Say "Cheese"

UPDATE (12/31/2005): On boxing day, I bought this camera.

I have been blessed with a "techie" geekiness, a quality that my family and friends take advantage of to help them provide technology consulting services. I get contacted by people if they have a computer problem or need advice on buying a computer or some other gadget. I do not mind, but at times I feel overwhelmed. I cannot outsource my services to India, as I do know someone who can provide such a quality service for free. Fortunately, I have options now, as my blog will be my forum to educate my techie services seekers.

I have been researching to purchase a digital camera. Many people have asked me tips in the past, but I was unable to give a clear and concise answer. I have decided to post my criteria for finding a digital camera below. For additional reference, you can check out this report.

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Criteria # 1: Resolution

Resolution represents the number of pixels used to represent an image. Camera's measure resolution in mega-pixels. The more mega-pixels (MP), the better the quality. However, most people use digital camera's to take smaller pictures and email them, so you do not really need a large number of MP.

Rules of thumb:
2-megapixel camera: 5-by-7 print
3-megapixel camera: 8-by-10 print
4-megapixel (or greater) camera: 11-by-17 print

I am satisfied with a 4 MP because I do not intend to take larger pictures and I don't want something less than 4 MP because it would be too outdated.

Criteria # 2: Price

Price is usually effected by brand and mega-pixels. The higher the mega-pixels, the more expensive the camera. The maximum I was willing to spend was $350.00. Most of the camera's available at this price were 4 MP or lower.

Criteria # 3: Brand

Most sales people and online digital camera retailers agree that Canon is the best brand for digital camera's. Other brands such as: Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Olympus, and Sony also do well.

Criteria # 4: Optical and Digital zoom

One of the most important tasks you do with your digital camera is zoom. Zoom represents how much you magnify your subject. Optical zoom is more important than digital zoom because optical zoom magnifies without losing quality, digital zoom does not. I would look for atleast 3x optical and digital zoom.

Criteria # 5: Size

I personally would like to put my digital camera in my pocket so that it is easy to carry. Having a small, easy to handle camera makes life easier but difficult if you do not like clicking on the small buttons.

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There are a lot of other features that I could have mentioned, but the criteria mentioned above were the most important to me. It is always good to be an educated consumer before you make a large purchase because many times we purchase items based on price and not value.

So, the next time you go to the store and a Future Shop sales associate tries to sell you a digital camera, you should be able to see through his lies.