If youre one of those everybody who have never owned a digital camera in their life, go to a corner and cry for ten minutes. Then get back to this list before hopping into your car to purchase one.

Find out what you will be using it for. Walking into a camera store might be quite overwhelminghundreds of cameras ranging from the size of a credit card to as wide as a computer manual. It can be cute to carry around a sleek little red digicam, but you will have to ponder what youre actually going to make use of it for.
Do you need a compact one to store in your handbag? Are you planning to
take professional photos for work? Does the number of features matter to you? Do you want a camera with manual functions? You dont want to bring home a camera that doesnt satisfy your needs, or purchase one with so many features that you wont be able to make use of .

Be familiar with camera specs. All those fancy words on the box might build it look like your wallet sized camera will turn you into a professional shutterbug. Mega Pixel is the maximum resolution per photo--the higher the MP, the bigger the prints you might get without it looking blurry. If youre only planning to exchange photos on the internet, then a 2MP camera is fine. Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom are two different thingsmost pros snub Digital Zoom, since this is actually a software function that crops the image, which makes it lose its quality.

Budget. We are not going to lie: digital cameras dont exactly come cheap. When budgeting on which camera to take home, think about the features, its size, its Mega Pixel count, and the brand.
Most photographers swear by one brand over the otherif youre particularly loyal to just one brand, then you can shun the others and bask in just one aisle. But if youre a little bit more open-minded, then youve got a bigger playground to frolic in.
Youll also absolutely need to see what kind of memory card (which is sort of like the film of the camera) the camera needs, and what kind of batteries fuel it. Most digital cameras use AA batteries, so investing in a bunch of rechargeable ones is key.

Try it out. Most people make the bad choice of reading the box, swiping their credit card, and coming home to find out that theyre not relaxed with their latest purchase. While in the store, try taking a bunch of photos. Make sure it fits well in your hand, and its brain friendly to utilize. The most user-friendly cameras out there are Canon, Casio, and Kodakbut you might want to try out others. Take your time in familiarizing yourself with the possible units you will be taking pictures with.