If you are purchasing a camera for 4 x 6 snapshots a 3-4 Megapixel is fine, but you will find as you shop for this holiday season – December 2019 – that most cameras today come with 12 Megapixels or more, so that isn’t a problem. If you like a particular brand of camera, go with it. Some features to look for are:
Battery TypeDepending on your preference you may want regular AAA batteries because they are everywhere and easy to replace or a proprietary rechargeable battery that comes with your camera. It’s really just a matter of choice.
LCD size
Generally, the larger the LCD, the better. The larger your view, the better idea you have whether the picture is good, or if you should take another.
View Finder
Most new cameras don’t have an eyepiece to view your subject, you use the viewfinder instead. If an eyepiece viewer is important to you, make sure the camera you purchase has one. Only in very bright sun is the eyepiece viewer important.
Zoom
For me,
Optical Zoom, is the most important feature. When you frame a picture, you usually want a part of the scene- maybe just the face or faces – maybe the whole body and the interactions between people- maybe the people as they relate to the vast scenery. The larger your zoom, the better chance you have of capturing what you’d like to see in a picture. The average zoom sold today is 4X. So ask about Optical Zoom (not Digital Zoom)
Image Stabilization
This helps make your picture more sharp and less fuzzy. Image stabilization is more important the longer your zoom and has become a standard feature in most cameras today .
Our next post will discuss memory and memory cards...
