If you’ve gone and convinced yourself, that you need a SLR camera, then I hope you really enjoy learning a bunch of technical lingo. Because the science of SLR is full of a whole bunch of new terms, features, and gadget wizardry. For some, that’s half the fun. I know, as I’m one of those.

If you haven’t already figured it out, I should probably warn you, that the route to getting a good SLR camera can be quite an odyssey. Especially, if your the type, that likes to compare, analyse, investigate, or otherwise dissect every possible pro and con of any item or service you pay for. SLR cameras can be a somewhat complex science.

Bigger is better in this situation, but it also means a bigger price. The camera you want might be expensive now, but with the technology that advances so quickly, the price goes down every year.

The second thing you should look for is the optical zoom. It’s not the same thing as digital zoom. The digital zoom will enhance the image from the software, while cutting the photo’s edges. The result is a low quality zoom, with a fuzzy photo. The optical zoom however is done from the hardware level, so it’s much better at delivering quality photos.

It’s easy to change the lenses on a camera, but you should keep in mind something: a 35mm lens is made so it projects the image on a frame of the same size, but the camera’s image sensor is smaller than the frame is. That’s why the SLR multiplies that lens focal length by 1.5.

They’re better because the large number of features, the possibility to take great zoom shots and the lenses that can be changed. The price is going down, but they’re still expensive. If you’re not going pro, you might consider buying something smaller that is easier to carry around and is easier to use.

If you go with a compact digital camera that is high end, it will still cost quite a bit, but it also comes with different essentials and accessories. The advantage with small digital cameras is that they can be carried around much easier.

Once you find the camera model that you want to buy, look around to see if you can get an extended warranty. You don’t want to break or lose your digital camera, so some extra insurance can’t hurt.

While I’m sure, it will be something better, be warned that this cycle never ends. There’s always something better coming out tomorrow. There will come a point when you need to make a decision, and start taking pictures.