Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution. —Ansel Adams

Oh, so many choices...
So, you want to buy a digital camera.

“There is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept.”–-Ansel Adams

3 kinds of Digital Cameras...well, actually 4 but...
There are 3 different basic kinds of Digital Cameras.
1:  The Point and shoot -- pocket cameras, where everything is automatic.
2:  The DigiCams*** where you can switch out of automatic into manual mode, and take creative control.
3:  The Digital SLR’s single lens reflex cameras that use interchangeable lenses and large image sensors.
There is a 4th type of digital camera, they are "Digital Backs" for large format 4 x 5 cameras. However,  we can’t afford them as the price tag is in the 5 figure range --- from $20,000 - $30,000.
***Because most digital cameras can shoot video, some with a resolution as high as a 640 x 480 pixels and some even record audio too, we will refer to the digital camera as a "digicam." I suspect that eventually the movie camera and still digital camera will be a "Digicam."

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. -Ansel Adam

How Many Megapixels?
Resolution is only part of the digital camera story.
You shouldn’t just use resolution as the bases for the reason to buy the camera.
The purpose of the camera should determine how many megapixels you need to do the job.
If you are using the camera to take pictures for the web and making small prints up to 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 inches then 1 or 2 megapixels is adequate, except now manufacutures have stopped making the low resolution camera, but, the good news is the 3 megapixel point and shoot cameras cost the same as the older 2 megapixel cameras...so the bottom line is... get at least a 3 megapixel camera... Need even more detail, then get a 4 megapixel camera. You can print excellent 13" x 19" pictures with a 4 megapixel camera!
If you consider your self an advanced amateur, or professional, a 5+ megapixel ‘digicam’ or  a SLR will fit the bill.
If you own a 35mm SLR camera, a film scanner with a resolution of at least 3600 dpi is equivalent to an 8 megapixel SLR digital camera. (3000 x 2000 pixels)

You push the button, we do the rest. -George Eastman, 1888 after the development of Kodak camera.

When buying a “Digicam” consider the following:

1. The lens.
A camera with a brand named lens like Schneider-Kreuznanch, Leica, Carl Zeiss, Nikkor, Fujinon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax or Minolta will yield better and sharper pictures than cameras with “off” brand or no name lenses.
The larger the diameter of the lens, the more light it can gather, and thus the better the detail in the image.
These ‘named’ lenses are usually Aspherical —lens whose edges have been flattened so that the lense is not a perfect sphere.
Lenses that are aspherical and have been corrected for chromatic aberration, are often referred to as being an apochromatic lens.
The better zoom lenses have lens elements made from calcium fluoride crystal and fluorite and are quiet expensive.
Most lenses are made from crown and flint optical glass and might exhibit some purple fringing in extended zoom mode.
Some digital cameras now use lenses made from Ceramics.
Most reviewers and camera manufacturers have sample pictures on their web sites. Compare before you buy.

“One photo out of focus is a mistake, ten photo out of focus are an experimentation, one hundred photo out of focus are a style.” anonymous

2. Lens aperture. More light is better!
A lense with an aperture of f/1.8 is terrific, f/3 is okay and f/4.0 the upper limit. The smaller the number, the better off you’ll be as the lense will let more light fall on the imaging sensor, letting you shoot at a faster shutter speed.
Some of the really cheap point and shoot cameras have plastic lenses with an f stop as high as f/9.7 With a camera lens that slow the flash will need to be used all the time, even in day light.

“The ultimate photographic camera will imprint a scene directly into a person’s memory. -Anonymous

3. Focal Length and The Optical Zoom Lense
Most camera manufacturers state the camera's focal length using the 35mm standard where, lenses with a focal length smaller than 35mm will give you a wide angle of view. A focal length of 44 mm gives a "normal" view. 100mm focal length is equivalent to about a magnification of about 3 times.
Most “digicams” cameras come with a versatile 3 times or 4 times zoom lens. Look for a Minimum of a 3 to 1 ratio in the zoom with the low end of the focal length at or about 35mm and the high end around 100mm. Anything smaller or bigger in focal length is a bonus. Some manufactures have lenses that go as low as 27 - 28 mm in focal length for a "Wide Angle" camera, and they might have an identical camera with a "normal zoom" lense say from 38 mm and up... 
Some cameras feature large zoom ranges from 5 times to 12 times magnification, if you like to do nature photography of birds, animals, sports, landscapes you might find a large optical zoom range very useful.  If you want that kind of a camera make sure the camera has built in image stabilization, and buy a good tripod at the same time!

Ignore the camera's digital magnification numbers, you can do digital zooming better in a post production program like PhotoShop or PhotoShop Elements.


“A hundredth of a second here, a hundredth of a second there–even if you put them end to end, they still only add up to one, two, perhaps three seconds, snatched from eternity.”----Robert Doisneau

4. Manual everything (Aperture, Shutter speed, Focal length, Focus, ISO, and White Balance)
If you want to take creative control, the more expensive digicams and SLR's let you set "manually" set how the camera will perform.
Most cameras can save EXIF data along with you photograph. They store the time, date, shutter speed, aperture and just about everything you’d care to know about the photograph including focal length and then some in the pictures data. Some printers can use this EXIF data to print the picture with the correct color gamut and color profile. Some cameras are PictBridge enabled. You can send the digital pictures directly to a PictBridge enabled printer with out a computer.

“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”----Robert Capa

5. Focus    
Digital cameras either use Contrast between light and dark areas to focus the lense or they bounce a light (or a laser beam) off of the subject back to the lense. Cameras that use the light beam method for auto focus just plain focus better than cameras using the contrast method.  Look for a camera that uses an auto focus assist lamp.      

"Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be."  ~Duane Michals

6. Flash
A hot shoe for a second or remote flash.

7. Accessories, sometime what you got ain’t enough...
Make sure the camera can accept macro, wide angle, telephoto adapters, filters and a tripod.


8. Batteries.

A:  Proprietary batteries
Some camera manufacturers supply you with proprietary batteries (Usually made with Lithium Ion)... buy a second one to go with it!  Unfortunately they are somewhat expensive.  The cameras will come with a charger for the included battery, and these days the batteries will last for several hundred snaps or more.  Just don't forget to charge the battery after a day of photography. 

B: Re-Chargeable Batteries
Some will come with ordinary AA or AAA alkaline batteries. (They don't cut it...Just recycle them)
Digital Cameras just plain suck power so what you need are the new
NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) rechargeable batteries.  The higher the number (they come in 750, 1300, 1800, 2000 and 2300 ratings) the longer they will last (and of course the more expensive they are...). Becareful here, some cameras accept batteries with a rating of 2000 or less... read the maufacture's manual first!

These NiMH batteries are a huge improvement over the rechargeable NiCad batteries of old and will out last the old alkaline rechargeable batteries by a huge amount... (Just recycle the alkaline batteries... you can include them in your green recycling bin these days as long as you wrap them in a plastic bag!)

Don't let a sales person tell you NiCad's or rechargeable alkaline's just as good as the NiMH's, they aren't.

After 3 - 5 Full charges the NiMH batteries actually get stronger, and are not subject to "charging memory" and you can re-charge them to full power about 1000 times. And they aren't too expensive 4 for about $10.00

And there are several levels of chargers from slow and cheap at $9.00;  to real fast at about $40.00 Look for a charger that can "recondition" the battery.

You can read more about them here.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/digi_accessories.html#batteries


"Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film."--Anonymous

9. Multi-Card Reader
One last accessory. Buy a USB multicard reader...allows you to plug in the Camera’s memory card of choice into that. (You’ll save batteries and wear and tear on the camera). And then plug the card reader into Any computer with a USB port. The readers are automatically recognized, and act as-if it is just another drive on the computer.

“A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.”----Diane Arbus

10: Shades for your LCD viewer on the camera.
Check out the WEB sites below if you have a hard time seeing your LCD viewer in Bright Sunlight

http://www.hoodmanusa.com/
http://members.aol.com/esc2000/SunshieldNikon.htm
http://www.photodon.com/
http://www.photosolve.com/main/product/xtendaview/index.html


"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." ~Henri Cartier-Bresson

11: Thanks for the memory.
Buy at least 2 large 512 megabytes. 1 or 2 gigabyte memory cards, if one fails or gets full, you'll always have a backup.
If you are travelling buy a portable image storage device like an iPod.
If you have the memory you'll be thankful.  You can find the latest prices on memory here
http://dealram.com


"It's weird that photographers spend years or even a whole lifetime, trying to capture moments that added together, don't even amount to a couple of hours."  ~James Lalropui Keivom


Choosing A Camera

Garry’s List
Here are a few digi-cameras I find of interest.
1. Minolta Dimage Z3, A200
2. Sony Cyber-shot  DSC-F828, DSC-V3
3. Nikon Coolpix 5200, 5400, 8400 or 8800
4. Canon Powershot  G6 or G5, s70
5. Olympus C765, C770
6. Fuji FinePix S5100, s7000z
7. Hewlett Packard Photosmart 945 PhotoSmart C500 Photosmart R707
8. Panasonic DMZ FZ20
9. Kodak EasyShare DX7590 EasyShare DX7630 EasyShare LS420 EasyShare LS443
10. Casio QV-R40, QV-R51
11. Nikon, Kodak, Canon, Casio, Sony, Fuji, Pentax, Minolta,  point and shooters

Pick out 2 or 3 similar cameras for comparison

If you want more suggestions check out the camera recommendations at the following web sites...


Steve's "Best Camera List"
http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html

Listed in no particular order of preference, click to read our reviews.

Quoted from Steve's web site... "I receive daily emails from readers asking me "which camera should I buy." This is a question that we don't answer directly. Purchase decisions are personal and based on your needs, experience level and budget.
Every year there are more and more models to chose from which further complicates the buying process. To help you with your buying decisions here's our Top Picks based on performance and "best bang for the buck."

or
Dave's Picks
Welcome to my "Picks List!"
http://imaging-resource.com/WB/WB.HTM
 
Quoted from Dave's web site:  "Hi! I'm Dave Etchells, Publisher of the Imaging Resource, and the "Dave" you see mentioned here and there around the site. I get a lot of email from people asking me to recommend cameras for them, a nearly impossible task, given how different everyone's needs and preferences are. I do have some ideas about which cameras are best though, and that's what this list is about."

or

Jeff's Picks

Ok Jeff, be honest. I have $____ to spend on a digital camera. Which one should I get?

http://www.dcresource.com/faq/faq.html

Quoted from Jeff's web site:  "I can't tell you how often I get this question, but I do know that it's the one I get the most. I'll do my best to answer this one, but remember: don't just run out and buy what I suggest. Read my reviews. Check out what other people are considering. Play with it in the store. In other words, use this list as a starting point, so you can make your own informed decision!"

Read reviews of the cameras YOU picked.

You will find detailed, full featured reviews of the cameras at the following web sites
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/diginews.html
http://imaging-resource.com/NEWS.HTM
http://www.dcresource.com/
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/index.html
http://www.digitalsecrets.net/secrets/breakingnews.html
http://www.dcviews.com/
http://www.outbackphoto.com/

Also www.pcworld.com does a good job of ranking digital cameras in two catagories $500 below and $500 and up...

Then,
Go to a camera store and try them out.

Then,
buy one!

Good Luck.

“A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever.” -Mark Twain

It’s obsolete, so what!
 Accept the fact that the instant you buy a “new” digital camera, it will be obsolete. Actually, it isn’t obsolete until it stops working. Get with it, and go out and take pictures. Lot’s of pictures. You don’t have to buy film, and you don’t have to take it in to get processed. Go shoot pictures, then hook it up to your computer and have fun!

 “I try to photograph people’s spirits and thoughts. As to the soul-taking by the photographer, I don’t feel I take away, but rather that the sitter and I give to each other. It becomes an act of mutual participation” ---Yousuf Karsh

Photograph, photograph, photograph