superzoom & SLR cameras generally do not have internal memory and solely use re-usable Memory Cards. The good news is that they are now cheap to buy and last for many years - most have at least a five-year guarantee. CompactFlash, SD (secure digital) and xD are some of the most commonly used types of Memory Card: the higher the capacity of the Card the more images you can store on them.

    

 

 

 

 

BATTERIES :- Digital cameras are power hungry and, because of this, most manufacturers include with their cameras a battery charger and a rechargeable Battery Pack, or a set of rechargeable  2000mAh or higher rated "AA" Ni-MH batteries.  If this is not the case you will have to budget for buying these into your total cost for your new camera.

"TIP": Always carry a spare set of batteries with you in case of an emergency, and if your camera uses AA Ni-MH  rechargeable batteries and they run out, don't worry if you have not got a spare set with you, as you can always buy a set of cheap normal AA batteries to get you out of trouble.

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 RECOMMENDED BEST BUYS :- Your choice of camera is of course a personal decision, but we do have our own favourite recommendations for the different camera types:

COMPACT CAMERAS :-  There are many good models in this category, but the range of compacts produced by Canon are hard to beat.  Within their Powershoot A & G ranges, there are cameras to suit all tastes and budgets which have over the years proved to give excellent image quality and reliability.  Panasonic in their TZ & FX ranges have many very good cameras that are also well regarded.

SUPERZOOM CAMERAS :-  Our favourites in this category are the Panasonic Lumix  FZ28 and the Canon SX 10 IS, both these models come with image stabilisation which helps in getting sharp images.  These models make great travelling companions as in good light they produce excellent image quality, and with their high specifications they can tackle most subjects.

D-SLR CAMERAS :-  Two D-SLR manufacturers stand out from the others simply because they are so well known these being Canon and Nikon, over the years they have consistently provided award-winning models time after time. 

They have D-SLR cameras to suit novices up to pro users and we cannot really recommend one brand or model over the other, have a look at their D-SLR ranges and you will normally find what you are looking for.  

We are also very pleased to say that manufacturers such as Pentax, Sony, Panasonic and Olympus have produced some excellent D-SLR's over the last few years and are now giving the big two stiff competition, so choose your D-SLR wisely and you really can't go wrong. 

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 WHERE TO BUY :- If you are reading this guide, then you are well on the way to buying your choice at a good price.  This is because you are connected to the Internet and that is where the best deals are to be found.  Once you have decided what you want check what the best price is on the Internet by using a good price comparision site (in the UK try http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/ or http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/ ).

"TIP": Try before you buy. have a close look at your choices in a local shop, if possible see if they handle as well as you expected. make a note of the price, and then see what it sells for on the internet.  If there is little price difference, buy from your local dealer, if there is a large price difference ask the dealer if they will price match, if not then buy from the Internet. 

Another great way to save money is to buy a refurbished camera straight from the manufacturer.  These are normally returned items from retailers that have been overstocked, displayed or returned just because the customer either didn't like them or thought they were faulty.  They are all checked and, if found faulty, repaired re-boxed and sold with a guarantee at a discount price (look on our Links page for sites selling refurbished cameras). 

"TIP": Ebay is a good place to look for a bargain and if you find a good deal and it is on a "Buy Now" basis then go for it, but "BEWARE" always find out what the camera you wish to buy sells for elsewhere.  I have watched many items on eBay sell for over the price you can pay on the High Street, just because bidders did not know the street price before making their bids.

Now a word of warning: if your local camera dealer is advertising "Internet prices on the High Street", just remember that some camera prices on the Internet can and do cost just as much as from your local Dealer, so the statement doesn't mean much does it?  But, by all means find your lowest price, including postage, packing and VAT, of an item in stock on the Internet, and ask the Dealer if he will price match - after all they can only say "no".

Finally, we hope you found this guide useful, but if you feel that you require further information, go to our "Links" page where you will find other sites which offer a far greater in-depth look at buying a digital camera.

 

 

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