It's been reported in the media that digital cameras were the most popular personal gift for the most recent holiday season in the United States. Most families would still not call them cheap, especially given the prolonged high unemployment in everything but lower paying service jobs. However, the prices of digital cameras have definitely come down from where they were in 1998-2000, when the better-quality ones were first manufactured for the consumer market.

Choosing a digital camera from the scores now available takes a lot of research. You want to avoid disappointment with a low quality camera at the $100 end, but not pay for the proverbial bells and whistles at $750 that the non-professional buff will never use. Some digital cameras are the same size as traditional SLRs; some are miniature, not always suited to large hands; and many more compacts are in between.

It helps to locate an independent website that lets you choose several cameras in your price range to compare features. Professional product reviews are very helpful, but customer reviews give another perspective. Which brands seem to have large numbers of a particular "refurbished" model for sale online or in the classified ads? That could indicate poor quality checking or unreliable components being used during manufacture. Is the case plastic instead of metal? Will it crack open the second time the camera spills out of your jacket pocket? Not to mention the possible internal damage that may occur when it's dropped.

Why Buy a Digital Camera?

Those of us who are comfortable with SLRs have put off buying a digital camera for a long time, but digitals have their time and place and benefits. Images can be downloaded into a computer system, then modified or adjusted in one of several graphics programs before being printed. The images will not have the resolution of photographs recorded on film. That's because many factors come into play, including the memory in the digital camera and the resolution of both the camera and the output printer. There's no film processing cost but photo quality paper for a color printer can be expensive. Ink cartridges can also be very costly, so there's not always a lot of leeway for practice printing. A big plus is that digital photos are quickly available to the photographer. That should bring smiles to those waiting to see how they look.