Digital Camera Brands and Links

Digital camera buying guide

For anyone looking for a less expensive or beginner digital camera, our report on cheap digital cameras looks at entry-level models that cost less than $200. We also have reports on ultra-zoom digital cameras and digital SLR cameras. Ultra-zoom digital cameras have special lenses with zoom capabilities of 12x or greater. A zoom of that size allows you to get very close to a faraway subject. But as you might expect, the camera body and lens is larger and bulkier. If you'd like a long zoom lens, see our report on ultra-zoom cameras.

Digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, on the other hand, offer full manual shooting modes. DSLR models start as low as $500, but are compatible with external lenses and flash modules. We discuss these in a separate report on digital SLR cameras.

The websites and publications listed in the Our Sources section are the best places for more information on digital cameras. You could spend weeks reading the reviews on enthusiast sites such as Imaging-Resource.com, DCResource.com, Steves-Digicams.com and DPReview.com.

We also found some useful buying guides. PC World's "How to Buy a Digital Camera" walks readers through important digital camera specifications and what they mean. Editors rank factors such as battery life, resolution, focal length, exposure controls and others in relative importance. They also provide some pointers on buying a digital camera.

To learn more about sorting through megapixel fact and fiction, check out The New York Times articles "Breaking the Myth of Megapixels" by columnist David Pogue, and "Pixels Are Like Cupcakes. Let Me Explain" by Russ Juskalian.

For an overview of interchangeable lens compact cameras, see our blog post.

What's Micro Four Thirds? For technical details about this type of camera, see Olympus's Micro Four Thirds Standard website.

Digital camera brands

You'll find detailed feature and spec information, as well as some owner reviews, on manufacturers' websites:

Canon

Fujifilm

Nikon

Olympus

Panasonic

Sony