Choosing which digital camera to buy can be a bewildering process. Take some of the confusion away with our guide to digital camera technology.

While it's true--to a certain extent--that the more megapixels a digital camera can capture, the better it is, and that the more functions a digicam has, the greater its versatility, it doesn't always work out the same way for everyone.

In fact, the majority of digicam users out they are simply looking for a digital camera that's easy to use, compact and produces good point-and-shoot pictures. However, with so many models with varied functions being launched every week, it's hard to decide what to get that fits both your pocket and needs. Confusing more features for a better camera, these very same users end up splurging on a unit that offers far more than what they really need.

So how do you find a good point-and-shoot camera that's made for you? Here are a couple of useful tips we've rounded up to help you on your way to making the right purchase choice.

Resolution (or megapixels)
The most common term used in digital cameras is probably the resolution or number of megapixels a camera can capture. The higher the resolution, the more details you can take, the better the image quality. But not all of us need such a high-resolution digital camera.

Currently, the 2- and 3-megapixel units being offered in the market are more than sufficient for most users who just want to make prints no bigger than 4R (4 x 6inches) in size. In fact, if you just want to take pictures for the Web, an entry-level 1.3-megapixel digicam should suffice.

The thing to note is to know what you want to do with the digital images you've captured. Unless you have intentions of making prints larger than A4, there is really no point investing in a camera that is 4 megapixels or higher.

Zoom
One of the most misinterpreted pieces of information on digital cameras is the zoom. Most digicam manufacturers simply multiply the digital zoom and optical zoom capabilities to tout a higher zoom rating for their camera. In actual fact all the digital zoom does is to take a portion of the image and enlarge it digitally by interpolation. The actual work is done by the optical zoom which uses the lens to enlarge the image.

Thus, our advice is to look at the optical zoom rating of the camera rather than the combined zoom. This gives you a better idea of how far the camera can really zoom. The general rule of thumb is to get one with at least a 3x optical zoom, which is the standard found on most digital cameras nowadays. This will come in handy when taking shots where the action is a distance away.

Viewfinder/LCD
The biggest difference between a film and digital camera is the LCD viewfinder. While both formats come with an optical viewfinder, the LCD display is what makes a digital camera more fun and easy to use. So here's where you should really choose a camera that offers a reasonably good LCD display. Not only does this make your images more pleasant to look at, the LCD screen acts as a good measure of how well your shot has been taken when you're playing this back. Really cheap digital cameras come without LCD screens at all, mainly because you probably don't want to look at the poor quality pictures that they offer anyway.

Connectivity
Connecting a digital camera to the PC is rather straightforward these days, with most digital camera manufacturers adopting USB as the standard connection port. This is should be compatible with both Windows and Mac systems, as long any needed drivers are supplied. Watch out for older models of digicams. These use serial port connections which can make your digital transfers between camera and PC achingly slow.

Camera settings
If you are looking for a point-and-shoot digital camera, you really don't need a lot of manual camera controls as you will be shooting in automatic mode most of the time. Having said that, automatic settings do not always give you the best pictures. Therefore, a few features you should probably have in your camera are white balance, exposure, shutter speed and ISO settings.

Power
Anyone who uses a digital camera knows that they can drain batteries amazingly fast, especially with the LCD display switched on. So it may be wiser to stick to a camera that uses rechargeable batteries as well as commercially available ones, namely AA-sized batteries. This way, you won't need to worry about running out of power during outdoor shoots. At the same time, you also don't have to spend a fortune on batteries.

Storage
The 8MB or 16MB memory card that comes with your digital camera is not going to let you make full use of your camera. Thus the first thing you will probably need to get after buying a digital camera is a higher-capacity card. Currently, the four most common types of memory media for digital cameras are: CompactFlash; SmartMedia; Memory Stick; and SD (Secure Digital)/MMC (MultiMediaCard).

CompactFlash is the oldest and most popular format among the lot because it delivers the highest capacity (up to 512MB and 1GB) and is also the cheapest. But the more expensive Memory Stick and SD/MMC are increasingly being offered in digital cameras today because of their smaller size and the devices they support. Sony uses CD-R/RW as well as floppy disks for its Mavica series of digicams but these cameras are often costly and much bigger in size.

So what should you buy?
Armed with the information we've given you, the next logical step would be to decide how much moolah you're willing to part for that camera. With Digital Cameras, it's most definitely worth doing your research and not just plopping down your cash for the cheapest camera you can find. While there are some excellent budget range cameras, there's also an awful lot of trash out there.

A good place to start is in our digital camera section. Here you'll find reviews of such cameras as the FujiFilm FinePix 2800 Zoom, the Nikon Coolpix 5000 and the Kodak DX3900. It's worth making the effort to properly research your camera buying decisions now; that way you'll end up with the best possible camera and the best possible results.

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