| You made some important decisions. You picked | | | | What pictures do you plan to take. |
| out the computer that will do everything you | | | | |
| want it to do. The basic minimum is usually | | | | How often will you use the camera. |
| the computer, monitor, speakers that were | | | | |
| included, and the all-in-one printer/scanner | | | | Will you use all the complex settings. |
| fax. The keyboard and mouse are connected. | | | | |
| The speakers are connected. After you explore | | | | What brand will function with your computer. |
| the system and all it has to offer, you are | | | | |
| likely to want a digital camera. | | | | How much money do you want to spend. |
| | | | |
| Depending on what online activities you enjoy | | | | If you have never taken many pictures and |
| there are other accessories. Headphones with | | | | plan to take them on holidays or vacations |
| built-in-microphone to call friends and chat | | | | only you'll choose differently than the |
| hands-free. Perhaps a web cam if you have | | | | computer geek who can't wait to get his hands |
| distant relatives you'll never see any other | | | | on all the bells and whistles of that new |
| way. But the one thing that allows you to | | | | D-SLR. It has all the features and |
| reach out to all of them at once is a digital | | | | accessories used by professional |
| camera. With it you can put pictures of your | | | | photographers. Needless to say, the high |
| life online, make a list of all the people | | | | price tag also. |
| you want to send them to and with one click | | | | |
| you send an email with pictures attached to | | | | At the other end of the spectrum is the |
| the entire group. Then by saving the email | | | | economy model that you might consider a good |
| list you simply send new pictures to the same | | | | starter camera. You might imagine yourself |
| group again and again. You can stay in touch | | | | learning to use it then upgrading when you |
| without spending a great deal of time. | | | | have more experience. If you go this route it |
| | | | is like tossing $50 or so out the car window. |
| The online Photo Album can serve the same | | | | You put batteries in and thats all it tells |
| purpose. Creating one is easy. You can then | | | | you how to do. There may be no instructions, |
| send the URL to all your friends and | | | | no manual to describe the features and no |
| relatives. If this is something you will | | | | helpline or chatline to use when you are |
| enjoy - the next step is to buy a digital | | | | stumped. Among the other bad features, the |
| camera. There are enough choices to make your | | | | viewing screen will be too small. |
| head spin. It can be tempting to choose one | | | | |
| with all the settings that you won't know how | | | | Your journey from noobie to expert |
| to use. It'll seem practical to buy the | | | | photographer is likely to be more successful |
| cheapest model as a learning tool. Either of | | | | using a model that falls somewhere between |
| these choices may be wrong for you. | | | | the two extremes. If you have an upcoming |
| | | | event and need a camera for it, why not buy |
| Before you rush off to the camera store or | | | | one of the disposable ones. Then give |
| ebay there are many points to consider. | | | | yourself adequate time to research cameras. |
| | | | That way you make an informed choice based on |
| What level of experience do you have. | | | | the criteria listed above. |
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