3 Cs to Choosing Your First Digital Camera

The Four Categories

It helps to understand how camera manufacturers divide up the digital camera market. Basically, the consumer digital camera space is divided up into four categories: Point-and-Shoot, Beginner, Serious, and Advanced. [Notice, we did not mention a fifth category which is the "Pro" category and which targets both the amateur "pros" as well as the professional "pros."] You have to decide the Category you fit into.

Point-and-Shoot: This crowd is the bread and butter of the camera manufacturers. They want a digital camera that is easy to use, takes good pictures, and does not require them to even break open the User Guide. Interestingly, most digital cameras from the other categories can also be used in a point-and-shoot mode, and this crowd has been known to spend $$$ to get "the best" -- yet use only a fraction of the features they are paying for. But then again, there are not too many strictly point-and-shoot digital cameras today; the technology has advanced to the point that a digital camera targeted to the point-and-shoot crowd will usually also have more features than they need. I wouldn't recommend you buy from the Advanced category because these higher-end models might require you to fiddle with more settings than you'd be comfortable with to get good pictures.

Beginner: Here is the budding photographer who wants a digital camera to start off with. A strictly point-and-shoot camera might do the trick, but may not permit too much experimentation. A digital camera in this category should not cost too much but must provide the ability to experiment so the beginner can learn the basics of photography. This is also the time to head off to your neighbourhood library and loan out a couple of photography books on composition and exposure control.

Serious: The beginner has exhausted the capabilities of his or her digital camera and is ready to try out more advanced features, including manual modes, white balance selection, and exposure bracketing. The serious amateur photographer has also a better understanding of the type of photography she or he prefers: landscape, portraits, macro, sports, street, etc. and may seek out a digital camera that is good at that particular type of photography.

Advanced: Once you reach this level, I don't see you asking, "Which digital camera should I buy?" You know what you want, what you don't really care for, and what you are willing to live with. You know there is no such beast as the perfect digital camera, and you don't waste your time and energy debating "my digital camera is better than yours." You simply have no desire to debate any of these things because you are out there busy making pictures (yeah, that's not a typo: making, not just simply taking). You probably demand the best in image quality, rapid performance, reliability, and flexibility; but then you may also purchase the digital camera that "the majority" denigrate but which you consider is right for you. In fact, you can take excellent pictures with a digital camera from any of the four categories.