When it comes to buying a digital camera, what are really the critical features to look for? Many consumers believe it’s best to find a camera having the most features; when the better question is: “Which features do I NEED?”

These tips will help your decision.

Tip #1: Do You Want One Lens or Several?
A Digital SLR (single lens reflex) has a camera body and a separate lens. If the camera doesn’t have a separate body and lens, then it is considered a “Point and Shoot,” “Pro-Sumer,” or “Compact.”

The critical questions to ask yourself are:

1. Do you plan on taking low-light pictures? If so, your camera should be able to use higher ISO numbers (over 800) in conjuncture with an aperture capable of F-stops equal to or less than F/2.8. Typically, that means a Digital SLR.

2. Are you going to take flash pictures from greater than 12 feet (from your subject)? If so, your camera needs a hot shoe so an external flash unit can be used.

If you have the above requirements, a DSLR should be considered. If you don’t, a less sophisticated camera will probably serve your needs just fine.

Current digital SLRs typically have more features than point-and-shoots, without being more difficult to use. How? Because they are designed to be simple to use (like a Point and Shoot) while still providing advanced features you can grow into.

Tip #2: Who’s Zooming Who? The Truth About Digital vs. Optical Zoom
Bottom line, OPTICAL ZOOM is the important one. Completely ignore all DIGITAL ZOOM figures. Why?

Because digital zoom has absolutely no bearing on being able to take a close-up picture of a distant subject It only helps you to obtain a magnified look in your LCD of photos you have already taken.

Tip #3: What’s The Deal With Megapixels?
Megapixels is one of the most discussed and least understood terms in digital photography. Megapixels are critical if you plan to do a lot of cropping and then enlarge the cropped image.

Every time a picture is cropped, it loses total pixels. When a picture is cropped, pixels are removed from the image. The more pixels remaining in the final image, the better chance a photograph will be sharp and clear.

Cropping can easily remove 20% to 80% of a picture’s total pixels, so the more you start with, the more you’ll end with after cropping.

To enlarge a picture, a certain number of pixels are required to produce a sharp image, and that number varies based on the size of the enlargement.

Megapixels alone won’t result in better pictures. Megapixels is only ONE FACTOR in creating great digital pictures. Other factors are equally important.

Shutter speed determines how fast or slow the shutter remains open during a shot. You want to have a digital camera with as fast AND as slow a shutter speed as possible.

Also important is whether the camera can manually set the white-balance, focus, and flash firing. If you are inexperienced, having a larger number of automatic programmed modes to aid in tricky lighting situations is also important.

After purchasing your new digital camera, see how to easily take amazing photos.