How to Buy a Point-and-Shoot Camera

If you just want to take pictures without worrying about complicated settings, a point-and-shoot camera is for you. Even with these automatic babies, however, a wide range is available. When choosing a point-and-shoot camera, consider how you will use the camera so that your selected model includes the features you need, but not features you won't use.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Credit Cards And Loans
• SLR Camera
• Point-and-shoot Cameras

Doing Your Homework

1. Read photography magazines such as "Popular Photography" and "Apogee Photo Magazine." These magazines and others regularly publish evaluations of specific point-and-shoot cameras offered by major camera manufacturers. Read these articles and familiarize yourself with the many features offered on these cameras.
2. Evaluate your needs after reading some of the articles. How will you be using the camera? What features do you want and what features should you avoid? For example, you might skip aperture and shutter priorities. You may not need those features if you intend only to take photos of the family.
3. Remember that the more features a point-and-shoot camera has, the more expensive it is going to be. And expensive point-and-shoot cameras tend to be more complicated to use than inexpensive SLR (manual) cameras. For example, point-and-shoot cameras usually have a confusing and time-consuming sequence of multiple button pushes to get to appropriate settings. If you intend to use the camera to take photos of the family, vacations, special events and so on, you will probably want just the following features: a zoom lens, autofocus, protection for the lens and the ability to turn the flash on and off.
4. Consider infrared autofocus if you want to use the camera for grab-and-shoot pictures. The infrared does all the focusing work.
5. Consider a longer focal length zoom camera with SLR-type autofocus if you are more thoughtful about your pictures and focusing technique. This is not a grab and shoot camera. You will need to take more time in focusing the shot. These cameras see what your eye sees. This camera would be more for the photographer who may have used a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, but doesn't want to carry all the equipment. In this case, it is all in the camera.

Selecting the Camera

6. Ask to see three or four point-and-shoot cameras when you visit the store.
7. Check out each camera's focus and viewing, shutter and exposure control, metering and range, flash system and the flash system's power source, and loading and winding. Also make certain that the camera has a red-eye reduction feature. Point-and-shoot cameras are notorious for causing red-eye in the finished photograph because the flash and lens are very close together.
8. Take time to play with each camera and select the one that has only the features you will need and is comfortable to use.

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