I can’t tell you how many times I am asked by friends and family what camera they should buy. With so many digital cameras on the market and more with added features coming out every day the possibilities are endless. There are a lot of factors to consider when buying your new camera. First what are you going to photograph?
A very good friend of mine has a teenage daughter that plays volleyball, basketball, softball and runs track. The receptionist at my office just got her realtors license. Their needs are quite different.
Let’s take the receptionist first. Her photos will be home fronts from the street, interior room shots and possibly a quick shot when something at a house needs to be addressed immediately. Her photos are sent via email or published on the web for potential buyers. I would recommend a basic digital point and shoot compact camera with the highest megapixels she could afford. She can less than $150 and keeps her camera in her purse.
My friend on the other hand needs to spend a little more money to get the shots she desires. There are only so many photos she needs of her daughter as a small speck on the baseball field. For my friend I would recommend she spend the extra money and get a SLR camera. She can change the lens to a powerful zoom (up to 300 to 400mm) for when her daughter is in the outfield and can get a great upper body shot of her at that distance. She will be able to take high resolution photos that can be printed as poster size with great photo quality. For her I would recommend camera similar to what I have, a Nikon D50. With the added zoom lens her cost will be around $1000 total.
Of course there were plenty of other issues considered for situations. But with any camera purchase I would ask these questions. What do you take pictures of? What do you do with your photos? And how much are you willing to spend?