Point and Shoot Digital Camera Tips and Tricks

In the growing world of digital photography new cameras with various high-tech features and settings appear on the market every day. For lovers of fast, easy photography it's a virtual paradise -- if you can manage to sift through the many choices and find a digital camera that's right for you.

Most people with even a mild interest in digital photography are aware that SLR cameras are the cream of the crop. Digital SLR is a shortened version of the term digital single lens reflex, which means utilization of a mirror positioned behind the cameras lens to direct light toward the viewfinder as you're composing a photo. When the shutter is released, the mirror moves out of the way allowing light from the lens to travel to the sensor and black out the viewfinder for a moment. The viewfinder employs a prism that turns the image around and bounces it onto the screen where it can be seen by the photographer.

SLR's allow the photographer better and tighter control over the images that are produced in ways that a point and shoot digital camera cannot. With an SLR one is able to control shutter speed, utilize a wide variety of different lenses, enjoy an overall faster performance, and have access to great flexibility.

Unfortunately, the main disadvantage of digital SLR cameras is their price tag. With costs ranging anywhere from $300 all the way up to $2000 dollars it makes sense to compare all kinds of digital cameras carefully before making a purchase.

Most regular, working class people can't afford to spend so much money on such a luxury item, which leaves point and shoot digital cameras. For people looking to capture everyday shots of their children, pets, or vacations, point and shoot digital photography is the perfect choice. It's inexpensive, user friendly, and provides instant gratification.

As for people who want to take beautiful, artistic, perhaps even magazine quality photos but can't afford an expensive SLR camera, there are many digital photography tips for a point and shoot camera that can help capture amazing images.

Here are a few points that will help budding photographers with macro photography, action shots, and photography portraits: read your camera manual from cover to cover; practice and understand focus lock and exposure lock (a feature of most all point and shoot digital cameras); use your flash to fill the darkest shadows with appropriate light; and for action shots, utilize the focus lock/exposure lock to pre-focus and then pan with the action as it passes before you.

You can find much more information about these methods in many online digital photography venues as well as inside your user manual. Even better, there are many inexpensive online digital photography classes in which to learn and a few that are offered free of charge.