The camera consumer trend over the past five years has been to go digital. The development and use of Single Lens Reflex [SLR] digital cameras has grown dramatically. The marked drop in use of large format film cameras and enlarging lenses reflects the decreasing market demand for those historically traditional film cameras. While one reputable manufacturer is still producing their flagship film cameras, most have discontinued a large number of their film lenses. While many remain faithful to the advantages of film technology, it is obvious that digital photography is going to capture the mainstream market. The increased quality in digital capture and memory capacity has been one alluring factor. For the first generation digital cameras, there was the challenging question of whether to store the digital data files in RAW or in JPEG or TIFF. Now many companies provide instant storage of a RAW image at the same time a full-color JPEG is displayed for the photographer's immediate use.

You may want to choose your low-end camera as much by what kind of storage cards it uses as by its features, especially if you're trying to save money. Even if you don't buy your storage cards on eBay, it can be a great place to compare prices and get an idea which types of cards (and capacities) are currently less expensive. Most low-end cameras use standard (or rechargeable) AA or AAA batteries, which are inexpensive for casual use and found just about everywhere. A very few cameras in this class use 6-volt lithium batteries, which have become fairly common. The lithium batteries reduce the size and weight of the camera. Obviously, flash usage reduces battery life, but many cameras allow you to turn off the LCD display, which also saves considerable battery life. You may have to think a little more about how you use the tool (many low-end cameras are slow to power-up, so that fleeting moment may not be captured, and automatic shut-off to save battery life may be as short as 30 seconds), but good photographic habits include knowing the limitations of the tool. Within those limits, a low-end digital camera is the most efficient way to get the job done.

It is commonly believed that cold weather can damage a camera - and it also happens to be true. Condensation can form inside a camera, as it grows cooler, and not just in the lens. Moisture can cause a number of intermittent or permanent problems with the camera's electronics. Condensation inside the camera can freeze and cause damage if it is in the cold for too long. Warm the camera up slowly after it's been out in the cold, but do your best to keep it from getting cold in the first place! Many cold-weather photographers carry their cameras inside their jacket to keep them from getting cold enough for condensation to form. Lastly, consider storing the camera in a plastic bag - the condensation will form first on the bag before it forms in the camera.

The great debate about how many mega pixels a digital camera must have for quality photographs rages on. Of course the answers depends primarily on how large you want your print to be and what the characteristics of the camera's sensor is. Just like traditional silver-based analog prints digital photographs begin to pixilate as enlargements increase in size. To get the best use of your camera and investment, it is best to explore the many facets that affect the quality of digital photography. What is the sensor and how does it affect digital photo quality? No matter how many mega pixels the camera you are looking at may boast, a photograph can still lack field of depth and true colors due to other features you may have overlooked in digital cameras. What is even worse, you may have splurged on an 8 to 10 mega pixel camera, but not have it set up to optimize performance. On the other hand, if you went for a 4 or 5 mega pixel camera there are features that you may be unaware of that could dramatically affect the quality of your photographs. We want you to get the most out of the camera you choose.

You will want to get familiar with a term called the "Focal Length". This term explains just how far out a shot can be taken, and still be in focus. There are a couple of different categories of focal lengths, including telephoto (perfect narrow sized photos) and wide-angle (best for wider shots). It is noted that most of the digital cameras are built with telephoto lenses, and not the wide-angle. If you are looking to take pictures of wide spaces, then you may need an additional lens.

Night photos can be extremely beautiful, but very challenging to take. Just like many other parts of life, though, if you practice, you will get better and more natural at it. The beauty of digital photography, too, is that if you don't like a shot, you can just erase it and do it over, without having to develop the film and wait another day to retake the photo! Many people find delight in the daylight hours, enjoying sunlight, people walking and so on. However, some of us see more attractions during the night hours, and few of us will bring those attractions to attention through digital photography. Some of the best pictures taken where during the night hours, especially at what time the lighting is in check.

Probably the easiest and most popular method of sharing a digital photo is to print it out. You can either print it out yourself, on your own printer and paper at home, or you can have a professional do it for you. In either case, you will need to store the images onto a CD or DVD and use that to print out your copies. (It's a little like when you have regular file processed, in the fact that the hard copy of your pictures will be used to pick out the photos you would like to print out.) You will then pick out the photo(s) you want to print and they will be printed out onto a glossy photo paper. It's easy as pie and very inexpensive, especially if you can do it at home! If you are comfortable with using your computer and the Internet, you can also send your pictures with an email. This is a quick and convenient alternative to the old "snail mail" way to send mail to another person. The recipients can also print them out; if they decide they would like to, or use them as a wallpaper background for their computer. You can learn to download the photo and send it right on the Internet, and your computer's user manual should also have a section explaining it. It is not hard to learn, so don't let the technology overwhelm and intimidate you.