If you’re in the market for a digital camera, the choice available can be overwhelming. With so many brands and styles on offer, we’ve put together a few questions to help steer you in the right direction when you go shopping for your next one.
 
What do I need it for?
You may just roll your eyes and say, to take pictures, but how you plan to use your camera greatly influences (perhaps above everything except price) which camera you choose.
 
Do you want to shoot videos, do you take lots of shots of friends inside dark nightclubs, or do you want to get out into the great outdoors and snap a few artistic landscapes?
 
Be clear about what you will use the camera for and communicate this to the salesperson in the store. Contrary to what most people think, there isn’t really a jack-of-all-trades camera that does everything well. Some come close, but defining what you need your camera for will prevent you making any costly errors.
 
Megapixels
One of the most mentioned terms when it comes to buying a camera is megapixels. But what does it mean? And is bigger better?
 
Megapixel means a million pixels, a pixel being a point in the graphic image, so the more pixels, the more detail you can get into your photos. Given this, it would be natural to think that more is better, but again it comes down to use. If you just want to print out standard 4x6 prints then a 4 megapixel camera will be enough. If you are looking to do some professional work then you may want to start looking at the higher end of the scale.
 
Anywhere between 4 and 8 megapixels should provide more than enough quality for the average user.
 
Bits and Bobs
There are many other variables that can influence which camera but one of the main ones is battery life.
 
Although they may be cheaper, cameras that use regular batteries (AA, etc.) require them to be replaced very regularly (sometimes lasting less than a day) so the money you save up front will end up being eaten away by batteries. You are far better off buying a camera with a rechargeable, internal, battery.
 
Got any advice on buying a camera? Share it below.
 
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