In these tough economic times, it doesn’t matter if your buying a house, a digital camera, or Trump Towers, it’s important to get the best deal for your dollar.

If have extra money to spend these days, your one of the lucky ones, and there is fierce competition for your dollars. While you may find some good deals in your local malls, and camera shops, the best prices are still online.

Online digital camera stores are simply better able to deal with these tough economic times. Their inventories aren’t huge, they’re expenses are low, and they still offer a wider selection of cameras than most local shops are capable of.

Check with the local retailer if the camera you are buying is covered by warranty. Also, you will want details on what happens if it breaks down: will it be repaired in a local store or do you have to mail it? Does the warranty cover all labor and spare parts expenses? Also, do they offer extended warranty? You might consider signing such a contract to protect your investment after the warranty period expires.

Not only will you get a better price, but you won’t have to sacrifice by settling for a limited selection of choices.

If your camera is a Hasselblad, then you might have some success if you send it to Ghitelman Gil. He has his own repair guy for Hasselblad cameras.

How many times have you gone into your favorite electronics shop, already to buy, only to find out they’re out of stock. Not to mention standing in lines outside the store waiting for it to open to get the best price on the item you really want.

Unfortunately I don’t have a list with the best camera repair shops from each state. Instead, you could use a local neighborhood service to get the advice you need or ask your local camera shops for advice. If you still can’t find the tips you need, consider buying a new digital camera instead of doing SLR camera repair.

I’m a firm believer in the power of choice. Choice in cars, choice in cable providers, choice in which movies I watch, and choice in how I live my life. Freedom of choice is in our constitution and charter of rights. I’m also a firm believer in keeping things simple, and there is such a thing as too much choice. Take digital cameras for instance. As of today, Amazon has 3,859 digital cameras (and accessories) listed ranging in price from $24,995.00 all the way down to $40.99. That’s not choice, that’s a frackin’ nightmare!

Well, were do we go from here? I did promise a SIMPLE guide to digital camera buying, and I meant it. Let’s apply the 90% rule from one of my favorite old science fiction writers Theodore Sturgeon. Theo said (and I loosely quote): “90% of everything is crap”. With that in mind, let’s eliminate all the crap. Let’s only look at the top cameras from whatever category / budget were interested in. In other words, as your reading any camera reviews, don’t bother with a camera if it doesn’t receive at least a 4 or a 5 star review.

Battery consumption is pretty steep with this camera. Turning off the LCD will help, but is a nuisance. In their sales material, Canon likes to suggest that the fact the PowerShot A560 uses AA batteries is a good thing because you can get them anywhere. I think what they really meant to say was that it’s a good thing you can get AA batteries anywhere, because your going to need to buy a lot of them. I’m sure the battery companies don’t mind. The first company to come up with a reliable and low power consumption solar powered digital camera is going to make a fortune. And probably put the Energizer bunny on the unemployment line.

The power saving feature, while a good idea for the L11, was not implemented very well by Nikon. The camera tends to take about a minute to shut off, when it decides it’s no longer being used. During that time, you can’t stop the shutdown, and even powering it back on, is not the most intuitive process.

A typical complaint with pretty much every camera in this price range, and even $100 more, is the big lag time between taking pictures. Primarily caused by the flash recharging, and the camera taking a long time to save the last photo to the memory card. You can get faster memory cards, and stronger batteries, but they won’t make much of a difference. Some of the faster memory cards cost almost as much as the Nikon Coolpix L11. Your better off just getting a better camera.

Once you have your short list of features, it’s time to try a few cameras out. I like to visit the camera store, and take lots of pictures. Go during the off hours, and find a helpful salesperson. Ask question, take pictures, ask more questions. Wash rinse repeat with a couple of cameras, and even a couple of salespersons if necessary. Pretty soon, you’ll know what you like.

If that doesn’t help, I’ve got a short list of great cameras gathered from across the internet updated by the minute (aren’t computers great). That’s bound to eliminate at least 90% of all the crap for you. That’s about as simple as things get. Of course you can’t trust computers for everything, so you’ll still want to try them out for yourself. Happy hunting.

If you’re looking for the best Panasonic digital camera, the number of models that they offer will not make the choice easy for you. You have to choose between SLR and compact digital cameras. Then there are those cameras that can be put in a pocket easily and those that should be kept in a case for cameras. There are those models that are made for professionals and those that are designed for beginners. The DMC-FX500K camera with 10.1 megapixels and the DMC-FX35K are two of the compacts made by Panasonic.

The FinePix S3100 has a viewfinder that is pretty accurate, but you may also toggle the image to the 1.5-inch LCD screen with just a push of a dedicated button at the back of the camera. The S3100 also has auto-focus and auto-exposure, which you can access and turn on by pushing the shutter button halfway for a couple of seconds until a confirmation on the adjustments appears. Then you can push the button all the way down and take a picture. It’s recommended to use the automatic adjustments because sometimes failing to do so results in not-so-great-looking pictures.

One of the best Panasonic digital cameras is the DMC-FX35K, which comes with a 4X optical zoom and an LCD screen that has 2.5 inches. An image stabilizer and an intelligent auto mode are two other options that come with this digital camera. Adding music to photos as a background is one great option of this model. You can add slow, swing, natural or urban music.

If you want a good Panasonic camera that has 12.2 megapixels, you might as well go with the DMC-FX100K model, which has an optical zoom of 3.6 and an LCD screen that measures 2.5 inches. You can use the image stabilization option to get a photo that is steady. This way the photo will not be blurred, even if your hand is shaking a bit.

Once you buy a digital camera that suits you best you must also choose all the necessary equipment for it. After doing all that you should start learning the photography techniques. You must know when and how to use the flash and also how to process all your photos. We live in a digital era and if you don’t learn the rules of the game you’ll be left on the outside and that’s not pleasant at all.

The family is the most precious thing we have on this earth and we should cherish forever all memories with our loved ones. The pictures will help you do all that and that’s why you must learn the secret of photography. Learn as many photography tips you may and in time you’ll see that all this information will help you build the most beautiful family album in the neighborhood.

Which digital SLR camera should you look for when buying a camera? The question has an easy answer if you are an intermediate photographer looking for something more professional than a point and shoot camera. You should look for the SLR cameras that come with at least one lens. The Canon EOS Rebel XTi comes with an 18-55mm lens.

The Nikon D40 SLR also has an 18-55mm lens included. There are some things to consider before choosing the right SLR camera that you will buy and use. By following a few tips for choosing a digital SLR camera, you should find a great camera that is easy to use.

The first thing you must consider is the make and model before deciding which digital SLR camera to buy. Look for a brand name you feel comfortable with and one that you may have heard good reviews about from other users.

Once our hard drives are crammed with a gazillion of these images ranging from dubious to heirloom quality we really start to worry. What happens if our hard drive makes that klunk-grind-klunk-kratch sound that next time we boot up our pc? Or . . . however will we find that one really priceless picture we’re looking for, in that wasteland of hopefully-forgotten digital visions? Gotta have backups folks. And really you must get more organized. It’s that simple. And hey, while your at it, dump that crappy and boring old screen saver of flying toasters, and crappy windows logos, for your own maniacal barge sized load of digital pictures on your hard drive. Why not at least view your images on your own pc periodically before your hard drive commits digital Hari-Kari.

A lot of users like the kit lens that comes with the D90, but I think you can get better zooms from Nikon that falls within the same price range of the D90. The selling price for the 18-105mm Vibration Reduction (VR) is reportedly $400. I got my Nikon 70-300mm VR for around $485, and it has a far better build with a rubber gasket and metal mount. The kit lens that comes with the D90 has no plastic mount and rubber gasket, which makes it feel a bit cheap compared to the 70-300mm VR I bought.

Once you have compared specs, reviews and lens options, you should be able to choose the right SLR camera for your needs. Choosing a digital camera does take some time, it is nothing that you should rush into without having all the facts and specific information.

Taking a shot of a vehicle in motion with a low end consumer camera can be quite tricky and frustrating: the resulting image will most likely be blurred due to the slow shutter speeds. To balance this, a lot of camera manufacturers incorporate the image stabilization feature their models, resulting in a better quality of the picture. This is definitely a feature to look for when buying a digital camera.

Because these are used by professional photographers, these cameras should have a high resolution for quality image. Avoid low resolution cameras as when images are magnified; the result will be fuzzy pictures. Always choose products that have big storage capacity for memory as high resolution images can eat up a lot of space.

The red eye effect is due to the light of the flash reflecting from the eye’s retina when the subject is looking at the camera.

Some models use a pre-flash to contract the subjects’ pupils milliseconds before the actual shot. Together with software-level corrections, the red eye effect fades out (sometimes it goes away completely).

The “close up” or “macro mode” setting, usually depicted by a flower symbol, enables the photographer, as the name suggests, to take close-up shots. Switch the mode on and get the camera to the object as closely as possible to explore views you have never shot before.

You have to keep in mind that the larger the resolution, the bigger the photos will get. To avoid missing shots because of full memory, you should always consider buying a large memory card when figuring out the budget for the camera.

Some of the products that are highly recommended because of its high-end features are Sony Alpha A700, Canon EOS40D, and Nikon D300.

Maybe at that moment you only think you would use the picture in an online photo album and thus the size shouldn’t be of a great importance, but what if, after two weeks, you decide you want to print and frame it? A 640×480 picture could make a nice print about the size of a business card. Enough said!

Unfortunately, you cannot determine how easily you will work with the camera only by looking at pictures in a catalog: you will need hands-on experience. You should go to a local store and ask to see one, or ask a friend who already has one to show it to you.

The speed of change in the digital cameras area is fast and new models show up on a regular basis. Yes, you might feel inclined to buy the latest gadgets that are launched, play with the latest options and then show off the photos you just took, but do you actually need the latest digital camera or will the current one work for a while longer.

If you already own a compact digital camera and you already master it, you might want to upgrade and get a DSLR. A DSLR will allow you to take your photos to a whole new level, both in quality and level of detail. DSLR’s also let you change their lenses. For example you can use a wide lens to catch more of a landscape in a photo, or you can use a telephoto lens to take a photo of some lions that are resting.

Before the advent of digital cameras, it was harder for Canon, Sony, Kodak, Nikon or Kodak to come up enough new features to convince customers they should upgrade their cameras. So they didn’t.

Be discriminating in where you do your camera research, and where you finally purchase your camera from. While the big box electronics store may have the best prices, your far more likely to get intelligent answers and advice from specialty camera store staff. Online purchasing has a little bit of both, but you need to be careful here. Look for generous return policies, and don’t forget to factor in shipping charges for purchases and potential returns.

One thing you’ll notice when shopping these days, is that the line between professional level SLR (single lens reflex) cameras, and amateur point and shoot cameras is vanishing. For around $500 – $600 you can get a pretty impressive digital SLR. The Canon Rebel XT and Nikon D40 lines have models in this class.

What’s most important here, is to understand what your getting into with SLR. It does allow for more control over your photography, but also assumes you have more understanding of what makes a good picture. Controlling aperture, f-stop, color balance, focal length and metering are good things to know here. You can of course use the default auto settings forever, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having an SLR.

Point and shoot cameras are still by far the more popular choice by the masses. They’re simple, inexpensive, and quite often take great pictures. Like I said earlier, it’s the person behind the lens that really decides how good the final picture is.

In the end, what really matters is good pictures. And the means to that end, is knowing what you want and where to get it. If you want to take the best pictures you can, then educate yourself before and after your purchase. Before will get you the best tool possible, and afterward to help you make better use of the camera in your hands.

Do you feel like a lamb being lead to the slaughter whenever you walk into a camera store? Like somehow your about to lose a lot of money and walk out feeling even more confused than when you walked in. It happens. It doesn’t have to, but it does. The best way to avoid that expensive and confusing scenario, is to educate yourself as best as possible. That way, you’ll walk out the store knowing exactly what you bought, how your going to use it, and not that much poorer. A few simple digital camera shopping tips will make it easy.

First things first, consider your own level of photography expertise, and what kind of pictures you want to take. Landscape, wedding, portrait, sports, vacation, birthday and macro photography all place slightly different demands on your digital camera equipment. Be sure that the camera and/or lenses your considering are up to the job.

The other tip to think about is that different types of cameras will put different demands on you the photographer. If you plan on shooting fast action sports, or panoramic landscapes with very dynamic lighting you may decide a sophisticated SLR with several different lenses is in your future.

If you’ve only ever taken snapshots of juniors birthday parties, then maybe you need a little upgrade. An evening photography course for a few weeks could do wonders for your camera shopping knowledge base, and your final portfolio.

Canon hasn’t forgotten the pro and wanna be pro consumers out there either. Their lineup of digital SLRs has something for everyone. From their starter ($600) Digital Rebel XTi (soon to be replaced by the XSi), to their Canon EOS 5D with full frame technology (for around $2000), everyones bound to be happy.

Some of the reasons why I can recommend this camera: the photo quality, the simplicity of use and the price. This camera is perfect for tourists, beginners to photography and it also works great for camera buffs.

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.

Canon has recently announced the long awaited release of the EOS 450D Digital Rebel XSi. This would be Canons latest onslaught to dominate the entry level digital compact SLR camera category. And, it is a formidable piece of equipment. If this doesn’t get the Canon fanboys (and girls) overextending their lines of credit, then nothing will. It may even entice a few Nikon fans. Bold statement yes I know, but lets take a closer look at why the 450D Digital Rebel will be force to be reckoned with in marketplace.

The release of the 450D is basically an upgraded version of the Canon EOS 400D, which was of course an upgrade from the Canon EOS 300D. Being one of the best selling models in the Canon line, a major overhaul would have been crazy on Canons part, both from a sales number perspective, and a user experience perspective. They have however added several smart new features. Not the least of which being Live View.

There is of course the option to use the viewfinder to frame your shots. You need to be aware though, that with this and many PowerShots, the viewfinder is not totally accurate. You’ll find that your pictures are about 20-25% bigger than what you see through the A650IS viewfinder. Something to be aware of when your snapping the shutter.

Another thing not to get too excited about with the PowerShot A650, is the wide range of ISO formats available. While it’s true, that you can shoot up to 3200 ISO, in reality, any images at 400 ISO or above are going to be excessively noisy. Depending on the image subject, and what your going to do with the images you may be able to push your luck a little here.

The ultimate in image quality usually means big bulky SLR cameras with a case load of lenses and controlled lighting for different types of shooting environments. SLR photography also involves micro managing of all the various camera settings such as aperture, ISO settings, white balance, f-stop and so on. You really have to know what your doing. The Canon Rebel XTi Digital SLR, or the Nikon D40 are good cameras in this category that don’t break the bank.

So, as usual with most cameras, it really comes down to a personal choice. Some owners swear the A650IS is the most beautiful camera they’ve every owned. Others couldn’t wait to sell theirs on eBay. Fortunately for you, you know now exactly what the A650IS is capable of, and what is just out of it’s grasp.

Canon has recently announced the long awaited release of the EOS 450D Digital Rebel XSi. This would be Canons latest onslaught to dominate the entry level digital compact SLR camera category. And, it is a formidable piece of equipment. If this doesn’t get the Canon fanboys (and girls) overextending their lines of credit, then nothing will. It may even entice a few Nikon fans. Bold statement yes I know, but lets take a closer look at why the 450D Digital Rebel will be force to be reckoned with in marketplace.

The release of the 450D is basically an upgraded version of the Canon EOS 400D, which was of course an upgrade from the Canon EOS 300D. Being one of the best selling models in the Canon line, a major overhaul would have been crazy on Canons part, both from a sales number perspective, and a user experience perspective. They have however added several smart new features. Not the least of which being Live View.

Smaller sized camera designs are very portable, but usually affect ease of use and image quality in negative ways. The smaller a camera is, the smaller the controls are, which makes them harder to use. Single control buttons and wheels are often used for multiple functions which can increase user confusion. Smaller cameras often mean, that features like viewfinders get left off in the effort to add bigger LCD screens. Smaller often means zoom lenses are less powerful, and overall lens quality suffers. The most successful small sized cameras I like are the Canon SD1000 Digital Elph, and the Olympus Stylus 790SW.

Another thing not to get too excited about with the PowerShot A650, is the wide range of ISO formats available. While it’s true, that you can shoot up to 3200 ISO, in reality, any images at 400 ISO or above are going to be excessively noisy. Depending on the image subject, and what your going to do with the images you may be able to push your luck a little here.

The ultimate in image quality usually means big bulky SLR cameras with a case load of lenses and controlled lighting for different types of shooting environments. SLR photography also involves micro managing of all the various camera settings such as aperture, ISO settings, white balance, f-stop and so on. You really have to know what your doing. The Canon Rebel XTi Digital SLR, or the Nikon D40 are good cameras in this category that don’t break the bank.

So, as usual with most cameras, it really comes down to a personal choice. Some owners swear the A650IS is the most beautiful camera they’ve every owned. Others couldn’t wait to sell theirs on eBay. Fortunately for you, you know now exactly what the A650IS is capable of, and what is just out of it’s grasp.