Passion for Photography - How to Buy the Perfect Digital Camera

In case photography has been your long-time passion, you probably already know many things on how to pick a good digital camera. A lot has been written on the subject, and this article is by no means directed at covering all of the information available. However, in case you are new in the area, it will offer you a basic idea on how to select the right digital camera.

In short, there are four things you should look at when selecting your digital camera: resolution, lens aperture, zoom and lens quality. Let's take each of them separately. The resolution of your digital camera indicates the number of pixels, or how detailed your picture can be. Digital camera resolutions normally range from 1.3 megapixels to 10 megapixels. With 1.3 megapixels you can have an acceptable 4x6 photo, or maximum 5x7. With higher resolutions you can get larger photos. For cameras above 6 megapixels, image size is no longer limited by resolution, but by other things such as lens quality.

One other thing to look at is lens aperture. It is used to estimate how much the lens can open. The higher the opening, the more light it gets, and the less ambient light you need to shoot a good photo. Many customers often overlook this characteristic, although it is rather significant. It allows you to shoot some good photos even indoors without using a flash. Pictures taken with no flash look more natural. Also, if you have just discovered your passion for photography new passion, you are likely to shoot a lot of photos, and the flash would drive people nuts. With higher aperture you don't normally need flash, which means you can shoot pictures less obtrusively. Note that small numbers (such as 1.8 or 2.5) stand for better aperture.

A zoom lens is a type of lens with variable focal length. A short focal length has a wide angle, enabling you to shoot photos of large areas. A long focal length is used for telephoto, and helps you photograph a person or an object at a long distance. A zoom lens combines these two and everything in the middle into just one, variable focal length. For instance, a zoom of x3 tells you that the longer focal length is 3 times longer than the shortest one. This is the standard zoom for most cameras, while the shortest focal length is usually 35mm, and the longest 105mm. You can also find superzoom cameras, which have the same short focal length, but a zoom of x8 or x10. Remember to always check the optical zoom, not the digital. Digital zoom only crops your picture, which you can easily do yourself in any photo editing software.

And last, but not least, you should also think of lens quality. Higher-quality lenses are sharper, and this will make a significant difference in your photo. Unfortunately, this is not something you can find on the camera box. The best way to go is to select reliable manufacturers that specialize in photo devices, and to search for reviews online. And while you are there, you can also look into what other customers say about the camera software, which is important for color rendition.