Questions You Should Ask Yourself If You Want To Buy A Camera

Just as a picture is worth a thousands words, a camera can cost a pretty penny depending upon what you need

. Any person planning on committing to photography for a hobby or profession should be expecting to spend at least a little bit of cash on equipment; new gear is one of the best and worst parts of calling yourself a photographer. You can get started taking pictures for under $100 or you can spend as much as you want as there is a lot of expensive high end gear. Since there are so many options for new photographers, let's skip all of the cool accessories (filters, lenses, tripods) and break down your most important first purchase: The Camera.

What Do You Need in a Camera? The first thing to consider when buying a camera is to determine why you want a camera and know what you want it to do. As an example, if you're going to take pictures of your friends while having fun, you probably don't want a manual DSLR (like Canon's Rebel) as its a lot bigger and heavier than a small compact camera. Here's a few key questions to ask yourself to help decide what you need:

* Do I want to use film or digital?

* Am I taking pictures for fun or for a career?

* How comfortable am I operating a manual SLR?

* Is image quality a make or break issue for me?

One of the reasons for the wide range of equipment is that every camera works differently and has its own pros and cons; you'll need to balance these with what you need. Professional photographers or those wanting to become professionals, often don't want to give up image quality for a lower cost while the average person doesn't care about the extra 0.5% of clarity for their family photos. It's all up to you.

What Do You Want to Spend? There really is no limit to what you can spend on a camera. You can pick up a little pocket camera for around $100, or you can spend as much as $10,000 on a top of the line digital. Even a nice manual SLR that runs on film can still cost a pretty penny, so make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before you buy it. Before you make any camera purchase, ask yourself these important questions:

* Can I really afford this camera?

*What features do I really need?

* Is this camera suitable for the activities I'm buying it for?

Sure a cool night vision camera that shoots 13,000 frames per second may be a fun purchase but do you really need that for taking pictures of your kids? This works both ways - if you want to work as a professional, don't sacrifice on flexibility and results just to get a cheaper camera up front. You'll end up having to buy a better camera later, so it's often best to wait a little longer so you can buy exactly what you need. You will be happy you did.

If you're honest with yourself about what you need from your camera and how much you can spend on it, you're going to be a lot more satisfied with your purchase down the line. If you need help working out what you need or how different cameras perform in different situations, do a little online research, read customer reviews, or talk to the guys and gals at your local photo shop (not the drugstore!).

No matter how much you spend (or don't spend) your camera will likely cover your basic needs.That's because many consumer level cameras work great in 90% of situations. Some of the photos in a recent Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated were taken with an inexpensive disposable camera so don't think a small budget is a handicap. As always, the most important thing is to have fun and take great pictures.

by: Autumn Lockwood

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