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Todays there are many models of digital cameras in the market. They are different in price, feature and quality.
This article offers advice about buying a digital camera. If you are a new photographer and have no idea how to select a digital camera, I recommend you
to manage your budget first. Suppose that you have a budget of USD350. You may pay USD300 for a digital camera and pay USD50 for accessories.
Then you focus cameras that are under your budget.
The list of cameras and their specification are shown in the section of camera. They are classified by price in order to make it easy to select the one that
is in your budget. The prices are in US$. However, you can convert to your currency by multiply them with exchange rate. Search for exchange rate
by Google Search Engine which is at the top of this page. The keyword is "currency exchange rate".
Click here to select one that is under your budget
After you select the one that meets your requirement. The next step is to select where to buy it, local camera shops or online camera shops.
If looking for expert help when purchasing a digital camera, particularly first time buyers, consider buying a digital camera from a local camera shop.
Digital cameras may cost a bit more at a local camera shop but it is often worth it for the service you get in return.
A merchant may even lower the price if you ask.
The attraction of buying a digital camera online is the lower price. Be careful, the word 'high risk high benefit' is true. Before making decision you
have to do some homework. Check the reputation of the merchant. Make sure it is an authorized camera dealer. The dealer should have a proven track
record and be recognized by others for providing good service.
If the price is so low, it may be grey market. If so, you must find out the answers of the following questions.
Does it have a warranty and is it eligible for authorized repair in your own country?
Are camera drivers and electrical components compatible in your country?
This table collects advantages and disadvantages of buying a digital camera at a local shop and online shop.
| Local Shop |
Online Shop |
| Higher price |
Lower price |
| Hold camera in your hand before purchasing |
See only the picture and specification, can't check the camera ergonomics prior to purchase |
| You can check accessories until you satisfy before payment |
Accessories such as memory cards may be counterfeit |
| No risk of being cheated |
Greater risk of being cheated if you are not dealing with a well-established merchant |
| No waiting, get the camera after payment |
Must wait for delivery and possible shipping and insurance charges |
| Easier to check reliability and reputation of the merchant |
Difficult to check reliability and reputation of the merchant |
| Merchant may not have a variety of items in stock |
Wide selection of cameras and accessories |
| More time and effort to comparison shop |
Comparison shopping between merchants is simply a mouse click away |
| Pay local sales tax |
Sometimes no sales tax for online purchases |
| Personalized service |
Customer service, if available, may be poor |
| Knowledgeable personnel can help answer questions and are often willing to continue to do so after purchase | Consult by email |
| Dealer may handle warranty and repair work |
You may have to ship you camera back by mail to get service |
| Shops open in office hours |
Make purchases 24 hours a day |
It is not necessary to buy all accessories at the beginning. Buy only ones that are always used and plan to buy the others when you have more money.
A few accessories that should be considered at the beginning are memory card, rechargeable batteries, tripod and camera bag.
Memory Card
A digital camera is shifted from manufacturer with 16 or 64 MB of internal memory/memory card. How many pictures you can
take if you use this memory. It depends on what resolution you set on you digital camera. If you are not a professional photographer, you need
about 1 MB to save a photo for normal use i.e. you can take only 16 photos if you insert 16 MB memory card into your digital camera. That is not enough
for a trip. I recommend you to buy a 256 MB memory card. If you can buy a 512 MB or 1GB memory card, it is great. You can check
the taken pictures in the screen and delete them if they are not good in order to save memory. However, some pictures look good in the screen of
digital camera but they look not good in the screen of computer. The cause of this is that the screen of digital camera is only 2" or less while the
screen of compouter is 17" or larger. The bigger screen can show more details. If the picture is not perfect it look worse in large screen. If you are a new
photographer who has not much experience in photo taking, I recommend you to take two shots or more for a picture. After you load them in your computer
you have choices to select the best one and delete the others. So you need more memories in your digital camera but it is worth because you cannot back
to re-take the passed event.
Rechargeable Battery
A high capacity memory card make it possible to take as many photos as you need in an outdoor trip. However, If you have not enough power you cannot utilize it.
A set of battery cell and charger is packed in the box of digital camera. It is enough for a short trip. Although the batteries can be recharged, it take time.
Thus you should have spare rechargeable batteries to replace the exhausted ones when you go on outdoor trip.
Tripod
There are many factors to make a perfect photo. One of them is the maner you hold the camera. You must hold it steady while you are pressing the shutter.
Even slight camera movement causes blurred image. To prevent camera shake, use a tripod. A tripod is also useful to take your image while no one controls
the camera. Here is the simple steps to take your image. (1)put your camera on a tripod (2)focus the object (3)set the timer in your camera on
(4) walk to the object you focus (5) wait there until the shutter is pressed by timer.
Camera Bag
A camera bag is useful to collect camera, memory card, batteries, charger etc. to the same place. To make sure you do not forget something, put everything
you need to use in a camera bag before travelling.
Other accessories are wide angle lens, macro lens, zoom lens, UV (Ultra Violet) filter, polarizer filter, external flash, waterproff case.
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