Digital cameras are everywhere theses days.  There are hundreds of different models from different brands.  Cameras are produced which are specifically targeted at different people: beginners, enthusiasts, keen-amateurs, professional, gadget freaks, kids, girls who like pink, water sports fans, people who drop things a lot, you name it.

It is very hard to choose a basic camera.

I recently had to choose one for my 8 year old and this is the results of my search.  The engineer in me focussed on ‘fit for purpose’: what features does she need and will use and forget the rest.  The father in me focussed on cost: although I think she can be trusted, in the jigs and reels there is good chance this camera may meet with an accident.  The photographer in me wanted to be able to borrow it myself from time to time.

So my criteria for choosing her a digital camera were as follows:

• 5 Megapixels is enough.  It is not worth paying extra for more than this.
• Standard AA batteries, not a special rechargeable battery.
• Small but not fiddly.
• Nice big screen.
• Easy to use.
• Major Brand.

I also was hoping to get:

• Face recognition auto focus.

I don’t really care about:

• What type of memory card it takes
• Image Stabilisation
• Video features
• A mini projector
• Speed (that’s to say most newer cameras are fast enough to start up)

It is probably worth explaining each of these in more detail:

• Megapixels (MP) has been the headline selling feature of digital cameras since they became a mass consumer product.  In the early days there was a big difference between 1MP and 3MP but, in my opinion, based on my experience of small digital cameras, once you get to around 4MP then the size of the lens becomes a bigger factor.  Then there’s sensor size.  The size of the sensor in a small digital camera is way smaller than the size of a 35mm negative.  Cramming more pixels into a tiny space actually creates a lot of issues with noise that you just don’t need in a small camera.  So I say that about 5MP is enough.  You can still get very nice big prints with 5MP.  Now that’s not to say that you don’t buy a certain camera because it is 8MP or 10MP.  In fact there probably aren’t too many 5MP cameras left on the market.  What I am saying is that it is not worth paying more for a camera just because it has more megapixels, once it has more than five.  8MP cameras on a phone?  It is a gimmick.

• Many digital cameras take special batteries that are specific to that brand or even that model of camera.  There are two reasons for this: firstly they can be shaped to optimise the size of the camera whilst delivering the most power for their size; secondly the manufacturers can charge you a pretty penny for spare and replacement batteries.  Of course you can get third party batteries but the manufacturers tell you not to trust them.  I chose a camera that took AA batteries because it was the batteries in my first digital camera that failed before the camera.  I now have to charge them the day I want to use the camera and they don’t last long.  In general, AA batteries won’t last as long in a digital camera as a special battery but they are way easier and cheaper to replace.  You can buy good rechargeables cheaply and have loads of spares.  And if you are stuck somewhere you can just buy some standard Alkaline Batteries.  Lastly you have the option of using Lithium Batteries: these are single use cells that out-last any other type of battery.  They are also work better in low temperatures and hold their charge for longer in storage.  They are expensive (I buy packs of 6 AA cells for €10) but at times that’s a price worth paying.
• Small but no fiddly is a bit subjective and it depends on your hand size and dexterity.  The only real way to tell is to walk into a camera shop and put a camera in your hand and play with it.
• A big screen just makes everything easier.  I’m not in love with touch screens.  Big buttons also help – as long as you can tell what they do.  Some cameras don’t have viewfinders anymore so the screen is the only way to see what you’re taking.  This is only really a problem in bright sun.
• Unfortunately it is only really possible to tell if something is easy to use if you actually use it but this is pretty important.  You can have a quick play in a camera shop and get a feel for using the more important features: zoom, flash on/off, looking at your pictures etc.  Look for reviews on-line or in magazines (but be careful to understand who is selling what) or better still see if anyone you know has the same camera or even the same brand of camera.  There are a few reliable web sites for camera reviews:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews

This can get very technical and very confusing though – in general, skip to the conclusion!

• I guess I’m very brand conscious with cameras but in general I find the bigger brands have better reliability and better user interfaces.  Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic (Lumix) and maybe Samsung have all produced a lot of good cameras.  Not every camera they produce is great but the numbers stack up for them in the long term.
• Face recognition auto focus is a feature that detects faces in a picture and sets the camera to focus on as many of them as possible.  It means that your subject doesn’t have to be in the middle of the frame and if they are not, there is nothing special you have to do to make sure the camera focuses on them and not the wall behind.  This was a major issue for cameras that used to just focus on the centre point – particularly when you take a picture of two people on either side of the frame (but there is a gap between them in the middle).

Now the last thing to say is that none of these features are particularly new – even face recognition.  So it is quite possible for you to find a very good camera that has been superseded by a new model at a bargin price.

This is exactly what happened to me.  I selected a Canon Powershot A470 based on a survey of basic cameras on DP Review (www.dpreview.com) only to discover that it was not available anywhere.  It has been replaced by another model (the A475 I think) so I was about to get that one when I discovered the A470 at a massively discounted price in Argos.  It would appear they bought up stocks of the old camera and had this amazing offer on them.  Cara and I have been very happy with it.

Extras

You need to factor in a couple of extra essentials.  There is a whole market for people selling you things you might need but this is just what you will definitely use:

• Spare battery or batteries – at least one set
• Memory cards – at least two cards (whatever type fits your camera).  As time passes you get more memory for your money but 1 to 4 GB is a good range.  Don’t go for huge cards because you’ll tend to never download them.  I don’t use cards bigger than 4GB because it would take more than 1 DVD to back them up.
• A case.  Something sturdy but easy to get your camera in and out of.  Preferably with space for your spare batteries and card.  If in doubt go slightly bigger than you think you need but don’t over-do it.  A waterproof cover is handy if there is one for the case.