Also it is important to view the screen in sunny conditions - some lower quality LCD screens can look washed out. Check to ensure that the screen is large enough for you to see the image clearly. This is particularly important for people with less that 20 – 20 vision. Even if you decide to purchase your camera online, visit a photo store first to check out and handle the camera and then buy it online if you can buy it cheaper there.
Flash
Flash is essential if you want to take pictures indoors or at night. Most cameras come with a built-in flash these days, including a red-eye reduction feature to avoid glowing red eyes in portrait shots.
Sensor chip
At the heart of every digital camera is an electronic chip that turns light into digital information. The more information the chip can create, the higher the camera's resolution measured in megapixels. A 3 or 4 megapixel (3 or 4 MP) chip, found in cheaper cameras, is perfect for day-to-day snaps printed at traditional postcard sizes.
The better quality cameras in this category will produce quite acceptable prints up to A4. However higher resolution sensors will give better quality and let you print poster-sized photos at A3 sizes and above. Generally speaking the higher the resolution of the cameras, the higher it’s cost.
Creative features
You might only use a camera's auto settings to start with, but you'll soon want to try something more creative. Burst mode lets you shoot several pictures in a row, a self-timer is great for self-portraits, spot metering helps