Almost everyone who would have gone to a store to buy a digital camera are inundated with a wide array of brands and technical language crying for help. THe pricing varies depending on the features and the accessories.
The following features should clear your mind and decide on what is important for you.
LCD Size(most start at 2.5 inches, the bigger the LCD, more room to review the image)
Megapixel(the higher the MP figure, the higher the resolution of the final image but not necessarily with the least grain on the image).
Memory card media card compatibility(SD, SDHC, XD)
Optical zoom
Internal memory battery type
Computer o/s compatibility
USB interface cable
ISO Rating
Audio cable
Burst mode
Movie mode
Aperture range
AUTO OFF mode
AUTO focus
Flash range
focus range
Some of the features are described as follows
Battery Type - Digital cameras quickly drain your normal alkaline batteries, so using rechargeables is most efficient. Ideal camera allows support for alkaline and rechargeable ones.
The best type of batteries to have:
Nickel Metal Hydride(NiMH): does not suffer from memory effect.
Lithium Ion: Lighter but more costly than NiMH. Lithium-Ion batteries can be recharged regardless of their state of discharge, and are better at maintaining a charge at lower temperatures. Lithium-ion batteries also hold a charge longer when idle.
Burst Mode - Lets you quickly take one photo after another. A certain camera brand maybe able to take only a predetermined number of photos in burst mode. For others, the actual number of images captured continously is limited only by the the capacity of the memory card or the size of the camera buffer. For best performance when shooting in high speed continuous mode, make sure batteries are fully charged
Computer Compatibility - Considering that VISTA O/S is common now, check whether the camera has compatibility for XP/VISTA/MAC
Flash Range - Usually measured in feet from the camera, this is the range that will be illuminated by your flash when you are shooting in telephoto mode(or zoom).
Focus Range - The maximum distance from the camera that an object can be, and still be photographed in sharp focus.
Digital Media Size - Size of the removable digital media storage(memory card) included with the camera.
Interface - The way that your camera connects to and communicates with your PC. Most common is USB(Universal Serial Bus)
Internal Memory - Amount of memory built into the camera’s hardware. This memory is necessary for the camera features to work.
The more internal memory a camera has, the faster and more sophisticated these features can be.
ISO Rating - On a digital camera, ISO equivalency rating let’s you know the minimum amount of light required to capture good quality images without a flash.
ISO settings are often rated at 100, 200, or 400 but go as high as 800, 1600, 3200 etc.
A lower ISO setting is used when capturing overly bright scenes, since it reduces the light sensitivy of the image sensor. This is ideal when shooting at the beach, on a ski slope, or under the midday sun.
A higher ISO settings is often used when shooting under dimmer conditions(cloudy days, indoors, etc.) since it increases the light sensitivity of the image sensor. It also increases the noise level of the image. A lower ISO setting is preferred whenever possible since it helps to reduce this noise or grain. However a digital SLR has negligible noise problems even at ISO 400/800.
ISO-100: Great for bright sunny days, at the beach or on the snow. Produces clean images that are great for enlargements.
ISO-200: Great for overcast daylight pictures(noise levels may increase, but in most cases not noticeably)
ISO-400: Great for lower lighting conditions(indoors, night time) or when you need to capture faster moving subjects in lower lighting conditions. In top end models, there is very negligible noise increase but the picture is more in focus.
Optical Zoom - Actually moves you closer to the subject of the photograph without sacrificing quality. The higher the optical zoom rating on a camera, the farther away you can be to take a photograph and still get a clear, close-up image and a slightly smaller image. The magnification level is expressed in factors, such as 2x, 3x. It’s the optical zoom that counts, not digital zoom.
Digital Zoom - When buying a camera, choose one that warns you that you are about to use digital zoom or that allows you to disable digital zoom(most do). If you do use digital zoom, use it only if it does not appreciably impact your image quality. If you rarely print past 4x6 inch photos, digital zoom may not adversely affect you. So be wary of very high digital zoom(15X) but only 2x/3x optical Zoom.
For ex: I would rather have 10X optical Zoom and a 2X digital Zoom than the other way around.
Aperture Range - Aperture refers to the size of the opening- that allows light to enter the camera, measured in f-stops. A lower f-stop number signifies a larger aperture, allowing you to take good pictures in low light conditions or successfully freeze rapid motion.
Audio - A few cameras allow you to record brief audio messages to go with photos. If the camera model has a movie mode it may also be able to record an accompanying audio track.
Auto OFF Mode - Conserves battery power by automatically turning off the camera after a period of inactivity.
Autofocus System - Helps you to take better pictures by automatically bringing objects in the center of the viewfinder into sharp focus.