There is a digital camera out there for every kind of would-be photographer. Whether you just like to take pictures on vacation, or you’ve decided to try your hand at becoming a professional, there’s a digital camera tailored to your needs. The problem is there are so many digital cameras out there, each with its own set of features, that trying to choose one can make a person swear off photography altogether. This guide helps cut through the confusion by explaining the concepts you're most likely to encounter in your search for a new camera.

 

Megapixels

Megapixels are always the biggest selling point in digital camera ads. Camera manufacturers love to show off how many megapixels their cameras are capable of taking. But what is a megapixel? Digital images are made up of tiny points of light called pixels. If you stare very closely at your computer monitor, you can see it is made up these tiny points. Approximately 1,000,000 pixels add up to a megapixel. The more megapixels per picture, the more tiny dots that picture is made up of, and the better the picture’s resolution is. That makes it easier to enlarge without artifacts showing up in it.
However, unless you’re taking pictures on your cell phone, all but the cheapest cameras that tend to be made more as children’s toys have enough megapixel capability that you don’t need to worry about it for personal use purposes. While packing the extra megapixel power can be nice, after a certain point, it doesn’t matter that much. Unless you are planning on shooting some billboard images or have other professional needs for higher image quality, even a 6MP camera may well fulfill all your needs.

Lenses

Much like with film photography, lenses are perhaps the biggest deciding factor in what makes a good picture. While there are many different kinds of lenses, the cameras that use them fall into five basic categories:

Fixed-focal-length lenses

These cameras have lenses that don’t move, so they cannot zoom optically. Instead, they generally blow up an image digitally, also called a digital zoom. These are generally found on lower priced cameras and have a tendency to take lower quality images. But because they are inexpensive and small, they make great travel cameras. Think of them as the digital equivalent of low-end point-and-shoot cameras that you can buy in the checkout aisles of chain stores.

Retractable zoom lenses

Retractable zoom lens cameras look a lot like fixed-focal-length cameras, except they have zoom lenses that can move. This allows them to have a more traditional optical zoom. Be careful though -- some cameras will advertise amazing zoom quality, but all they really do is add the optical zoom and digital zoom together. When not in use, the lenses fold up into the camera’s body, making it fairly portable. Although they tend to be a bit larger than fixed-focal-length cameras, they still tend to be very affordable, lower-end cameras.

Folded optics lenses

These are those trendy cameras you see that almost look more like a credit card than a camera. The lenses are hidden by a protective case, giving it a sleek look. Although you can’t see the moving parts, they often have optical zooms as powerful as retractable zoom lenses. Because they maintain high quality while managing to cram a camera into something the size of a deck of playing cards, they tend to be a little more expensive.

Fixed zoom lenses

These cameras tend to get a bit more complicated. They also have moveable lenses, but they don’t fold up into the body, making them a lot bulkier. They tend to provide higher levels of quality, however. They also tend to require higher levels of expertise to use. Don’t expect them to be cheap, either. This is closer to a “real camera,” something more for people who consider themselves photographers, as opposed to people who just take pictures occasionally.
 

 

Digital Single Lens Reflex

This is basically a traditional film camera, except without the film. One of the major features a DSLR affords you is the ability to change lenses depending on your shooting needs. In fact, if you still have a film SLR, you might even be able to use your old lenses on a new DSLR. They also have much quicker startup times than your typical point-and-shoot, which will often introduce a delay between the time you turn the camera on and the time you're actually able to take a shot, as well as between the time you depress the shutter button and the time the image is actually taken. If you can't afford to miss a shot, you're probably starting to get into the realm of considering a DSLR over a point-and-shoot digicam. Digital SLRs rely a lot more on the skill of the photographer as opposed to fancy automatic shooting modes, although many also offer automatic and preset shooting modes in addition to extensive and precise manual controls. These cameras are bulkier, heavier, more complicated to use and expensive, but a high-end photographer will have nothing less.

 

Batteries and Memory

While your average film camera could accept pretty much every kind of 35mm film, digital cameras can only use one kind of memory card. Just because a camera is inexpensive doesn’t mean its memory will be cheap, so keep your eye on that if you are looking to cut down on costs. Typical memory card formats in use in digital cameras include SD or SDHC (a high-capacity version of the SD format), miniSD, microSD, CompactFlash, xD Picture Card, Memory Stick or Memory Stick PRO, and SmartMedia (the latter is an older storage format you may run into if purchasing an older used camera). These memory types use different physical form factors and are not interchangeable, so it's important to know which type or types your camera supports. Since memory cards are standard storage formats, you may have a collection of one or more types from other portable devices you own, in which case you might want to look specifically for a digital camera that supports the storage format you already own.

The same cost consideration goes for extra batteries as well. Many digital cameras won’t take AA, so having replacements on hand is generally a good idea.

 

Features

Here is where things get really tough. Digital cameras often have more features than a car. The can record video, audio, play back music, movies, have special image modes, larger LCD screens… it can become overwhelming. There are two things to remember when purchasing a camera, however: how likely are you to use this feature and how easy is it to actually use? You may want a camera that allows you to digitally resize your images in the camera itself, but if you’re never going to be able to figure out how to use it, the feature is worthless. Assess your own photography and technology skills and don’t get too excited by the flashy extras.