In my pervious blog I did my best to convince all you traditional photographers to go digital in time for the busy summer shooting season. Now that you know what you are getting yourself into in regards to style, price, and features I wanted to move on to a few other very important issues to consider before purchasing a digital camera:
BATTERIES
My digital camera takes standard double AA batteries, but they don’t last long in there. Battery life is a major issue for many digital photographers, especially when you are taking your camera on vacation and you’re trying to pack as conservatively as possible. Most digital cameras, especially those sporting large LCD display screens, will bleed through batteries like there’s no tomorrow. New nickel or lithium batteries last much longer than standard alkaline batteries, but not all digital cameras accept these types of batteries. It’s a good idea to inquire about the types of batteries a particular camera needs before purchasing it.
ZOOM
Beware when a salesperson starts talking about zoom. You want to make sure he or she distinguishes between digital zoom and optical zoom. Optical zoom involves adjusting lenses whereas digital zoom is where the camera actually enlarges the picture and your shot becomes fuzzy. If you’re only going to be printing 4×6 prints this should not be a big issue, but it’s definitely something you want clarified prior to purchasing your camera.
MEMORY
Camera memory is not as big a deal as it once was now that the price of buying extra storage space has come down. Most digital cameras are equipped to handle memory cards, which are easy to insert and remove.
Finally, if you are still hesitant to pay full price for a new digital camera that you might end wanting to throw off the Brooklyn Bridge when it doesn’t do what you want it to, you could always opt to buy a used or refurbished camera for a lot less than what it would cost new.
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