Welcome to our "Buying a Digital Camera" page, if you are just looking to buy your first digital camera or upgrading to a better model, then you couldn't have picked a better time as they have never been better or cheaper.
There are four main types of digital cameras ranging from simple point and shoot models that start at around £80 up to top flight 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:
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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 with little effort. They will normally have a rating of around 5 Megapixels which is ideal for standard sized prints. |
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COMPACT CAMERAS (Advanced) Advaced compact cameras are still easy to use in their auto modes, but are aimed at people who want better quality results, they usually have Aperature Priority, Shutter Priority & Manual modes where the user can set the exposure themselves, they also have a better build quality and ratings start at around 7 Megapixels, all this doesn't come cheap so expect to pay upwards of £200 for one of these models. |
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SUPERZOOM / BRIDGE 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, ratings start at around 7 Megapixels with prices from around £200. |
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D-SLR CAMERAS D-SLR cameras give top quality results: they are aimed at enthusiasts, semi-pro and 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 normally excellent and on the pro models it is superb. Megapixel ratings start at 6 Mp and an entry level model will cost around £300 with pro models costing many thousands of pounds. |
"TIP": Get yourself down to your local Newsagent and buy a copy of "What Digital Camera" or
"Which Digital Camera" - they 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/ .
You should 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 would like in your camera.
MEGAPIXELS :- One of the first things that you need to decide upon is how many Megapixels you will need in your camera, for those of you who are now thinking what on earth is a Megapixel? Well a brief discription is that in all digital cameras you have a sensor that captures your image digitally, it does this by having a surface covered in light gathering elements called pixels, one million pixels is known as 1 Megapixel (Mp) .
So if your camera is a 6Mp model it means that it's sensor has 6 million pixels to capture your image. Don't get to hung up on how many pixels your camera has, most basic point-and-shoot cameras start at a rating of 5 Mp these days and thats more than enough to give great 7" x 5" prints, the more pixels you have the bigger you can make your prints without losing quality (if you want more information have a look at our "Mighty Megapixel" page).
IS (IMAGE STABILISATION) :- This feature is now becoming very common on the latest 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 caused by using a shutter speed that was to low to avoid camera shake. 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 digital camera which has a zoom facility make sure that it is an Optical Zoom, as this is the better-quality option.
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).
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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 the first symbol is of a lady's head and this setting is for shooting close-up portraits; next is mountains with a cloud and this setting is for landscapes. In time you will be able to guess what settings a symbol represents by just looking at it - easy isn't it? |
VIEWFINDERS & SCREENS :- Digital cameras all 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. You can immeadiately review what you have taken and, if you do not like the result, you can simply erase it and try again.
Superzoom / Bridge 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 & MEMORY CARDS :- If you still don't fancy "Going Digital" yet, then how does never having to buy a roll of film ever again sound; also, no more fiddly loading and rewinding? Ever accidentally opened the back of your Camera and ruined your photos? Never again if you go digital!
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.
| Bridge & 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.
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 worth a look.
SUPERZOOM & BRIDGE CAMERAS :- Our favourites in this category are the Panasonic Lumix FZ8 and the FZ18 and the Canon S5 IS all of these models come with image stabilisation to assist in getting sharp images. Not to be overlooked is the Finepix S9600 this model is also highly regarded for it's image quality.
D-SLR CAMERAS :- Two D-SLR manufacturers stand out from the others, simply because they have consistently provided award-winning models time after time, these being Nikon and Canon. We cannot really recommend one over the other, have a look at their D-SLR ranges and you will normally find what you are looking for. Over the last few years manufacturers such as Pentax, Panasonic, Sony and Olympus have made great strides in improving their models and are now more than worthy of consideration.
WHERE TO BUY RECOMMENDATIIONS :- 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 using a computer 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":