....Traditional darkroom photography and Digital too

I figured I would write this and try to explain the different types of camera's that are out there and maybe help in the decision making on what to buy. I'm not getting into which brand is better or worse, just a broad overview from my perspective, and ignoring movie/video cameras.

Cameras come in everything from your phone to large format, from film to digital and from a few euro (secondhand) to millions (secondhand). From plastic disposable to a 200 mp Hasselblad , with everything from point and shoots to bridge to rangefinders to high end Digital Single Lens Reflex (Dslr) in between.

If you are in the market for high end expensive cameras I doubt anything I say here will help.

First thing you need to decide is, 'What do I want the camera for?'

If its for general snapshots of family, friends, family get togethers etc. and for uploading to social networking sites and to print in 6x4 to keep a record, then most camera phones or smart phones or tablets etc will do this perfectly fine. Take some photos, upload them, see how they look and get them printed to see how they look. Remember there are usually an number of 'quality settings in the camera function on your phone. For sending mms messages the quality is usually poor because the image file size has to be small to send using mms. Turn up the quality to max and see how much better they look.

Inexpensive point and shoot cameras can do this even better, in some instances. That link is to an American site but it gives you an idea as to whats out there. It would be impossible to list all the features on inexpensive point and shoot cameras, simply because they are evolving all the time. However a few things are very important.

Ease of use. You are getting a simple point and shoot camera, no point in it taking you 5 minutes to set the thing up to take the picture and the moment has gone.

Memory card slot

Low light ability. The darker the 'light' you can take a picture in, the better.

Ability to turn flash on or off or auto flash. Have you ever taken a picture where only the people directly in front of the camera are all bright and those on the fringes are in darkness. Flashes on point and shoot cameras tend to have small flashes, so they cant cover a big area despite what salespeople tell you. The camera exposes for the flash and ignores everything else. Sometimes you could get everyone in the shot without flash if the camera has good low light ability.

Quick response time from pressing the shutter to taking the shot. This is usually more a problem in lower light, but there is nothing worse than a 'moment' appearing and you furiously pressing the shutter while waiting for the camera to decide if everything is ok before it takes the picture.

Image stabilization whether mechanical or digital is very handy to prevent the dreaded camera shake blur

Zoom. Again optical or digital. Optical is better but digital works too. This allows you to get closer to the subject . Although sometimes 'zooming with your feet' ie. getting closer to your subject with the camera. is much better

Scene modes. those set the camera's internal settings to what the manufacturer thinks is optimum for the type of scene you are taking. There will usually be a picture or symbol on the dial/button/menu to indicate the type of scene. Two little mountains for landscape, flower for macro/close up snow, sunny beach etc. Those can be brilliant for capturing a shot in difficult lighting conditions like snow or a sunny beach.

Self timer, kinda self explainatory if you want to be in the shot.

Hi resolution lcd screen. Very important to be able to view what you took.

Some things that I personally think are optional on an inexpensive point and shoot

Multiple megapixels , regardless of what the sales person tells you. See what a 2mp camera can do here

Smile recognition or other gizmos

Video handy but not esential

Wi fi connectivity,

GPS If you don't know where you are then you have other problem's

There are I'm sure others, but for an inexpensive capture moment you don't need them.

I'll repeat this for every camera purchase. Have the sales person show you how to use the camera and then use it yourself. Take a few pictures and have them show you the pictures on a computer screen or better yet have them print a 5x4 from the camera. How does the picture look? was the camera easy to use? was it intuitive? How does it feel in your hands?
You will notice I said sales person. I generally suggest you buy off a camera shop as opposed to on line, unless you are making a huge savings and you know what you are buying. If the sales person cant demo the camera to you, then take your custom to somewhere that will!!

Next will be family get togethers and travel and more.