5 Type of Digital Cameras You Wanna Know

This is a guest post by Iskandar Suhaimi. If you would like to contribute too, please contact me.

Tens years ago, buying a camera is easy. Not anymore.

So if you think the market is fuzzy with too many choices, you’re right.

Let’s clear the haze a little bit. Let me show you a few flavors of cameras that you could find spice up your memories a little more. And let me point out to you how they are different from your normal compact camera.

Okay, let’s start.

1. Professional Digital SLR

If you only shoot a hundred pictures a year on your compact, you don’t need a digital SLR.

But if you work for the National Geographic magazine or make a living by taking pictures of others, you probably should buy one.

Unlike your point and shoot, these cameras are fat with features. They are fast, the pictures are sharp and the settings are fully customizable. You can even change your lens whenever you want.

If the wing of the butterfly you snapped yesterday wasn’t detailed enough, buy a new lens to do a super close up. And if you plan to go to Africa, you can get a new lens to shoot the picture of lions from far away (and reduce your chances of being their lunch).

But there’s a problem for ordinary people like me. An SLR camera is as large, as heavy and as complicated as a woman’s handbag. It’s super expensive too.

So why can’t someone make a camera with pictures as good as an SLR — but smaller, cheaper and easier to use?

2. Micro Four Third

The industry only answered the question in 2008 when they deliver a new breed of camera called the Micro-Four-Third.

It like an SLR on diet.

Outside, it looks similar to an SLR. But on the inside, they redesign the whole camera system, but leaving alone the camera sensor.

So what you get is SLR quality pictures minus the weight. If an SLR is like a handbag, a Micro Four Third is like a purse.

But there’s still one problem – water.

3. Here Comes the Rugged Waterproof Cameras

If you’re tired of your kid (or yourself) ruining your much beloved camera, try a rugged compact camera.

Your mom can wash it in the swimming pool, your wife can drop it from the roof of your car and your kids can freeze one in your fridge — and yet, you wouldn’t have to strangle any of them.

To shoot underwater, just take off your clothes and swim with the camera. No casing is needed.

If you have ever dreamt of capturing your moments swimming along with a turtle or a dolphin with a compact, now you can.

This is the kind of memories you can keep with a waterproof rugged camera. This video is shot using a .

4. Underwater Camera

But if shooting 33 feet underwater with a waterproof camera is not good enough for you, get an underwater camera.

You can use your normal camera but you’ll need to find the right housing for your model. An underwater camera, on the other hand, comes complete with it’s own casing.

Because shooting around water is different from shooting on land, these underwater cameras usually use wide-angle lenses or macro lenses, both of which allow close focus for better pictures.

Yes, shooting underwater sounds like an awesome idea. But wait, there’s more.

5. Sports Utility Camera

If you’re a Richard Branson type of person whose idea of a retreat means jumping off a cliff, you need a sports utility camera.

Attached to your helmet, the camera could snap your picture every few seconds or records your full adventure for a few hours. And the best part is, it’s all handsfree and automatic.

Dominated by a company called GoPro, these cameras are popular among base jumpers, surfers and deep sea divers. So if you belong to such tribe, you should seriously consider adding a sports utility camera into your Christmas wishlist.

I hope this post could clear the haze and opens your eyes to more possibilities – that you cameras don’t have to be a Nikon or a Canon. And your picture taking activity shouldn’t be limited on land.

As you probably realize, only 28% of planet is made of land. There’s sea. There’s air.

Your camera shouldn’t confine your life. It should set you free.

Iskandar Suhaimi writes for the Waterproof Camera Org. If you’re looking for waterproof camera reviews, news or anything related to such cameras, it’s probably a good idea to stop by his site.