Shopping Tips for Digital Camera Enthusiasts

You've probably seen those disposable digital cameras for sale at your favorite store. They're usually part of a display that features a family on vacation taking fun-filled pictures of each other, or on-lookers heaving handfuls of rice and snapping photos of a newly married couple. But are those disposable digital cameras really any good?

For people who have yet to purchase a digital camera, but need to have a good quality means of taking some photos for a vacation or a one-time event, a disposable digital camera might work well.

Certainly the quality of the photos may not be quite as stellar as a real digital camera, but the disposables do offer some distinct advantages. They're great for youngsters who are excited about taking pictures, but not yet ready for a real digital camera.

They work well for when you're on your way to your cousin's wedding, but forgot to bring your digital camera from home. Swing by the store on the way to the church and grab one or two. And they're convenient because you get your photos back in a disc (if you want), which you can plug into your computer and upload.

While disposable digital cameras definitely have a place, if you're into taking top quality photos, you'll still be better off with a non-disposable digital camera with better features than are available with disposable versions. Still, disposable digital cameras are great for "emergencies" and fun for the kids.

You're ready to buy a digital camera - great! Here are the things you need to consider in order to find a good deal on the right digital camera for you:

Know your features.

What's a mega pixel?
What about memory?
What is an LCD?

Mega pixel - Your digital photo is made of a bunch of tiny dots, called pixels. One million dots is a mega pixel - the more mega pixels, the sharper the picture. Cameras are sold from 1 to 11 mega pixels.

You can shop for the most mega pixels that will fit into your budget, but if you're only going to be printing smaller photos and sharing them online, a 2-mega-pixel camera will work as well as a 4 or 5 mega pixel camera. Do your homework first.

Memory - Memory is to a digital camera what film is to a conventional camera. You can't take photos without it. All digital cameras come with built-in memory, but you can purchase additional memory cards in case you're snapping away and the internal memory fills up (which happens).

LCD - Most digital cameras come with an LCD (liquid crystal display) that allows you to see your photos as you take them and then review them as needed. This is a wonderful feature. The bigger the LCD on your camera, the easier it is to see your photos.

Usually, they also display your focus area too, which is very convenient. They eat up lots of energy, so have extra batteries on hand! Another very important factor to consider is price. Prices for digital cameras range from under $100 to the thousands. Again, do your homework.

Shopping online for your digital camera is a very convenient method because it allows you to comparison-shop and find excellent deals, plus you can do it from the convenience of your home or office.