By Bruce D Hunter
Whenever you go online to buy anything at all there are certain things that you should and shouldn't do... just for the sake of making sure that you're getting what you want, getting a good value, and that your purchase is completely safe.
Now everybody loves taking photos, and digital cameras are always a hot item and can be found all over online, but many people still aren't exactly sure how to shop for a digital camera on the Internet. You might just be one of them.
One of the first things that you should know before you attempt to buy a digital camera on the internet is to know what type of camera that you actually want. There are many different types of cameras that are miles apart as far as price. You can get a camera for as low as about a $100 or you can pay up to $3000 or more...and that's not even including many of the accessories that you might get.
Not only does price-range play a huge role but so does the camera itself. Are you just a point and shoot type of person who needs only a small compact camera that you can take anywhere simply to take pictures of the family? Or are you an avid digital photographer who absolutely loves the photography craft and plans to take wonderful award winning shots. Either way it's very good to consider this before hand... and know the difference between the many different models of each type.
Now you also want to know a thing or two about the dynamics of the digital camera. You'll want to know what a megapixel is and what it means to have more or less. Here's a hint: just like most things in life...more is better. Most of the lower end digital cameras today don't go below 6 megapixels. Now of course about 3 or 4 years ago six megapixels on a compact was amazing, but nowadays with compact cameras that go as high as 18 megapixels, six megapixels isn't anything to write home about.
Now if you're truly looking to create superior pictures with professional quality then you're best bet is to look for an SLR digital camera. What the heck is an SLR you ask?
SLR stands for "Single Lens Reflex" and basically these are the cameras that have the long extended lens, and usually - but not always - have a view finder rather than the LCD screen common to digital cameras now days.
Now many people make a large part of their digital camera purchase decision on the zoom range of a camera. This is where things can certainly get confusing due to the way that the camera companies represent the zoom of their lenses in their marketing.
There are essentially two kinds of zoom: optical zoom and digital zoom. So what's the difference? The term optical zoom is the zoom that you would use before you shoot the picture. So basically like the older dinosaur cameras, before the digital days, you had a zoom on your camera where you'd turn the lens and get a closer shot...that's optical zoom.
Digital zoom is a different beast altogether. This type is really more of a cropping than zooming in a sense. It's utilized after the pictures been taken, where you're able to zoom in on an object within the photo. This is much less practical. The tricky part however is when the companies combine the two and state the zoom range using both the optical and the digital in order to make it look much larger and more appealing. It's a marketing tactic more than a technical explanation. Basically the one to look for is the optical zoom.
Now of course the question of how to buy a digital camera on the internet begs the question of where to buy your digital camera. You certainly want to focus on a website that's got a good reputation and has knowledge of the products. Many sites offer reviews and hearty descriptions of the various digital cameras and that's actually a very beneficial luxury...especially when you're not sure.
Just make sure that the site that you're buying from is safe, and that they know what they're talking about and you'll be fine.
Whenever you go online to buy anything at all there are certain things that you should and shouldn't do... just for the sake of making sure that you're getting what you want, getting a good value, and that your purchase is completely safe.
Now everybody loves taking photos, and digital cameras are always a hot item and can be found all over online, but many people still aren't exactly sure how to shop for a digital camera on the Internet. You might just be one of them.
One of the first things that you should know before you attempt to buy a digital camera on the internet is to know what type of camera that you actually want. There are many different types of cameras that are miles apart as far as price. You can get a camera for as low as about a $100 or you can pay up to $3000 or more...and that's not even including many of the accessories that you might get.
Not only does price-range play a huge role but so does the camera itself. Are you just a point and shoot type of person who needs only a small compact camera that you can take anywhere simply to take pictures of the family? Or are you an avid digital photographer who absolutely loves the photography craft and plans to take wonderful award winning shots. Either way it's very good to consider this before hand... and know the difference between the many different models of each type.
Now you also want to know a thing or two about the dynamics of the digital camera. You'll want to know what a megapixel is and what it means to have more or less. Here's a hint: just like most things in life...more is better. Most of the lower end digital cameras today don't go below 6 megapixels. Now of course about 3 or 4 years ago six megapixels on a compact was amazing, but nowadays with compact cameras that go as high as 18 megapixels, six megapixels isn't anything to write home about.
Now if you're truly looking to create superior pictures with professional quality then you're best bet is to look for an SLR digital camera. What the heck is an SLR you ask?
SLR stands for "Single Lens Reflex" and basically these are the cameras that have the long extended lens, and usually - but not always - have a view finder rather than the LCD screen common to digital cameras now days.
Now many people make a large part of their digital camera purchase decision on the zoom range of a camera. This is where things can certainly get confusing due to the way that the camera companies represent the zoom of their lenses in their marketing.
There are essentially two kinds of zoom: optical zoom and digital zoom. So what's the difference? The term optical zoom is the zoom that you would use before you shoot the picture. So basically like the older dinosaur cameras, before the digital days, you had a zoom on your camera where you'd turn the lens and get a closer shot...that's optical zoom.
Digital zoom is a different beast altogether. This type is really more of a cropping than zooming in a sense. It's utilized after the pictures been taken, where you're able to zoom in on an object within the photo. This is much less practical. The tricky part however is when the companies combine the two and state the zoom range using both the optical and the digital in order to make it look much larger and more appealing. It's a marketing tactic more than a technical explanation. Basically the one to look for is the optical zoom.
Now of course the question of how to buy a digital camera on the internet begs the question of where to buy your digital camera. You certainly want to focus on a website that's got a good reputation and has knowledge of the products. Many sites offer reviews and hearty descriptions of the various digital cameras and that's actually a very beneficial luxury...especially when you're not sure.
Just make sure that the site that you're buying from is safe, and that they know what they're talking about and you'll be fine.
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