How to Pick the Best Digital Camera- Digital cameras for the holidays

How to Pick the Picture Perfect Digital Camera
By: Rudi Xeno

With fall here and the Holiday Season fast upon us it's hard to imagine that digital cameras are not high up on the gift list.  With the blaze of fall colors now appearing and anticipating Thanksgiving family gatherings and holiday snowfall many of us are anxious to buy a camera for ourselves or a gift. But what type and brand are you interested in? A Digital SLR (dSLR) digital camera?  Shall it be a Sony Digital Camera?  Or maybe a Canon Digital Camera?  Nikon, Fuji, Panasonic, compact, ultra compact, mega-zoom... the choices are near endless.

Six Things to Consider Before Purchasing Your New Digital Camera
Let's see if we can make some sense of all this and make shopping for your new digital camera just a bit easier.  Whenever I'm asked for recommendations for a new digital camera (or any item for that matter), the ancient adage "Know Thyself" immediately comes to mind. 

When it comes to digital cameras ask yourself these six core questions: 

• How serious a photographer are you or do you aspire to be?
• How much money do you want to spend? 
• How often will you use your camera? 
• Is video important? 
• How old is the budding photographer? 
• Do you have any special requirements?

Before we look at each of these questions let's get a couple of issues out of the way.

Megapixels: The world seems to have gone megapixel mad.  This morning I was looking at a popularly priced Point & Shoot Digital Camera offering 12.1 MP.  Whatever number of megapixels you buy today, know that they will be eclipsed in a matter of months.  Trust me, my Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Digital Camera, featuring 7.2MP was lost its cutting edge status within 12 months. Take comfort in the fact that anything 6MP and above will produce outstanding quality for the overwhelming majority of us.

Zoom: When we discuss camera zoom, we're referring to the optical zoom.  Digital zoom, while sometimes helpful is simply the camera being instructed to crop a central portion of the picture.  When employed, it immediately begins to degrade the captured image.  Today even entry level digital cameras offer at least 3X Optical Zoom.

So let's proceed. Back to the six key questions:

• How serious a photographer are you or do you aspire to be?
  
  The most serious amongst us will probably gravitate toward Digital SLRs.  These are the big (in relative terms) cameras that allow you to view and compose the picture by viewing it through the lens.  The photographer can operate the camera in fully automatic mode, program mode, or in completely manual mode for maximum creative control.  Just a couple of years ago a dSLR digital camera would cost upwards of $1,000 or more.  Today, there is a significant number of cameras in this category at sub $1,000 prices like: Canon digital cameras, Nikon digital cameras and Sony cameras among others.
  
  The Nikon 10.2 Megapixel 18-55mm Zoom Digital SLR Camera at $549.99 is a particularly attractive buy and is highly regarded.  Similarly, the highly rated Canon 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera, EOS Rebel XS, has been a professional and consumer favorite at $599.  And Sony with its introduction of the Sony Alpha 10.2 Megapixel 18-55mm Zoom Lens Digital SLR Camera brings a massive number of megapixels to the party for just $499.99.  But if you insist on breaking the bank or having the latest and greatest know that Nikon has just introduced the Nikon 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body at a whopping $1799.99.  Interestingly, TV and HD Video have long been key selling points of less expensive Point & Shoot Digital Cameras.  Go figure!
  
  Below the dSLR camera category we come to the Point & Shoot digital camera Category which can be further refined into Compact, Ultra-compact, mega-zoom sub-categories.  We'll touch on them all.

• How much money do you want to spend on your digital camera?
  
  Notice I didn't ask what you could afford. That's a similar yet different question. Don't be afraid to go low here if you just want to test the waters of this whole digital thing. While just a few years ago, I found myself spending close to $1,000 for my first dSLR-like digital camera, today you can actually buy a similarly tricked out digital camera, from a well-known manufacturer (Kodak, Fuji, Olympus) for as little as $150.00.

• How often will you use your digital camera? 
  
  The more often you plan to use your digital camera, the more important you'll find its portability to be.  So as we turn to Point & Shoot Cameras let's think about the answer to that question.  The sweet spot of this category is the Compact Digital Camera.  These cameras typically will be up to 4" w x 2.5" h x up to 2"d.  Equipped with 3X - 4X Optical Zooms and capable of TV quality video, these digital cameras are small enough to fit in a jacket pocket or purse but generally too large to comfortably fit in a shirt pocket.  Camera weight is usually less than .5lbs.  With MP ratings of 8 MP they represent an incredible value for their price.  My current favorite in this category is the Canon PowerShot 10.0 Megapixel 3X Optical Zoom Digital Camera available for $199.99.  You did hear that right. An additional feature of this digital camera by Canon is that it gives you the ability to shoot in automatic mode through manual mode for increased creative effect.  It also offers both Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) for steady shots as well as a Face Detection for increased accuracy of autofocus. If you don't need to carry your camera all the time in your pocket, this is an ideal choice.  Other fine choices in this category are offered by Panasonic, Sony and Samsung among others.
  
  In the Ultra-Compact category, Canon digital cameras again seems to just about own this segment with its wildly popular and highly rated PowerShot SD Digital Elph Series.  My current favorite is the Sony Cyber-shot® 12.1 Megapixel 4X Optical Zoom Digital Camera ($279.99).  This small, extremely compact digital camera with a substantial metal build quality is among the most popular cameras in the country.  These cameras are about the size of a Motorola V3 Razr cell phone.  Other digital camera brands with quality offerings in this segment include Casio, Olympus, Sony and Kodak.

• Is video important in your digital camera?
  
  Virtually all Compact and Ultra-Compact Digital Cameras are capable of taking high quality video (at least 640 x 480) at 30 fps.  But some, such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ5 Digital Camera, are capable of producing HD Video.

• How old is the budding photographer? 
  
  I ask this question from personal experience.  Most of the digital cameras we've discussed have motorized extending lenses that are at least nominally protected by some type of lens protector.  Suitable for adult users, but often vulnerable to the beating it can take from a 10 or 11 year-old who throws her camera into her school backpack each morning.  I purchased a Fuji internal zoom lens Ultra-compact where the lens is protected by a sliding cover that also serves to turn the camera on and off.  A current example of this type of digital camera is the Fuji Finepix Z33WP, 10 MP, 3x optical zoom, 2.7" LCD digital camera ($179.99). Although the lens is internal it offers the typical 3X Optical Zoom, Movie Mode and a special Blog Mode.

• Special Requirements
  
  Some photographers like me have special needs.  I use my digital camera for landscape and nature shots in addition to family occasions where I try to squeeze in large groups of people.  My Panasonic Lumix ZS1K 10MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Zoom ($279.99) offers me a very generous 10X Optical Zoom starting with a true wide angle 25MM - a long telephoto 300MM.   This lens by Leica allows me to squeeze off wide-angle shots as well as taking intimate, unobserved shots with its powerful telephoto.

Additional Features to consider when buying your digital camera
Although mentioned in the body of this article I find two features extremely important and wouldn't now buy a digital camera without them both.

• Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) gives you the ability to take clear in-focus photos shot in low light or of high speed sequences (sporting events).
• Face Detection is an important new feature. Because a majority of snapshots are of people, the ability to accurately expose and focus on the face is a feature you shouldn't do without. Many current models can detect up to six faces in the same photo. This is an amazing feature in relatively low cost cameras.

So, what is my bottom line on digital cameras?

Digital Cameras are now so popularly priced that it's hard to think of a reason to do without.  Any of the digital cameras recommended in this article will give you satisfying results at very reasonable prices.  So, as the holidays approach I guess it's only appropriate to say "Cheese!"

Quick Links

• Nikon 10.2 Megapixel 18-55mm Zoom Digital SLR Camera ($549.99)
• Canon 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera, EOS Rebel XS ($599)
• Sony Alpha 10.2 Megapixel 18-55mm Zoom Lens Digital SLR Camera ($499.99)
• Sony Cyber-shot® 12.1 Megapixel 4X Optical Zoom Digital Camera ($279.99)
• Canon PowerShot 10.0 Megapixel 3X Optical Zoom Digital Camera ($199.99)
• Panasonic Lumix ZS1K 10MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Zoom ($279.99)
• Fuji Finepix Z33WP, 10 MP, 3x optical zoom, 2.7" LCD digital camera ($179.99)
• Nikon 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body ($1799.99)

Rudi Xeno resides in Boca Raton, Florida with his wife and 11 year-old daughter.  Following a rewarding 25 year career in International and Corporate Financial Management with one of the largest (and healthiest) financial institutions in the US, he now runs a small specialty chemical company that produces high efficiency cleaning products and has interests in the coin laundry industry. He is a hard-core DIYer and his hobbies include:  Cooking, photography, writing and soap-making.

He is a featured writer in Home & Garden as well as Electronics Topics on a number of Internet web-sites.  When not at work or writing he takes