There are few things to do before going to the shop and buying new camera. There will be always available new and fancy looking cameras that have more powerful specifications and more mega pixels. There are different companies releasing new products every year. Most of them have different products for people with different needs.

One question that people usually ask when choosing new camera in is: “What camera is the best?” The other popular question is: “Which camera is better, this one here or maybe the other one there?” There is no one and easy answer to similar questions. I think that there is no such thing as perfect/best camera for everyone.

Before actually buying one you should ask yourself – is this camera right for me! What is important for you?

If you have made photos before then choosing new camera is a bit easier process. Important is to think of the subject of you photos. What kind of photos you are going to make? Have you done mostly photos of your family, friends or would you like to make some nature photos in sometimes difficult lighting conditions? Or maybe you have deeper interest in photography and you would like to be able to use manual settings? Do you want to have the freedom to use different lens to achieve your goals better? Are you planning to sell your photos?

What is the difference between digital and analogue camera? Digital cameras use light sensitive sensor and store image data on storage medium digitally. Analogue cameras use light sensitive medium to store image data.

What is SLR camera? – SLR is single lens reflect camera. SLR cameras use light sensitive medium to store image data.

What is DSLR camera? - DSLR camera is digital single lens reflect camera. DSLR camera stores image data digitally.

What is MP? – If a digital camera has 5 Mega pixels then it means that such camera can save image data about 5 million pixels. The more pixels your camera can record, the more little dots/pixels you have in your digital photos.

What is pixel? – Pixel is one dot in a digital photo. Every digital photo consists of many pixels. The more pixels you have the bigger picture you have. If you have more pixels, you can print bigger picture.

What is MB? – Megabytes are used to count data that is being stored digitally when taking photos. Every digital camera can save some amount of image data on a memory card or in a camera memory. One 512 MB memory card can store approximately 200 photos, made with 10MP camera.

1MB = 1024 Kilobytes

1KB = 1024 Bytes

1 Byte consists of 8 bits.

Image size – the actual image size depends on camera settings and lighting conditions too. You can set image quality to higher or lower in most cameras. I would recommend using higher image quality because it is impossible to turn back the time ;)

Photo camera - It is easier to divide photo cameras into four bigger groups.

1. Analogue cameras

2. Digital cameras

3. SLR cameras, (single lens reflect camera, uses light sensitive medium to store image data)

4. Digital SLR cameras, (digital single lens reflect camera, stores image data digitally,)

It is not easy to divide cameras into more specific groups because there are many different products from different companies, but let’s try 

It seems that the majority of cameras that are bought every day are digital cameras.

I would divide different digital cameras into 6 groups:

Group one – entry level digital cameras with low price. These cameras usually have 4-7 MP light sensors. 4-7 MP is necessary and sufficient for family photos. These cameras usually have 3-4x optical zoom. You can use fully automatic preset or use preprogrammed scene presets (beach, snow, night, portrait …) for taking photos in different conditions. One thing that you don’t need is a digital zoom. It does not matter how many digital zoom different cameras can use. It is better if you do not use digital zoom at all. You can always enlarge photos digitally later with your photo editing software.

Group two – medium priced, a bit more advanced digital cameras. These cameras usually have 7-8MP sensors and 3-5X optical zoom. You can use fully automatic preset or use preprogrammed scene presets (beach, snow, night, portrait …) for taking photos in different conditions. One thing that you don’t need is a digital zoom. You can always enlarge photos digitally later with your photo editing software.

Group three – digital cameras with higher price but with a specification that is valuable and unique in some way. There are waterproof cameras (Olympus mju 790 SW) and cameras with stylish and unique design. One good thing to look for is mechanical image stabilization. Some digital cameras have optical zoom up to 20X (Olympus SP 570 UZ) and this is really powerful magnification.

Group four – entry level Digital SLR. These are good to start using and learning DSLR cameras. You have the possibility to change lens plus many manual settings. At the moment entry level DSLR cameras start with 6MP, some newer cameras have 8-10MP already.

Group five – medium priced Digital SLR cameras for photo amateurs and photo enthusiasts.

New technologies that are being used in this group are mechanical image stabilization and dust removal technologies. Better camera sensors with higher light sensitivity and less noise. Less noise means better image quality when using higher ISO settings. Medium priced DSLR cameras may have live preview opinion.

Group six – professional Digital SLR cameras are usually for people who make living with photography. Ergonomically designed, bigger and weatherproof camera bodies. Top technology and advanced camera settings. More auto focusing points = faster focusing. Better camera sensors than in previous groups.

Do you want to be sure that you have found the right camera for you? I believe that it is important to make a decision. Do not let other people tell you what is right for you. No one knows you better than you yourself! It is good if somebody can be helpful and recommend you what to buy. But this will be your camera, so you have to choose it and make a decision. If you are not sure, (if you don’t want to make the decision) then you have to take more time and think this over.

When you have found the right camera for you, before you go and buy it, you should find some sample photos made with this camera. One good web site with many sample photos is (http://www.pbase.com/cameras). You can find many useful information if you type “yourcameraname review” or “yourcameraname sample photos” in Google or any other search engine.