All those megapixels

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

Digital cameras commonly use an LCD screen instead of a viewfinder to focus on your subject, though some come equipped with both. Check the size of the screen when buying a digital camera to be sure you can comfortably see your subject. It's also really handy to have a flip screen that allows you to hold your camera low or high, and still be able to see what's on the screen.

Fun features...

Many digital cameras offer settings for such things as burst shooting mode, which is handy if you want to take pictures of moving subjects. The camera shoots a series of pictures without pause, then writes the files to memory. Other features allow for manually changing settings, special effects, short digital movie files, using an external flash, and much more. Look over several different cameras, decide what features you just have to have, and which are on the "nice to have but not vital" list. No one camera will do everything well.

Get the Picture...

You've got to get the pictures out of the camera to share them. Usually the files are downloaded to your computer through a USB port, so make sure your computer has one. Also, keep in mind when choosing a camera, the more megapixels, the bigger the files. You've got to store those files somewhere, so how much memory is available on your computer? Does it have a CD burner?

However, you can still buy a digital camera even if you don't have a computer. Many photo labs, even in places like Walmart or Kmart, have machines with the capability of making prints and/or photo CD's from memory cards, and will make a disk of the files, sort of like digital negatives.

There's also the option of buying a photo printer with a docking station for your camera. Just plug the camera into the docking station, and bypass the need for a computer to print.

Cash After Camera When buying your digital camera, keep some cash in reserve, because there are two more important purchases you need to make.

1. Memory - The digital camera's equivalent of film, the amount of memory determines how many pictures you can take. Different cameras use different types of memory, so the first step is to find out what your camera uses. The most popular types are: Secure Digital (SD), CompactFlash (CF), SmartMedia (SM), Memory Stick (MS), MultiMediaCard (MMC), and xD-Picture Card (xD).

Cameras are usually packaged with a small MB-sized card. A second card of 64 MB is good, but of course the more MB and the more cards, the more pictures you can take before having to download and erase the images. The different cards are NOT interchangeable, so be sure to buy the right kind for your camera!

2. Battery - There's nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of snapping pictures and the battery dies. Get extras. It's worth the expense to have a second battery charged and waiting should the one in your camera lose power. The rechargeable ones are more expensive, but the ability to use them over and over makes them worth the initial outlay of cash.

That's The Total Package!