Advice on buying a digital camera

The three primary points to bear in mind when purchasing a digital camera are:

Level of Control
Many people prefer the ideal digital camera to be one which they can use in automatic mode, letting the camera do all the work. Others will choose the digital camera that allows them more input in the creative process by manually adjusting the focus, speed, aperture and other settings. A simple point and shoot camera is the best digital camera for people not wanting to make any setting changes. The range of manual controls available on other cameras varies with make and model, and will require more research to find the best digital camera to meet your requirements. The point and shoot cameras are the cheapest to buy, but this does not necessarily mean that performance suffers.

Resolution
The resolution you need can narrow down which is the ideal digital camera for your requirements. The resolution affects the detail of an image for printing quality and the higher the resolution the greater the detail. The best digital camera for printing standard size pictures has a lower resolution than if you want to create oversize prints. The best digital camera for being able to edit and manipulate your images is one with a resolution of 8 or 10 megapixels so that you can crop the images with photo editing software and still print them out full size.

Size and Weight
The size and weight of a digital camera for one person varies greatly to that of another. If you want a camera that is lightweight and will slip into a pocket or purse then an ultra-lightweight camera will be ideal for your needs. These are often the least complex of the digital cameras as they offer point and shoot simplicity and are the best digital camera for beginners. At the other end of the size and weight scale comes the bulky SLR camera for the professional photographer who wants the best digital camera with all of the accessories to take the perfect shot.