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When shopping for a new digital camera one of the biggest decisions to make is whether to go for a digital DSLR or a compact model. Each has distinct pros and cons so its important to understand both the benefits and drawbacks in order to buy the right camera for your kind of photography: whether you are a professional, a serious amateur or a happy snapper.

By asking yourself a few simple questions you will be able to discern which type of camera best suits your photographic style.

Are you into action photography? If so then you should seriously consider a DSLR. There are a handful of unusually quick compacts on the market, but generally speaking a DSLR will start up and respond much quicker than a compact, as well as having superior continuous shooting capabilities. A digital SLR has a near-zero lag time. In any given situation it will focus on a subject faster than a compact digital camera. This speed advantage has its benefits if you are photographing sports, children and pets or in low light conditions.

Are you a point and snap person or do you wish to have control over the settings? If you are happy to put the camera onto Auto or Program and snap away a compact is for you. However, if you want the maximum control over your cameras settings, demand shallow depth-of-field effects, or require long exposures for special effects you will definitely need to consider a DSLR. While many compacts offer manual modes, they are restrictive in what you can achieve and do not have same the range of settings.

Being able to view and compose your photo on a colour screen, was until recently, only possible with a compact. However, many new DSLRs on the market are now being equipped with Live View facilities.

DSLRs have much larger sensors than most compacts, which allows them to be more sensitive to light. This in turn means much better picture quality in low light conditions by using higher sensitivities (ISO). So if decent quality at high sensitivities is important to you, go for a DSLR.

One of the advantages of an SLR camera is the ability to interchange lenses. DSLR cameras can accommodate hundreds of different lenses and flash options. This of course gives you the freedom to add the zoom lens of your choice and control the depth of field. This is impossible to achieve with compact cameras which feature fixed lenses.

However, dust particles can settle in front of the sensor and cause tiny dark marks on your photos. Although many DSLRs now boast anti-dust facilities, it is hard to keep them dust free. In contrast, compact cameras are closed devices and it is almost impossible for dust to get inside.

Zoom range is another consideration. There are many compact cameras on the market today with 10x or 12x zooms and are capable of taking both wide angle and telephoto shots. In order to cover a similar range with a digital SLR you would need to buy two zoom lenses: one with wide-angle zoom and one telephoto. You can cover a lot of range, but at a significantly higher cost. If tons of zoom range is important to you, the compact is clearly the more economical solution.

This brings us to cost. This is the major difference between digital SLRs and compact cameras and is a big drawback for most people. Even though SLR prices have come down, they are still significantly more expensive than their compact cousins. If you arent prepared to spend considerably more on a camera, then an SLR is definitely not right for you.

Size and weight is another obvious difference between DSLR and compact digital cameras after price. Due to their lens mounts and internal mirrors, DSLRs are simply bigger and heavier than most compact cameras. Even a small-sized DSLR camera is twice the size and bulk of a compact camera. If you want a camera you can slip in a pocket or a small bag, then a compact is the best choice. If you are travelling this is a definite plus.

Do you wish to take videos with your camera? Video capture has long been a standard feature of most compact cameras, with the latest models even offering high definition modes. DSLRs have started to get in on the act, but theres still only a handful which offer video.

At the end of the day whether you buy a digital SLR or compact camera will largely depend on your photographic style, your purse and your requirements.

Before investing your hard earned dollars in a camera visit a camera store and test out one of their floor samples. Take the opportunity to compare cameras and prices. Doing so will give you peace of mind.

What matters the most when buying a digital camera? Is it the image quality, the brand name or the features offered by the camera? Here are 10 things you must consider when planning to buy a photo-gear. Its not just the brand name or the fancy features provided by the camera that should influence your decision, it should be your preference in the purview of the following buying guide.

1. How Much Would You Like To Spend The primary consideration while buying a camera is your budget. Decide on how much you are willing to pay for the possession of the photo-gear. The digital camera market is flooded with a variety of cameras in all ranges. All the major brands (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Samsung, Olympus) are set to serve the customers and the potential buyers with scores of features at competitive prices. All you need to do is to first decide the amount you would like to spend and thereafter search for the photo-gears as per the budget. If you are a beginner and want to try your hand on photographic excursion, Nikon Coolpix L22 (or even a camera phone) is a good option.
2. Primary Objective Getting to know why you want to buy a camera helps in discovering the camera that suits your requirements. Answer the basic questions for yourself, like:
   • Why do you need the camera? Only for photographing family, friends and groups or getting down to the serious stuff (like shooting landscapes or wildlife or macro subjects).
   • How frequently you will be using the camera? Every now and then or will wait for some family events or a get together or may be only once a while.
   • Will you click the photographs for online sharing alone or would like to retain the prints as well. Large prints call for a high resolution and you may want to invest in a DSLR to keep up the picture quality.
   • Do you already own a camera or this one is going to be the very first possession?
   • Determine your experience level.

   Knowing the above will help you draw a clear picture as to what exactly are you looking for - a simple point and shoot or a compact camera, an entry level digital SLR or a professional photo-gear (with flexibility of accessorizing and extending its basic capabilities).

3. Your Level As A Photographer Assessing your photographing skills before buying a camera is like setting the goals before reaching the destination. This parameter helps in identifying the basic features which should be offered by the camera. The camera for a newbie or a beginner should be loaded with the automatic settings (requiring minimal user interference for essential settings). Mostly all the entry level cameras and compacts do that for you (auto WB settings and flash mode selections, etc). Whereas being a skilled photographer, you would probably like to own a camera which offers a wide variety of settings to control what your camera sees and captures. Opt for a DSLR if you like to play around with various settings to generate outstanding results.
4. Features, Bells & Whistles There is a stiff competition in the digital camera market, with each manufacturer striving for offering the best at the most competitive prices. If you are looking for an equipment loaded with fancy features and bells & whistles, there is nothing like the compacts. They offer features like face detection, self-portrait mode, smile detection and so on. DSLRs and prosumers on the other hand focus on providing useful features like better image processing engine, bigger image sensor, option to shoot in RAW, etc which ultimately helps in capturing the fine and accurate details of the scene or the subject.
5. Lens Zoom Range Almost all the cameras today feature optical zoom starting at a bare minimum of 3x. The camera phones are an exception to it, they feature the digital zoom. Zooming in helps in getting up, close and personal with the subject (without physically moving closer) and fill the frame with tightly cropped scene. The better the zooming range of the cameras lens, more is the possibility of capturing the distant and far-off objects.
6. Consider The Auto Modes All the cameras provide a certain auto modes for specific scene and subject. The camera automatically takes care of all the other settings. The compacts and point & shoot cameras are good at providing the various modes like landscape mode, night mode, auto mode and so on but fails to provide control over the aperture, shutter speed and the ISO settings. If you are interested in capturing motion & movement and like to create beautiful blurs and bokeh effect, there is no match to a DSLR.
7. Ease Of Use The next big factor while deciding on which camera to buy is the ease of using the equipment. The equipment you are planning to buy should offer you the flexibility of easily sifting through the various modes suitable for specific scenes (or subjects). It should also be able to offer simplified access to various settings so as to quickly tune the camera and get ready for capturing the spontaneous action. Ease of use is also related with the flexibility of accessorizing the equipment with filters, lenses, additional flash units, etc to put forth your creative skills at photographing the scene.
8. Processing Speed Some digital cameras, especially the compacts and point and shoot types pose a time-barrier in photographing spontaneous actions and activities. This is so because these cameras take a long time to process the image and save it to the memory and return back to the shooting mode. If you are planning to photograph kids, pets or sports action, it is better to consider a DSLR over other cameras.
9. Suit Your Style Looking for something which suits your style and compliments your style and personality? You can choose the equipment on basis of factors like size, shape, color, brand and overall look and feel. You can choose from multiple color offerings by Nikon Coolpix and Sony Cybershot, sleek and slim designs offered by various compact camera manufacturers, look out for weatherproof and waterproof photo-gear (if you hate to be too possessive about your belongings) or plan to buy a DSLR to justify your passion for photography.
10. Comparisons And Reviews Shortlist the cameras on the basis of features, price, storage capacity, battery types and so on. Compare the various aspects and read the reviews to arrive at the final conclusion.

Which camera is on your wish list?

Shivanand Sharma is a photographer and shares photography tips on his photography blog.

Over recent years there has been an explosion in the range of digital cameras. Although there has been a move away from traditional type of compact cameras and Digital Single Lens Reflex (Digital SLR) with the industry appearing to focusing a lot of development compact system cameras (bridge camera). This has made it even harder to decide which digital camera is the best for the average consumer.

The principle behind most compact system cameras is the same as that of a Digital SLR, with the benefits of relatively large sensors and interchangeable lenses, but coupled with the portable nature of the advanced compact cameras. These cameras are designed to deliver a high standard of functionality and image quality in a relatively small and inexpensive camera body.

This opens the market for manufactures, to first-time users demanding a reasonably priced way of attaining high-quality images, through to the enthusiast who may not wish to carry around a heavy Digital SLR body and collection of lenses for a days shooting or for whom the price of a pro Digital SLR would be prohibitive.

Although, for myself I would opt for the functionality and image quality of compact system cameras, are these really the best option for everyone?

Compact cameras

Compact cameras are designed for the less demanding and occasional users and are good for family and holiday snaps. Supplied with smart and intelligent technology, compact cameras are ideal for those happy to leave all the decision-making to the camera rather than themselves, but also allowing some degree of control when needed. Ironically these cameras can often be the most difficult to choose between due to the vast array of models from a huge number of manufacturers.

Pixels

Many of todays digital cameras contain a larger sensors than in the past, incorporating between 8-16 million pixels (Mp). This comfortably meets and surpasses the requirements of most digital camera users today for taking family photographs and holiday snaps.

While a greater number of pixels can be beneficial in good light, this can also have a negative effect on image quality when you use cameras light sensitivity or ISO settings to the maximum when photographing in low light conditions.

This doesnt mean you should avoid digital cameras with the a high number of mega-pixels, but that your decision regarding the digital camera that would most suit your needs should take into account both quality of the image sensor, number of mega-pixels, ease of use and the quality of the lens. Lens quality and sensor quality are two guiding factors that should always be at the forefront of any decision when considering the type of digital camera, model and manufacturer, you wish to purchase.

If you do plan on buying a simple compact camera, and youre likely to be using it in a range of lighting conditions, lookout for those which use a backlit sensor, as these tend to capture images with less noise (noise is the colour distortion caused by low light conditions where your digital camera is trying to compensate, this grainy and spotted appearance may spoil what would otherwise be a nice photograph) and with a greater dynamic range. As the technology improves manufacturers are incorporating this feature in to a greater range of models. Nevertheless it is worth enquiring prior to purchasing your new camera.

What lens?

As previously mentioned the quality of the lens is of real significance of when considering which camera to purchase. It is advisable to find a camera that has a range of the lens, as this will determine how suitable it is for different subjects and situations. I would advise that when purchasing a new camera body you choose a short zoom lens with arrange between approximately 24 mm to 70 mm. Of course it is likely that as an initial purchase, the camera will come as a lens kit, where the camera body lens come boxed together.

Many manufacturers equip their digital cameras with an image stabilisation system. If possible look for cameras with either lens or sensor based image stabilisation, particularly if youre looking to buy a camera with a relatively long zoom. This will help maintain a higher standard of image quality in lower light conditions.

Viewfinder

The many compact cameras have an optical viewfinder but not all do. These are linked to the optical zoom of the camera and operate in relation to the lens, and are useful for photographing in bright light when LCD screens become hard to view. Optical viewfinders are found on higher specification compacts such as Canons G 12 or Nikons P 7000.

Only Spend What You Can Afford

It is easy to be convinced by glossy brochures and slick sales patter to part with more money than you can reasonably afford when purchasing a digital camera. But if you have a little more money to spend; what camera should you be looking for and what are their benefits? A more expensive compact camera may provide a better quality sensor and a better quality lens, which together help improve the quality of the digital photographs you shoot. They may also offer manual control over exposure for when you are more technically proficient, and you may have the facility to shoot in raw, a shooting mode which will give you a more information recorded on to the digital image allowing greater flexibility when processing the image in programs such as Photoshop. Moreover, higher specification models are likely to have a superior LCD screen to those on cheaper cameras, which will not only provide greater clarity but will also be easier to view in bright and sunny conditions.

If you require a larger zoom range, you will defiantly want to consider a bridge camera. These combine expansive optical zooms with manual exposure options, which together provide control similar to a DIGITAL SLR.

Alongside higher quality LCD screens bridge cameras tend to incorporate electronic viewfinders with around 230,000 dots of resolution, although the performance of these varies wildly between models so its worth considering this before coming to a decision regarding any particular model. These viewfinders also have the added benefit of displaying much of the information found on the cameras LCD screen, which allows you to view and change cameras settings without the need to take the camera away from your eye.

While the results from a bridge camera generally are not as good as that of the quality of a Digital SLR, what you lose in quality you gain in portability and convenience in a small and inexpensive camera body. Various cameras now have articulated LCD screens and HD video recording, and as previously mentioned some even offer a raw shooting mode.

Compact and bridge camera summary

In summary, if you have about 300 - 400 to spend and you want something pocket-sized yet capable, look out for a model with a healthy range of manual control, an LCD screen with at least 460,000 dots and ideally a backlit sensor. But before you do that, consider whether youd be better off with a compact system camera (bridge camera). This will give you greater flexibility and better general image quality.

Perhaps another consideration is the future of your photography, and what you wish to achieve as a photographer. If you are considering simply taking snapshots then a compact camera is perfect. However if you wish to begin to move towards being a photographer who is more technically proficient then the flexibility of a bridge camera would perhaps be more suitable for your requirements.

William Johnston is a professional photographer providing wedding photography and portrait photography throughout Bristol, Bath and Somerset, the South West, Birmingham and the West Midlands, Leicester and Leicestershire, London and the Home Counties

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