I'm thinking of getting a digital camera...

What Camera should I buy? Keith teaches several digital photography classes in Leicester and regularly gets asked what digital camera people should buy - and often has to admit he hasn't a clue! -- So much of it depends on why you want a camera in the first place.

He's collected together some useful links about camera purchase he's found when helping people decide. There are also some of his own thoughts on what you should be looking for, for your first digital camera.

Topics

Some Initial questions

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There are an ever growing number of digital cameras available, with a bewildering array of features. What do you do if you're thinking of getting a new camera and are tempted to go digital?

I'm assuming that if you're reading this then your enquiries have got as far as a search of the web. That's a good starting point.

If you are bewildered by the sheer number of models available, but have a good idea of what is important to you (card type, weight, zoom range or any of dozens of other distinguishing features), the best comparison page I've found is at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp

You select what features you want and a search is made - there are often in-depth reviews available as well.

Rather than repeating what's on countless other sites, I've decided to suggest some questions you need to ask yourself and I've also picked a few sites that I think give good general advice, and have themselves got good collections of links to other info.

Try looking at some of the guides to ensure some familiarity with the terminology. By all means ask other people what they use, but be sure to find out what they take pictures of and how they do their prints as well.

Try asking how much it all costs, and don't forget to include all those extras like memory cards and batteries.

You might like to look at my review of the Ricoh GX100 that I've written, if you are from a film rangefinder camera background. It's not a detailed technical comparison like you will find on some of the sites I've suggested visiting, but more my own impressions of using the camera.

Some questions first

Just a couple of important questions to answer before you go...

What do you -actually- want to do with your digital camera?

Holiday pictures?
Photography as a hobby?
Large prints?

Have you any idea about how much money you might be prepared to spend on a new camera?

Don't forget that getting into digital photography -can- easily become rather expensive.

There are all kinds of additional expenses you might not have thought of.

Not only the new camera but also...

A good printer?
Ink and paper for the printer?
More memory cards for your camera?
...and software for your computer?
Maybe a more powerful computer?
Learning how to use the software?

Considering your own answers to these questions should help you wade your way through the vast range of cameras available.

Look out for price drops heralding the arrival of new models, and perhaps consider if the latest features are worth the extra money?

The cheaper, quicker, easier way...

You may just want to take your memory cards into a local outlet for printing, or use one of the on-line photo printing services. Many people find this a great way of getting into digital photography without the hassle of editing and printing their own photos.

Do give some consideration to keeping your photos for the future - if you can get your pictures saved to a CD as well as printed, you can always go back and get more prints - if you print them and then wipe the card, they are gone forever.

Storage cards are not expensive - get several of them and take more photos. I've seen people carefully deleting pictures off cards to get more space. Unless it's an emergency, don't bother, get more cards (and remember to mark them with some form of identification)

One other thing is still to consider another film camera ... they work well and will be round for a -few- years yet! If you are still using film, you might like to look at the free Picturememory 'guide to Digital Photography'

One more thing... OPTICAL ZOOM GOOD - DIGITAL ZOOM BAD!

Optical zoom increases the real detail in your pictures - digital zoom just magnifies a bit of your picture, often giving very disappointing prints. My own view is that digital zoom is purely an invention of marketing departments - since I've yet to find any real use for it...

Camera review sites

Since I first put together this guide a few years ago, the number of review and information sites has rocketed. However many of the earlier ones are still the best, with in depth reviews and consistent styles.

General info (useful for non specialists and experts alike)

http://www.dpreview.com/
DP review - in-depth reviews. Consistent, and useful for finding out info about older cameras (nothing wrong with most cameras a year or two old if you are just getting in to this)

http://www.steves-digicams.com/
Comprehensive reviews

http://imaging-resource.com/
Imaging Resource includes detailed technical reviews and the famous Comparometer

http://www.dcresource.com/
DC Resource - site keeps up to date and covers new equipment promptly

http://new.dpnow.com/
Helpful site with useful reviews and info

http://www.easytorecall.com/digital_cameras.htm
Reviews of lots of places you can get digital cameras in the UK

For a range of current offers and prices have a look at a few of the sites listed on the left and at the bottom of the page. Remember that you can often save a great deal just by searching around.

Quite often you may find that a local camera specialist will match prices for bona fide web offers. I tried this when looking for a digital camera in Leicester a while ago. This saved me several hundred pounds on the camera I purchased - and has the benefit of a real shop with real people in it that I could complain to if things went wrong!

Tutorials and guides

http://www.picturememory.co.uk/
A very good introductory guide on Digital Photography. Over 60 pages aimed at helping people get into digital photography.

http://www.digital-photography-tips.net/
A very useful site for people getting into digital photography - Covers things like composition, printing and what to look for in a camera that will meet your needs. All done in a helpful clear non-technical style.

The Kodak digital learning centre has a wide variety of well written guides and articles such as: http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=38&pq-locale=en_US
Loads of tips on how to take better pictures

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/learningcenter/ISEO-rgbtcspd/home/digitalcameras.html
Concise, one page review of all the terms and camera features you will hear about - with links to lots of further info

http://photos.msn.com
Taking better holiday photos - many other good articles and tips

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6501_7-5020667-1.html?legacy=cnet
A brief guide to some of the terminology of digital cameras

http://www.digital-camera-buying-guide.com/
Well written general guide

http://www.imaging-resource.com/
reviews and tips for getting better pictures

Equipment Manufacturers sites

Remember, that the heavy hand of marketing is at work! Do look for independent confirmation before you decide that some 'new' feature is just what you need...

Canon	Casio	Epson	Fuji
HP	Kodak	Nikon	Olympus
Pentax	Ricoh	Sony	Sanyo
Toshiba

Storage / Memory Card manufacturers

Your camera will probably need more storage than comes in the box. The sites below represent some companies that produce it.

Lexar Media - Sandisk Media - Kingston - Simple Tech

If you are taking lots of pictures you might want to consider whether you need a laptop computer with you or use an external storage device like the Epson P-2000 or one of several other similar devices available for photo storage.

I travel with a stack of 1GB and 4GB cards, making backup DVDs as I go along (2 copies of each) Every so often I'll mail one set back home, so even if my camera and baggage was lost, the pictures would be OK! That's maybe a bit more than you'd want but it does pay to consider what you are doing about your pictures before a trip :-)

Photo Editing software

Many cameras come with image editing software, and as a starting point it is often worth trying it out. If you have a Mac you should look at iPhoto which comes free from Apple - a well thought out piece of software that makes it easy to get into the world of digital photography.

Do consider carefully just how much time you want to devote to learning and using software for editing and printing your digital photos. Think about your level of computer skills, and whether you really really want to take the time to learn a new software package?

For organising photos and basic editing (PC only I'm afraid) you could try Picasa from Google.

If you do want to do a bit more with your photos. There are a number of very good photo editing packages available. In fact, there are so many I decided just to discuss the packages I use for my own photographic work and for teaching.

I use Photoshop for all the pictures on this site. It certainly is a great program, but is not cheap!. For most of my teaching I use Photoshop Elements (some tips here) -- it has most of the useful features you would want for a fraction of the price of Photoshop, and is often bundled free with scanners and cameras. It is also available for both Mac and PC. Details of digital photography courses I run in Leicester (UK), are on the teaching page. Web versions of my introductory tutorials using Photoshop Elements 2 are now available on this site (free for private non commercial use).

You will often find a range of courses are available in your local area. Be sure to check that they are available for your particular choice of editing software and what level of existing computer skills they need.

Although I freely admit my personal preference for Apple Macintosh computers, there are some useful tips for all at the Microsoft XP digital imaging site.

We have a version of Google's Search engine, optimised for photography related items that may be of use in finding more information...

Keith is always happy to discuss matters raised in his articles. You can contact Keith at the address below.

Other areas of our site that may be of interest...

NEW -- Create your own customised A3 size wall calendar from a choice of 90 of Keith's images. Choose your own images for your own custom printed calendar - 12 months starting any month of the year - many all new images not yet in our main gallery.

Digital Black and White. Keith was recently interviewed about digital black and white photography for a magazine article. We have an expanded version here covering some of his thoughts, techniques and tips for those thinking of trying black and white.

As well as our Commercial Photography services and Training there is a growing collection of photography Articles and Reviews on the site aimed at helping you get the best out of your own photography. We also have a growing collection of Photography related information and links that we hope you find useful.

New site features and some of Keith Cooper's latest work are always covered in the What's New page.

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