What is the best digital camera to buy...and what features are most important?

Answer 1

All of the major brands are good. Choose a brand that appeals to you. Then you have to think about getting a spare battery, what size memory card, if you want an extended warranty, how much you can afford, what size zoom, if you want manual controls, the size of the camera, finding a reliable place to purchase it, and the list goes on and on and on.......

The first thing to realize is that almost any digital camera will take good pictures. If more people would read the manual more than once, they would be able to take better pictures. Usually, the person assumes it is the camera when it could be them not knowing exactly what to do. Just give yourself more photographic knowledge by doing more reading on the internet.

I really believe buying a camera is an individual choice.
The person needs to read alot of reviews on cameras so they can decide on the features that they really want and need.
Go to the store and hold them so you can see if they feel comfortable in your hands. If possible, take some pictures in the store to check the quality of the pictures.
I can only give a suggestion of what to look for in a new digital camera.
Good Luck

my suggestion
go to yahoo shopping
digital cameras
digital camera GUIDE
be sure to check titles on the left side
the guide should answer your questions

Answer 2

First, decide what you want to do photographically. How will you use the camera?

1) For sports?
2) For macro (extreme close-ups)?
3) For night photos of the city skyline?
4) Will you need interchangeable lenses?

Or...

Will you mainly use a camera for family and friends and on vacations?

If you answered "Yes" to all or most of the first 4 questions then a DSLR would be the only practical camera for you. In this genre there are many many to choose from. Canon. Sony. Pentax. Nikon. Sigma.

If, on the other hand, you chose Family, friends, etc. then an advanced digicam might be a less expensive alternative. Again, your choices are virtually unlimited.

Since you seem somewhat inexperienced with cameras you'd be well advised (IMO) to take an introductory photography class at your local high school or community college BEFORE you choose a camera.

Answer 3

Everyone's a bit different. To me features that are important are a decent zoom, at least 4 or 5 megapixels, image stabilizer for my shaky hands, a camera that doesn't eat batteries up extremely quick, having a viewfinder and some manual controls. A camera that has only a 1 second delay between shots. The camera I use the most has all of that, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H2 and also comes with battery charger.Excellent 8X10 prints.
My second camera hasn't an image stabilizer. The Fujifilm FinePix E900.
The Sony is 6 megapixels, 12X optical zoom,the Fuji is 9 megapixels, 4X optical zoom.
You might want to look at Website dpreview.com for features of a great many cameras and reviews + prices. Consider the 2 I have mentioned together with these:
Canon A630 4X optical zoom, 8 megapixels.
Fujifilm FinePix S5200 and S700.
Canon A710IS.

Answer 4

If you're on a budget or just starting out with a digital
camera here's one that has all the basic features and cost's only $100 at Amazon.com. The megapixels are good for prints up to 8 X 10, but if you're like most people 4X6 are fine..

No need to overbuy... and have features you won't use.

The Camera is the Nikon L 10

Here are some stats on it:

Coolpix L10 Features:

* 5-megapixel effective CCD imager
* Nikkor 3x optical zoom lens (37.5-112.5mm in 35mm equivalent)
* Compact and lightweight body
* Macro focus with AF as close as 5.9 inches
* Exclusive Face Priority AF makes taking incredible portraits easy
* 256-segment Matrix metering
* Large 2.0-inch bright LCD color monitor
* Automatic exposure and 16 pre-programmed Scene modes
* 640x480 @ 30fps movie mode w/sound, length limited only by memory card capacity
* Built-in flash with auto, fill, slow sync, and red-eye reduction
* Nikon’s D-Lighting automatically brightens dark images in playback mode
* In-Camera Red-Eye Fix™ automatically fixes most instances of red-eye in the camera
* 7MB internal memory and SD/SDHC memory card slot
* USB connectivity, PictBridge direct-print compliant
* Runs on two standard AA batteries, Energizer lithium are included

Answer 5

It really depends on your budget. There are good cameras at all price ranges. Are you looking for a point and shoot or dSLR camera? There are just way too many cameras to list. Please be more specific with your question.