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When you first go to buy a digital camera, chance are you will have no clue what a megapixel is or what kind of storage work best. The salesperson will probably bombard you with a variety of different options, making it even more confusing, so be prepared. Doing a little research on digital camera terminology before you head to the store can save you time and help you buy the perfect camera.

When most people first begin looking at digital cameras, the question in their minds is picture quality. On a digital camera, this is measured by megapixels. Higher is better-megapixels, in short, are simply the little dots on the camera’s screen that make up the picture. If you own a personal computer, think about what something looks like when it is “pixilated.”

The less pixels, the more grainy your picture will be, so you’ll probably want a camera that is at least at a 2 or 3. However, once you start going above that, you won’t see much of a difference in your shots unless you are taking professional photographs that are going to be blown up or need to be of impeccable quality.

Salesmen may also mention shutter speeds, giving you a range. If you’ve used film cameras in the past, you probably understand shutter speed, but for novices, this may be a new lesson. The speeds they give you are actually fractions of a second. Therefore if someone says the shuttle speed is 600, they really mean that it is 1/600 of a second.

Faster shutter speeds are better if you will be taking a lot of motion shots; however, most people and situations will never need anything higher than 2000. You’ll also be given a minimum shutter speed that is counted in full seconds. This is useful for night photography.

If you want your camera simply for regular run-of-the-mill photography, shutter speed is probably not very important, but having these options is great for those who want to photograph things like sports or city lights.

Storage options confuse most people as well. Many digital cameras allow you to change the quality of your photographs-if you take lower quality, you can store more pictures. However, you probably can’t hold more than a few imagines on your camera with a memory card, so it is vital that you invest in one when you purchase your camera.

The salesperson will try to talk you into the cards that hold more photographs and are more expensive, but remember that you only need enough storage until you can transfer your photographs to your computer or stop at a developing center. You will also be able to delete images you don’t like, so that will save on storage as well.

There are many other terms you should learn before going to the store to buy a digital camera. This should not be an impulse buy, because you may end up with a product that you do not like. Have a clear budget in your head from the start, and an idea of the features you want in a camera to make the process quick and easy.