Choosing a digital camera could be a daunting task with the wide number of choices available today. There are lots and lots of things that you positive need to keep in mind while going to choose a camera for yourself. The best digital camera for your friend might not be the best option for you.

So, the first question that you need to answer is that for what purpose you are planning to buy a digital camera. Is it to take snaps of your family while on holiday or are you planning to become a photographer? This will help you to narrow down your choices to a limited few. So lets take a look at the options that we have :

A camera for emailing snaps, getting family snaps etc. : Most all the people make use of a digital camera for acquiring personal snaps and then emailing them to family and friends. For this purpose, a simple and relatively cheap camera costing $100 to $200 and having a 2 mega pixel range is sufficient.

A camera for photographing snaps for auctions : With more and more business taking place through the Internet, you might also absolutely need a camera to take snaps of your antique furniture which you would like to sell. So, you positive need a camera which can take pictures at an extremely close range, say within 12 inches of the object. Thus, a camera consisting of 3-4 mega pixel is suitable for such purposes. The prices of these cameras are falling nowadays since they fall into mid-segment, i.e. they are neither hi-fi nor low end. So if you go and do a little bit of research, it is probably that you will hit a workable bargain.

A camera for images of top quality for web pages, desktop publishing etc : Now, if you absolutely need a camera for acquiring pictures for desktop publishing or website development, then you positive need one with a 4-5 mega pixel range. These cameras normally have lots of additional features which you can use to enhance your images. Even though they are quite costly, they provide the best options with respect to resolution, features, and creativity.

Besides the above points, you also positive need to ponder other issues such as the ergonomics of the camera. How does it feel when you hold it in your hand ? Are you comfortable with its size and weight ? Is it practical to carry it throughout the day ? Is its shape easy or does it look like a gizmo out of Star Wars ?

If you emphasize on a light-weight and small camera, then you must also keep in mind the fact that you will compromising on the battery life. Most small cameras do not have powerful batteries since larger the battery, more the power. Also, small cameras have very small flash lights - so the amount of flash generated by these pea-sized flashes will be considerably less than a bigger camera.

Hence, it is very important that you understand exactly what you positive need your camera for in order to ensure that you are truly buying the best digital camera for yourself.