A Step-by-Step Guide for Buying
To keep a clear head, you should have a plan. It is easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment, make an impulsive decision, and wake up the next morning wondering if you made the right choice. Follow the next steps so you don't suffer from buyer's remorse.
Decide exactly how much money you can afford to spend. Be realistic and include all the expenses that a new camera will involve. In addition to the camera, along with taxes and shipping, make a list of necessary accessories. Essential accessories generally include:
A memory card: Most cameras come with limited memory and need a card.
A camera case: This case should have room for accessories that you take with you, such as batteries, cables, memory cards, and filters.
An extra battery: Rechargeable batteries are great, but they are generally made by the manufacturer and can be very expensive.
A battery charger or auxiliary battery charger: You may want an extra charger to charge your spare batteries while you are using your camera.
File management and image manipulation software: Your camera will come with some basic software, but you will probably want something more powerful.
You may already own a number of things that you will not have to buy:
If your camera takes SD (Secure Digital) memory cards, you may have other devices that use this common card and you will not have to buy another card.
You may already have image management software that you know how to use.
You may have a case that will hold your camera and accessories.
Like software, every camera will list its system requirements. The term “system requirements” refers to the operating system, such as Windows XP or Macintosh OS X. In addition, the camera requirements will list minimum RAM (memory) and hard drive space. USB specifications should be listed as well.
Keep your budget simple. Decide how much you can spend and divide that number by two. This means that you can spend half your budget on the base price of the camera. The other half will go for memory cards, cases, software, batteries, taxes, and shipping. For example, if you can afford $500, plan to spend about $250 on the camera itself.
The amount of RAM and hard drive space you will need will depend greatly on the size of the photos you want to work with. If you plan to work small, you should have no problem. However, since image processing can take up a lot of computing power, you might want to factor in the cost of upgrading your equipment when you consider digital cameras. For your digital darkroom to run smoothly, you will want extra computing power to work with.
It is probably a good idea to have a Plan B. Decide on two cameras that you find acceptable. With electronics changing so fast, you may find an out-dated model that is no longer available or a brand new model that has been announced but has not yet started shipping. Make a list of the pros and cons of each of your favorite cameras and decide on two that you like the most.
