Everyone thinks they know what’s best when it comes to big purchases. But, if that were true we wouldn’t need salespeople, and buying guides. The sheer width and breadth of the internet would shrivel fast. We all need a little help sometime. When buying a digital camera, you want to buy for the right reasons, and have a sound understanding of what those reasons are. Buying the latest and greatest is generally not one of them. The camera is only a tool, and it’s the artist using the tool that has the most influence over the final work.

Any guide to digital camera buying would be incomplete if it didn’t cover a few technical terms and concepts. Concepts not just important to the actual purchase, but also comprehensive of how you the photographer will use the camera going forward.

Unless you have money to burn, impulse buying can be fraught with future disappointment. Digital cameras are complex instruments by nature, and require some level of understanding. You need to do at least some homework. Especially if this is your first camera.

The budget is probably the most important factor in buying a new camera. Each market segment gets new digital cameras from manufacturers. If you know how many digital cameras are launched each year, you already know that you can’t have all of them.

One thing you’ll notice when shopping these days, is that the line between professional level SLR (single lens reflex) cameras, and amateur point and shoot cameras is vanishing. For around $500 – $600 you can get a pretty impressive digital SLR. The Canon Rebel XT and Nikon D40 lines have models in this class.

When you want to buy a digital camera you need to know what technologies and features come together with it. What does the new camera have compared with the one you have now?

If the only reason behind the new purchase is getting a few extra megapixels, then you’re a bit misguided.

In the end, what really matters is good pictures. And the means to that end, is knowing what you want and where to get it. If you want to take the best pictures you can, then educate yourself before and after your purchase. Before will get you the best tool possible, and afterward to help you make better use of the camera in your hands.