What To Look For In A Digital Camera?

Though digital photography is all the rage and prices for the gear are (relatively) affordable, a lot of us don’t know much more about digital cameras than what our phones teach us. Clearly there are reasons to upgrade from your iPhone if you have an interest in taking better pictures, but how does a neophyte navigate the waters? Buzz words such as megapixels seem like they might be the most important thing, but if you’re going to shell out a chunk of cash for a hardcore camera, you probably want to know a little more.

LifeHacker delves into the topic with a bit more depth (and they say that megapixels, in fact, are mostly irrelevant when it comes to image quality), and tools a little guide specifically for the layperson who wants to up their photo-taking game. Here’s a bit of guidance:

Ultimately, when you’re trying to determine if a camera is capable of high-quality images there are two things that will matter: 1) reviews with image samples and 2) your own experiences. The best thing you can do is go out and buy a camera you want to test from a store with a good return policy. Plan to try out the camera for awhile and return it if it doesn’t live up to your expectations.

There’s a lot of speculation about whether or not cell phone cameras will be at the point where they can replace SLRs completely. If you watch the way the iPhone’s camera has improved (especially over a short time), it seems not just possible, but inevitable. Is that day here? No, no it isn’t. If you want better pics, you still have to actually buy a device whose sole purpose in life is giving them to you.

Source: LifeHacker

Corey has been been a tech journalist with a focus on Apple since 1998 and has written for The Loop, MacHome magazine, and as games contributor for The Mac Bible, and co-hosts the iGame Radio Podcast. He works as a… Full Bio