Photography enthusiasts know what they want and often await it since the first "rumors" appear on the launch of a new model. But for many, beginners, families, amateurs, the choice of a new digital camera is not a simple thing. And it could not be, moreover, given the large number, hundreds of models of all shapes and all the prices that peep from the windows of the shops. How to do? The "informed" friends, the blindfolded clerk, are questioned, something is read here and there. And at the end? In the end, many rely on the known brand, or the "megapixel": "The more there are, the better the photos ...". We stimulate professional photographers and enthusiasts with anticipations and novelties, but also to offer beginners a series of ideas and tips to choose the best. Here are 10 tips for choosing the camera, which is good for Christmas just around the corner. Enjoy the reading. 1 - What use do I want to make of the digital camera? It seems a trivial question, but it is not. In fact, many people allow themselves to be attracted by the object, by the advanced functions, by the chatter of the shopkeeper, without taking into account their "needs", which are the ones that count. The worst thing that can happen to a camera is to stay locked in the closet. Because it is too bulky and does not fit in the backpack that we carry on the shoulders in the mountains, because it is too slow to resume children playing in the gardens, because it is useless when the light is not optimal and so on. Therefore, the first advice is to take the necessary time to carefully evaluate the kind of photos we want to make with the new machine: family photos, reportage, travel, sports, nature photos, practice to undertake the profession of photographer ... 2 - Which camera for my personal needs? Family photos - Beginners: a compact camera that works in complete automation is fine. Resolution does not matter. With a 6 megapixel camera you can print your photos in large format, without loss of quality. Moreover, a compact pixel-packed is often less fast, because the files are larger and more difficult to manage. Is there a stabilizer? Very well, it helps to avoid blur when we take photos with very little light. Is there the Face detection function? Facilitates the success of the portraits. Is there an optical viewfinder? Better, we can continue to frame even when the LCD is illegible. Travel: the choice is between a compact "bridge" and a small reflex. To the advantage of the former the greater extent of the zoom, the absence of the problem of dust on the sensor, the great depth of field. The SLR is more versatile, faster, more ergonomic. It offers a wide range of optics and accessories and produces higher quality photos, especially when shooting with high sensitivity values (ISO). Metropolitan Reportage: better a reflex, even economic, for interiors, moving subjects, the quality of the photos. Of course, a good compact is more discreet and can be a viable alternative, provided you accept its limits (slower response, inaccurate zoom, noise in photos going up with ISO). Aspiring professionals: to practice any digital SLR, even economic, even second-hand, is ideal. It is practical, has a fast response in all situations and allows you to test yourself with all the optics and therefore to find the "own style". Photography enthusiasts: better two cars, a semi-professional reflex and, alternatively, a compact pocket-sized quality. Thus, you never miss the right opportunity. 3 - How important are the megapixels? For someone, the resolution is important (for example, for professional photographers who print photos at the highest quality in poster format), for everyone else, much less. The megapixel race is something from a normal point of view, on the other hand it is only a device expedient to sell the new machines more easily. It is difficult to advertise the "dynamic range", or the degree of color fidelity, much easier to focus on megapixels. The truth is that with a 6 megapixel sensor you can easily churn out photos that can be published at the highest quality in a magazine. With a few megapixels more you get to the double page or you can print, always at the highest quality, portions of the image. So do megapixels count? Yes, but also the ergonomics, the speed of shooting and recording, the accuracy of the autofocus system, the menus, the software etc. In any case it is said that the photos taken with a 6 megapixel camera are better than those made with a 5 megapixel (in addition to the sensor, affect the conversion algorithms, the goal ...). To learn more: How many Megapixels for a good photo? 4 - Choose from five categories of digital cameras The offer of digital cameras is vast, for technical characteristics and prices. To simplify things we can group the machines into five categories, each with its pros and cons: Pocket cameras (ultra thin) Digital cameras that go everywhere, even in the shirt pocket. Pesano pochissiimo and can always be taken with them. They can take good pictures at low ISO values. However, they have stunted buttons and are often without the optical viewfinder. For those who also appreciate design. Compact cameras A category that groups most cameras on the market. Of all the prices and of all the levels, they are the most suitable for beginners and families. They offer better ergonomics than the ultra thin ones, but they are lighter and more compact than super zoom. Super zoom cameras ("bridge") The design is inspired by SLR cameras: good grip, often rubberized, controls, zoom with a sufficient extension for almost all kinds of photography: macro, interior, landscape, portrait, sport, nature. With just one object you carry around the equivalent of a camera with at least a pair of lenses. Versatility, speed and quality of the photos, however, are not equivalent to those of SLR. Compact quality cameras ("prosumer") Today there are few models in this range (for example, Canon G10, Panasonic LX3). They offer compact dimensions and weights, typical of compact, but also materials, assembly, objectives, display and superior performance. However, their high cost puts them in direct competition with cheap digital SLR cameras, which are best for action shots and photos in difficult lighting conditions. Digital SLR cameras Live a boom moment. They are the modern version of film SLRs. There are for all tastes and all budgets. They offer a good / excellent / excellent picture quality (in any case, always higher than that of compact cameras, which have difficulty in reading details in whites and shadows and show a greater incidence of noise when shooting in low light). Digital SLR cameras are ready to operate in a few tenths of a second. Compared to compact cameras, they are faster in focusing, shooting and recording files. They offer manual controls, a good grip and readable sights. The difference between an "entry level" (economic) and a semi-professional reflex is not so much in the quality of the photos (for example the Canon 450D is at the level of the Canon 40D on this front), as in the presence or not of details such as sights brighter and more precise, speed in the gusts, synchro flash mount, robust body and sealed against dust and humidity ... 5 - Take the machine in hand Once we have analyzed the technical characteristics of those that seem to us the models that are right for us, it's time to enter a store and take the cameras in hand. It 'an important moment because we are going to buy "our new camera", which is not the end, but only the means to take good pictures and have fun. "Feeling the car well in your hand" (an eye also for commands and menus) is the beginning of an idyll. 6 - Consider also the accessories park We can buy the machine as it is and be fully satisfied for a long time. But it may happen later that you need a second objective (if, for example, the standard zoom is not enough anymore), or an additional lens, or even the underwater housing. Some questions to the clerk on the optional machine kit can help us understand its potential for development. 7 - Zoom: extension, brightness The best results are obtained with the fixed quality lenses, but the zoom are tremendously comfortable, because with a single lens we bring along more focal lengths and we can cover different shooting situations by paying an acceptable duty on the image quality. Even in photography, however, every choice is a compromise: you can not, for example, claim that a zoom with a particularly wide range (which I know, a 28 - 280 mm) is also bright and ultra correct on the optical plane. The zoom of the compact We can be content with a good compromise between the extension and brightness and optical quality of the zoom. A "dark" zoom will force us to use high ISO values, which, with a compact, leads to a significant loss of quality in the photos. Furthermore, the low-light zoom does not help the autofocus system. Beginners, families and fans of super zoom can not even consider the problem, have fun with the large focal length and simply print the photos in small and medium format (so the faults are seen less). Enthusiasts, on the other hand, should take the zoom into consideration. Panasonic has chosen to equip the new LX3 with a slightly extended Leica zoom, 24 - 60 mm equivalent, but correct and with an excellent brightness: f / 2.0-2.8. The SLRs' zoom is worth the speech made so far, but there is more. Those looking for quality in the image should not only worry about the sensor, but especially about the optics. The latest generation of digital SLRs, in fact, can not express their full potential if coupled with a standard zoom, which is fine for everyday photos, but can not take advantage of the resolution of the machine. Some of the professional zoom (for example the "L" series of Canon or the gold series of Nikon) have little to envy to the best fixed optics. They cost, of course, a lot, but allow you to fully enjoy the car. With a zoom f / 5.6 it is by force of things quite limited. Universal goals? Sigma, Tamron, Tokina offer many optics, both fixed and zoom and even specialized. They cost less. The downside may be the not particularly robust construction, or the imprecise operation of the autofocus. But this is not always the case, even among these objectives there are some of great quality and with an optical performance that has nothing to envy to that of the most noble objectives. 8 - Useful and useless functions Useful and useless are very subjective adjectives. For example, a professional photographer does not know what to do with the programmed scene modes, which, on the other hand, can be useful for the beginner. Lately, however, the wild ride to the record number of features is a little 'worrying. The presence of many functions, in itself, is not a problem. But if the number of functions, which we do not need, is tied to the cost of the machine, well, it is worth considering a model "less rich" but also cheaper. The Live View technology allows you to use the display of a camera to frame, as it happens with the compact. It can be useful in particular situations (for example with the machine at ground level), but its functioning, for the moment, is imperfect. Some of the new SLRs also make HD videos. Excellent: only one object for two functions. For the moment, though, an entry level camera is much more practical. Stay away from digital zoom (what matters is optical magnification) and digital stabilizer. The former leads to poor quality prints, the latter works simply by raising the sensitivity automatically when it detects the presence of low light. If it exaggerates, it causes a lot of annoyance in the prints. The effective stabilizers are mechanical ones, which act on the sensor or those on the lens. 9 - Do not be a slave to the brand Even the world of photography, like that of football, has its huge fans. The team of the heart never changes, but with the cameras sin is allowed. Especially today, in the era of digital technology. A film camera could be considered eternal, the compact and the digital SLR instead not. The rapid technological evolution has reduced the period of validity of a machine. The strong competition between the houses means that now one prevails, now the other. It is legal and even right to change the flag to get the best. Of course, once you have built a rich kit, it is not easy to get rid of it to move on to another. How do you solve it? Perhaps postponing the big shopping when we are really sure of the goodness of the car. 10 - Where to buy the camera The important thing, as we suggested at the beginning, is to find a moment to compare the machines we have selected live. If there is a shop assistant who understands something, so much the better. For the actual purchase the options are different: shop specialized in photographic material, electronic supermarket, e-commerce. The shops that sell online often offer advantageous offers, promotions, savings. Before buying, however, it is good to make sure of the seriousness of the company, the effective presence of the product in the warehouse, the services that allow you to check the status of the order and shipment. And then, toll-free number, guarantees, secure transactions. Also check the contents of the package, the type of warranty and the language of the manual. It may not be in Italian and it is not always possible to download it from the Internet. Some online stores are known and even have a convenient pick-up point in the city: you place your order on the Web and then you pick up the goods checking that everything is okay and paying at the moment. The editorial choices: The Best Digital Cameras