One of the first things to decide when choosing a digital camera is how many megapixels you should have. This is important because it determines how large you can print an image and still maintain good quality. The more megapixels your camera has, the larger the print.

Nowadays, 5 megapixels is a good starting point for an entry level digital camera. You can expect excellent prints at 4 x 6 and even as large as 8 x 10.

The next important thing when buying a camera is which type to get. An SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera is expensive, but if you are looking for a high-resolution camera with excellent picture quality, SLR cameras are the way to go. This would be the digital equivalent of a 35 mm film camera.

If you are familiar with 35 mm film cameras, you will find many of the same features and then some. One of the most popular features of a digital SLR is the ability to change lenses.

If you are not as particular with your photography and want a simpler camera to use, you may want to consider a point and shoot camera which generally will cost much less. In addition, point and shoot cameras are smaller and easier to use. Another advantage of this type of camera is they usually have many automated features and preset shooting programs which allow you to shoot beautiful photographs even if you don't have much experience.

After you get a camera, you must choose a good memory card for your camera. The most popular types of memory cards for digital cameras are Multi Media Card (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), Smartmedia (SM), Secure Digital (SD), xD-Picture Card (xD), and CompactFlash (CF). Certain cameras require certain memory card types, so make sure you ask an expert which memory card is right for the camera you have.

After you purchase your camera make sure you get the proper memory card for your camera since there are various formats. If you plan to keep the pictures stored on your camera's memory instead of downloading them to your computer you want to get it's a memory card with a larger storage capacity to allow you to this save more pictures.

You have to learn how to transfer the pictures from your camera when she take them since you can only sender and the pictures once they are on your computer. Your camera most likely came with the USB cable as an option. You can also purchase a USB card reader that plugs into your computer.

A memory card reader is nothing more than a piece of hardware that plugs into your computer into one of the USB ports and then you take the memory card out of your camera and insert it into the card reader. The benefit of a card reader is that it is usually faster to download the pictures and using the USB cable. Also by using the memory card reader, it allows you to save the batteries in your camera because you can have the camera powered down during the transfer.

Depending on the type of computer you have, a message will come up saying that you camera is connected. Or, in the case of a Mac computer, you just go into iPhoto, which comes standard on newer Mac computers. Use the help tab at the top of your screen to find out how to download your pictures.

Once you have completed the download process and the pictures are on your computer, you can delete the pictures from your memory card which will free up additional space. That way you can take many more pictures. Is a very good idea to regularly make a backup copy of the pictures on the computer neither burn them to an external hard drive or perhaps any CD or DVD you invested a lot of time and effort in taking those beautiful pictures and you would not want to lose them.