Buy Cameras : Stick to Your Digital Camera Budget

Executive Summary about : Buy Cameras By Kyle Schurman

Don’t Break the Bank When Shopping

When beginning the process of shopping for a digital camera, one of the tips you will read and hear constantly is: Stick to a budget. Then you travel to the store and start comparing digital cameras. - you’ve stuck to your budget. Right?

Buying a digital camera nearly always requires costs beyond the camera alone. Then, just when you have the accessories figured out, the salesperson springs an extended warranty option or offers a “special deal” on a printer, further muddling your budget.

Sticking to your digital camera budget doesn’t have to be a confusing chore, especially if you do your homework ahead of time.

Finding the Most Important Features

Before you begin shopping, take a few minutes and rank your most important features. Then, when you arrive at the store, you can search for a camera that fits within the amount you’ve budgeted and that excels in the areas you ranked as most important.

If you aren’t sure how to start ranking features, ask yourself some questions like these to determine where your most important features exist:

• How important is the camera size? Small cameras fit easily in a pocket or purse, and they’re easy to use. Smaller cameras usually look better, too, if you prefer style over substance. Larger cameras are typically more powerful, carry more features, and cost more, but they don’t fit in a pocket for easy transportation.
• How will I use the zoom lens? If you plan to shoot a lot of nature or sports photos, a bigger zoom lens is a very important feature and worth some extra money.
• What types of photos will I shoot? If you only want to create small snapshots or share photos on the Internet, you can save some money by choosing a camera with less resolution, allowing more money for other features, such as speed or body style. Then visit this photo printing table and figure out how much resolution you’ll need. If you are a beginning photographer, high-end manual control features won’t be important for you, and you can spend your budget on other items. Don’t waste your budget on a complex camera if you can’t take advantage of its features.
• Do I need a speedy model? If you are going to take a lot of spontaneous photos, picking a camera that’s ready to shoot quickly after you press the power button is a very important feature. Some cameras can recover more quickly from shot to shot, too.

Accessories to Consider

Before deciding on a digital camera, make sure you know what accessories the camera includes and which “extras” you’ll need to buy. Most digital cameras contain a list of included items printed on the box. Accessories you may need to buy include:

• Memory card. Expect to spend $10-20 for a 2GB memory card, which is far less than you would’ve spent a few years ago. Your digital camera might come with a small memory card, but you will almost certainly want to upgrade to a larger one.
• Spare battery. If your camera requires a rechargeable battery, you may want to purchase a second battery immediately. You don’t want to be shooting away from home and run out of battery power with no backup option. Depending on the model, you can expect to pay $40-80 for a spare battery from the manufacturer, or about half that price at a generic battery store.
• Cables. Your camera might not include a USB cable for connecting to the computer. Expect to spend $5-15 for a USB cable, depending on length and the type of connectors it uses, if you need one.
• Case or Bag. A camera bag or case could cost $10-30. However, you might have an old bag that you could reuse from an old film camera. The camera case will protect your LCD from scratches.
• Tripod. A tripod will help you shoot specific types of photos where a stationary camera is required. Tripods range greatly in price, from $5-200, although most fit in the $25-50 range. Be sure to choose a tripod that will hold your camera’s weight and that won’t collapse in a slight breeze.
• Other Items. If you have an intermediate-to-advanced camera, you have the option of using items such as interchangeable lenses, external flashes, underwater housings, and more. Such items usually cost at least $100 apiece. They probably are best purchased at a later date, once you develop a need for a particular accessory during your everyday use of the camera.

If you don’t have enough money in your budget to afford all of the accessories you want or need, you have two options: Choose a less expensive camera, leaving more money for accessories, or purchase only the most important accessories now, adding other accessories when your camera budget is replenished later.

You may want to purchase an extended warranty, which potentially protects you from the cost of repairing the model, depending on the problem. Different retailers offer different extended warranty plans. Hopefully, you’ll never need one, but other types of warranties exist for cameras, too, many of which are included for free.

Finally, you’ll need places to print and store your photos.

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