Digital cameras have completely change the photography market. For years, you typical old film cameras were expensive, and hard for some people not used to camera. Digital camera in contrast are cheaper and easier to use.

There are many bonuses to having a digital camera:

• As they are smaller, it is easier to take them places and always be handy
  On most models there is a point and shoot option that make taking a photo quick
  There are no developing costs

Main Features

When it comes to buying a digital camera, there are some features to consider that help you take better photos.

• Size
  The smaller the camera, the better. A smaller camera means that it is easier to take it places and get once in a life time photographs. The trade off with size is that a smaller camera generally has less features. A typical digital camera now-days can fit into the palm of your hand.
   
• Mega pixels / Resolution
  Generally this is the amount of data stored about the photo taken. The higher the number Mega pixels, the sharper and larger the resulting photo is. 4 Mega pixels and above is generally good and can produce a 8x10 inches.
   
• Types of Storage / Memory Cards
  The memory card on a digital camera is the equivalent of 'film' as it stores the photos. There are different types of memory cards and the type required depends on the type of camera.
   
  • Compact Flash Cards
    This is the most common type and most supported format of memory card use for digital camera storage.
     
  • Smart Media Cards
    These are similar to Compact Flash Cards, but are not as wide supported and are a little bit thinner. The maximum size is currently 128MB.
     
  • XD Flash Memory Card
    The most recent and most advanced memory cards today, XD Flash Memory Card are really tiny and are storing the photos into the memory really fast. Most new models of Olympus and Fuji digital cameras are using XD Flash Memory Card.
     
  • Memory Stick
    Memory Sticks are Sony's solution to storage, the biggest advantage of Memory Sticks are that they can be used on all of Sony's products as they all use them.
     
• Size or capacity of Storage / Memory Cards
  Although memory cards can be used over and over again, the number of photo that can fit onto the card depends on the cards capacity and the size of the photo. A Memory Cards capacity is measured in Megabytes (MB). The table below shows the number of photos that can be stored in relation to the photos resolution and the cards capacity.
   
  

  Resolution	16 MB Card	64 MB Card	128 MB Card
  1 Mega pixel	45	82	365
  2 Mega pixels	17	70	140
  3 Mega pixels	13	53	106
  4 Mega pixels	6	20	40

• Zoom
  There is 2 types of zoom, Optical and digital. Digital zoom is zooming in on the photo after the photo has been taken, and is not very important. Optical zoom affects the size of the photos subject in the photo. This is important for photos that are taken from a distance. An optical zoom of 6x or higher is great for most photographers and can take a good close up from 25 feet away.
   
• Power
  How long will the battery last and how long does it take to charge?
   

Extra Features

• Larger liquid-crystal display (LCD) viewfinders
  Allows you a larger area to view the photo you have taken, right after taking it.
   
• Computer Interface
  Most cameras connect to your computer with USB, but some do not.
   
• Self Timer
  Delay the photo so you can put the camera down and photograph yourself
   
• Flash
  A better camera will have a built-in flash.
   
• Battery Consumption
  How long will the batteries last.
   
• Speed
  How long does it take fore the camera to take a photo after you press the button.