Buying a camera

I frequently get asked for camera-buying tips. I'm not going to lie, I'm not an expert in point-and-shoot cameras. I don't know which is the best out there, but here are some things to consider if you are planning on getting a new camera in the future:

1) What will you be shooting mostly?

2) How lazy do you want to be (or in other words, are you going to shoot in Auto or Manual)?

3) How important is quality to you?

4) How important is size?

5) How much are you willing to spend?

If you are willing to spend $1000+ and you are not lazy (will be shooting manually), then get an SLR camera. Which means you will also be buying lenses (more $$$). This will get you the BEST results (worth it in my opinion). It will also be bigger/bulkier. (this is what I use as my professional camera)

If you want better quality, are not lazy, but don't want bulky and don't want to spend too much money, get something LIKE a Canon Powershot that shoots RAW (highest quality) and manually. This will give you good results, but without having the option of switching out the lens, you will be more limited, obviously, in the look of your images. (this is what I use as my throw camera) ("throw" as in, throw in my purse not even in a case, quick and easy camera)

If you are not willing to spend money, want to shoot Auto, and want small, then I can't really help you too much because I don't have one of those point-and-shoot cameras. Just look up which ones have the best reviews in your price range. Good luck.

Oh, and if you want advice about lenses, ask me. I have/have had several and know which are good for different purposes and price ranges.

If you want specifics like Nikon vs Canon and which SLR to get, read reviews and all the specs about the camera, but you can also email me and I'll let you know what I think.

But just another note on some terms that you may be interested in but don't know a whole lot about:

Megapixels-you really don't need a billion megapixels unless you are blowing your images up to HUGE prints (who does that unless it's their profession?). 10-12 megapixels is JUST FINE

ISO-the lower the number, the better the quality. The higher the number-the darker of a situation you can shoot in without flash (which is nice). It's great to have a camera that you can shoot a really high ISO (say 1600) and have it still look good. Most cheaper cameras don't look good at that ISO. My Nikon looks beautiful at that ISO (better than Canon's!).