1. Buying a Digital Camera by John Ranum with graphics by Luke Ranum SONY PANASONIC OLYMPUS NIKON CANNON KODAK

2. What’s the big deal of buying a digital camera? I’ll just get the one I like. Is it really that easy???? With the holidays fast approaching here are some helpful ideas and reminders.

3. On the website www.dealtime.com, it lists 104www.dealtime.com brand name digital cameras with over 900 items for sale. With that many choices it can make it a little overwhelming to pick out the right camera.

4. Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself when making your choice: How much money do I want to spend? What types of pictures will I be taking? What type and how much memory will I need? What kind of batteries does the camera use? How many pixels (mega pixels) will I need to make quality prints?

5. Things to avoid: Spur of the moment purchase. Cameras which emphasis a digital zoom over an optical zoom. If it looks like it costs too much or too little. Online purchase without seeing the camera for yourself. A product which promotes a technology which no one has heard of.

6. Before you buy: Search online for tips, reviews, and pricing. – http://malektips.com/buying_a_digital_camera_help_and_tips.html http://malektips.com/buying_a_digital_camera_help_and_tips.html – http://cameras.about.com/cs/choosingacamera/a/megapixels.htm http://cameras.about.com/cs/choosingacamera/a/megapixels.htm – http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,125645-page,4/article.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,125645-page,4/article.html – http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/digital-cameras-the- top-10-things-you-need-to-know_roundup.html http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/digital-cameras-the- top-10-things-you-need-to-know_roundup.html Go window shopping and write down notes about the products you see. Check the prices of extras such as lens filters, replacement batteries, memory cards, external flashes, etc… And always remember that you can say NO to the salesman if they get too pushy!