Buying the right camera

Tim's goofing with camera 1, a photo by Wanderfull1 on Flickr.

The most primary question when it comes to buying a digital camera is which one to buy. The one you pick depends on a lot of things, some logical, some emotional. When I was doing research for my first DSLR I asked myself questions like:

• what will I need it for (how will I use it),
• how much money to spend,
• what my photographic goals are (future aspirations), and
• what kinds of accessories (lenses) could I buy

Then there's how it feels in your hand. Is it heavy and cumbersome or light and easy to figure out?

Here are some camera reviews that I found useful and kept as bookmarks:

Digital SLR Camera Guides for Beginners -- Low tech, high information reviews for beginner digital photographers.

C/NET Reviews -- Reviews by camera price, brand, and more. Plus under the "Find a Camera" links are everything you need to know (or didn't know you needed to know) about digital cameras.

ConsumerSearch DSLR Camera Reviews -- ConsumerSearch lists the top 3 best reviewed cameras, but it also has information on what to look for in a camera.

Digital Camera Info -- I like this one because it categorizes cameras by how you would use them.

DPReview Side-by-side Camera Comparison - you pick the cameras you want to compare.