Get the best camera you can afford.

I have been taking photos since I was a teenager. My first SLR was a Zenith EM, a Russian camera known for its robust quality and its excellent lens (and its low price). I went on to buy a Canon SLR a few years later and I was always happy with the results from both cameras.

When I bought my first digital camera it was a 6MP compact. I still use it and technology remains fantastic. It has a ten-times optical zoom! I know that you can now buy cameras with a greater optical zoom but it was a few years ago. The computer can magnify images further, but what this means is that if you zoom into a subject then the quality is better than a higher resolution camera that can't zoom in.

Then I bought my digital SLRs. The great improvement with SLRs is what you see is what you get. This improvement is no longer a wonderful thing because compact digitals often show the exact picture that you will take. The quality of the lens tends to remain better with SLRs but I have taken really good quality photos with my compact that make enlargements up to 20"x 16".

Once you have bought one particular manufacturers camera then you tend to stay with them. I bought an Olympus digital SLR, and i am quite happy with the results. Then I bought a spare battery, then another lens and then a flash unit, another camera, another battery, another flash unit. The list goes on, but all these accessories are only compatible with Olympus cameras, and even then different cameras by the same manufacturer may have different accessories. The point is that once you start with a brand you tend to be hooked.

There is more control with an SLR. They take better photos, but the person behind the camera is more important than compact or SLR. However it is worth getting the best camera that you can afford.

Happy snapping