Buying a Digital Camera:

Ok, I can't give you a particular brand or model to look at. There are too many. The only camera I've taken a close look at lately is the Kodak DC4800, but that is a top end model for $600 (and worth every penny, if you're a semi-professional photographer). I also like the Sony FD83, but I think it is out of production now.

Anyway here are some things to look for:

Resolution: this is the number of pixels per picture. The higher the number the bigger you will be able to print out pictures. Most cameras have more than one resolution (or "Quality") setting. If you are taking pictures for email and web pages only, this is not as important.

Exposure Control: Better cameras can compensate for factors such as backlight, shadows, snow, etc. Some of them let you set the camera for different conditions.

Special Effects: Some model can take more that just regular pictures. For instance the Sony MVC-FD83 can take regular pictures, pictures with 10 seconds of sound, or 30 second videos with sound (they are very low resolution videos, but you can actually email them to someone!). It can also take pictures in Color, Saturated Color, Black and White, or Sepia Tone.

Focus: A few bottom end models are "focus free" which means the lens is set to one focus settings. All others are auto-focus. Usually you hold the button part way down and it focuses, then you press the rest of the way down to shoot.

Flash: Handy for indoor pictures. Most d-cameras are the equivalent of 100 to 200 ASA film.

Zoom: Digital cameras have two kinds of zoom: Optical and Digital. Optical is the good kind, the camera literally moves the lens to zoom it. Digital zoom uses some math to make up some extra pixels and create the appearance of zooming, but it can also makes the image fuzzy. You find some models that have both (i.e. 3x optical and 10x digital).

Viewfinder and/or LCD screen: Some have just a viewfinder, some have just an LCD screen. Good ones have both. Most of the models with the LCD screen have a menu system on the screen that lets you change the camera settings. The LCD screen is also nice so you can look at the images and delete the ones you don't like.

Battery Type: If it takes regular batteries and it has an LCD screen, plan on buying rechargeables. Better models have a Lithium battery with it's own charger.

Memory Type: Most models use a memory card or a flash card. If they say the camera holds 80 pictures, ask them if that is at the highest or lowest resolution - many pictures is a trade off for small pictures. You can also buy replacement cards with more capacity. Some Sony models use 3.5 inch floppies -- they don't hold many pictures, but your supply is unlimited at 10 cents a piece. This is especially nice if you go on a long vacation and don't have a computer to offload the images to.

Connection Type: With the exception of the cameras that use the floppy disk, you will have to connect the camera to your computer to download the images. Early cameras used a serial cable, which is slow. Newer ones use a USB cable - at least 20 times faster. You can also buy a separate USB card reader for models that have only a serial connection.

---