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How to Choose a Compact Camera 1

Thinking about purchasing a new compact camera? Issues like megapixels, camera size and photo print size may have your head spinning so here’s a checklist of questions to ask yourself before you make a choice. These are mostly technical issues, so you’ll have to actually try the camera to asses usability, looks and feel as well, but these six questions should give you some direction. We’ll deal with two questions a day, so stay tuned for the other considerations!

What Camera Size are you looking for?

How do you plan to use your new compact camera? Does it need to be light-weight or fit in your pocket? It’s best to try to buy the largest camera that you are comfortable using, whether this is an ultra slim, mini or near SLR-sized camera. Smaller cameras tend to have fewer features or lower image quality for the same price range or generation. Camera size – especially lens width really does change the quality of your pictures. Choosing a smaller camera size may limit your low-light ability or zoom range along with other features.

What size prints will you need to make?

You’ll need to take photo print size into account because that will determing how many megapixels you’ll need. Megapixels are the main thing compact camera companies advertise, so your first reaction might be “well, as big as I can get!” but having more megapixels often comes with trade-offs such as decreased dynamic range (more blown highlights), larger file sizes, problems with purple fringing and, of course, a higher cost. More megapixels are not always better! In fact, it is often the camera’s lens and your technique that are the limiting factors for determining image quality—not the number of megapixels.

If you plan on producing no larger than an 8×10 inch photo print size, a 6MP camera will be plenty. Something else to consider is that having more megapixels will also give you more freedom to crop your image for a given photo print size.

If megapixels aren’t so important, what is? Today we covered camera size and print size. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how experienced you are, and what lighting conditions you plan to use your compact camera in.

6 Most Popular Digital Cameras of 2008

Still looking for a camera? Here are the six most popular digital cameras for 2008.

1. The top of 2008’s most popular digital cameras is said to be super easy to achieve sensational pictures regardless of skill level. The Cannon PowerShot A590 IS has 8 megapixels, and comes with a 4x optical stabilized zoom lens, DIGIC III porcessor, 2.5 inch LCD, and an optical viewfinder.

2. The one that gets the prize for a shape that is easy to handle would be Fujifilm’s FinePix S1000fd. It’s 10 megapixels with a whopping 12x zoom lens, a 2.7 inch LCD, and an electronic viewfinder in a body styled like a miniature DSLR.

3. The prize for the third most popular digital cameras goes to the Nikon D700 for its ability to take quality pictures without the effort, and its Live View shooting capabilities. A whopping 12.1 megapixel model with a full frame CMOS sensor, a 3 inch TFT LCD screen, a Nikon EXPEED image processor and a 51 point auto focus system make this a powerful option.

4. A great vibration reduction system and large LCD screen has owners raving about the Nikon Coolpix P80. With 10.1 megapixels, an 18x zoom lens, a strong return to the ultrazoom space, Nikon’s patented EXCEED processing, this is a camera for serious photographers.

5. Some photographers really enjoy a superior auto scene selection, and the most popular digital camera featuring auto scene is Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FZ28. An updated, much improved version of an earlier Panasonic camera, the DMC-FZ28 has 10.1 megapixels, an 18x Leica zoom lens, image stabilization, Venus Engine IV processing, and of course, a great auto scene select function.

6. And finally, for Face Detection autofocus, and a 2.7 inch HyperCrystal LCD screen for a terrific photo review experience, the Olympus SP-570 UZ is being raved about by its owners. 10 megapixels, an 20x zoom lens, and an optional burst mode round out a great selection.