What is a good camera to buy

I get this question quite often, and the answer is not really that simple. There are many types of digital cameras available, and they all have different capabilities.
To choose the correct camera for you, I suggest that you start by deciding what you want the camera to do for you. zone you have done that you can go shopping to find a camera that suits your needs. If the sales person is not willing to help you fill your camera needs, go on to another store.

EyeFi Card

If you have a wireless network check out the EyeFi card.  A wireless card to transmit images directly to your computer or iPad.

Image capture size

When setting up your cameras Image Quality setting, it is most often best to set it to the highest quality setting the camera has..
THe reason for this is that you can always downsize a file, but if you have a small file and want to make a big print you will be limited, by the file size, how big you can go.  So if you occasionally make prints larger than 8x10, or find that you do a lot of cropping on your images, set the image quality to the highest setting.
Yes it will take more storage space, but the prices on storage are very reasonable.

Cold weather photography

In cold weather is is important to protect your camera.  Most cameras will function fine in cold weather, but battery time is shortened.  So don't be afraid to go out and take a few images when it is cold.
Make sure to leave the camera in its case until it warms up after coming in from the cold.  If the camera is cold enough and you bring it inside moisture can condense on the outside of the camera and potentially damage the camera.  By leaving the camera in its protective case, or you camera bag, until it warms up will prevent this.

Get out and take some photos

One good way to improve your photography is to get out there and take some photos. Give yourself a project to photograph.

ISO

ISO is how sensitive your sensor is to light. The higher the ISO number you set on your camera, the more sensitive the sensor is to light.

So when there is a low level of light, use a higher ISO. There is a trade off to higher ISO settings, that being noise.

So the general rule is to use the lowest possible ISO for the situation, to get the highest quality images.

Memory Cards

Memory cards are the lifeblood of digital photography because they stores your images.  Make sure you have the correct card for your camera and it is a very good idea to have a spare or two.

If you should make a mistake and format the card with images you want to save on it, don't panic.  Immediately turn off the camera and remove the card from the camera.  There are recovery programs that can recover the images from the card.  This works as long as you have not taken additional photos on the card.  Photo Rescue is one image recovery program you can use to recover these images.  There are others that will do the job.