Buying your first digital camera can be a real challenge. When looking into getting your first digital camera there is just so much to choose from it can be an overwhelming experience. But don't worry as this guide will help you to decipher which will be the best digital camera for you, so you can be more confident in making the right choice. This article explores the different types of digital camera on the market.

Types of Digital Camera

First let’s look at the different types of digital camera available. Most all pack features which make taking pictures really simple but what distinguishes between them most is their size, their price, range of features available.


The Compact Camera

The compact is one most widely recognised of the digital cameras out there for the general consumer, and a great starting point for beginners. Almost all will have the simple point-and-shot facilities to make picture taking so easy. Normally you will be able to see these “programme modes” as a knob on the camera with what’s come to be the standard symbols of different picture taking, a sideways face for portrait mode, a moon and stars for night time photography, the tulip flower for macro close-ups, and so on. Many digital compact camera will also have manual options too so you can gain more control over your picture taking, such as “Av” for controlling the aperture of the lens “T” for speed of the shutter, etc and some will even enable you to gain manual control over the focus of the lens.

These compact cameras are at an affordable price, increasing to moderate if you prefer to go with one with a greater sophistication of features. An excellent first choice for general point and shoot use, as well as giving you the opportunity to experience having greater control over your photographs with some manual features.

The Ultra Compact Digital Camera

The Ultra compact is similar to the compact, but it’s a whole lot smaller and lighter. But for this you’ll be paying a higher price to that of compacts for the similar features, often though these will have less, omitting some features such as the manual options. However being light and small it makes it a great portable option, that you can take out with you everyday and never let that decisive moment pass you by.

A good choice for beginners that want to take their camera with them everywhere, everyday, some can be so small that they are awkward to use and with less manual control for you to develop your picture taking potential. There is a danger that these small cameras might be easily lost too!


Advanced Digital Cameras

The next stage on from the compact digital camera, these cameras were developed for the prosumer (meaning professional comsumer) market, those that have a good ground knowledge of digital cameras, know what they want to get out them in their picture taking. These are a choice investment if you’re a beginner as they will take advantage of more quality controls and greater options.

Much of the software will be the same as the compacts, they’ll have the point and shoot features, and more control with manual options but what does distinguish them apart is the lens. These will be of a much higher quality, they’ll be larger and so the camera will be larger to balance out and often have a grip for your hand on its side, one of the distinguishing cosmetic features of an advanced digital camera. Many of these cameras are now produced to have interchangeable lenses, that means you can take one lens off the camera and replace it with another with a different focal length, such as wide angle or telephoto.

The Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera

The professional camera, these the digital single lens reflex cameras (or in short DSLR) are tailored into two specific groups one for the advanced prosumer and another with the complete breadth of functionality designed for the professional photographer. These cameras will hold the highest quality components and the latest in digital technology, and a whole range of interchangeable lenses are available. The prices of these cameras are as such that that alone would be a large leap of the beginner, but certainly to work towards getting one of these cameras as you develop in your photography. DSLR have the greatest potential in creative photography and in taking wonderful pictures.