Digital Photography Guide: Digital Cameras, Digital SLRs & Compact System Cameras   As part of the digital photography process, digital & SLR cameras form the first part of the input stage. Please see the sections on choosing a digital camera and digital camera features for information on what to look for when buying a digital camera. Current cameras range in specification from 4 megapixels to 14 megapixels. It is important to emphasize that more megapixels do not in themselves provide better quality as cramming in higher amounts of pixels in a small sensor often leads to more noise & a deterioration in quality. When choosing a digital camera or SLR as part of the digital photographic process, other factors must be taken into account including lens quality, camera build quality, shutter lag, speed of operation, accessories, expansion options such as add on lenses & camera size if portability is important.

Each individual will have different requirements when choosing a digital camera & the sections on beginner, family, enthusiast, nature, travel & sport photography will help to make a more informed decision. Digital cameras can be purchased online through a variety of reputable retailers including Amazon and Dell Digital Cameras. Most digital cameras are fully automatic for ease of use but for photographers requiring some manual control, some of the mid range and higher end digital cameras offer various levels of manual control including full manual and aperture and shutter priority modes. For intermediate to professional photographers, digital SLR cameras will be the best choice for quality and versatility. With the recent trend in camera manufacturers producing small compact digital slr cameras such as the Nikon D3100 and the Olympus E-600, digital slr cameras may offer photographers at all levels the perfect combination of compact size, interchangeable lenses, manual control and a large sensor for higher quality images and less noise at higher ISOs. Inevitably, some smaller cameras will have some omissions i.e. Nikon D60 & D3100 cannot autofocus with older Nikkor autofocus lenses.   Best Top 10 digital cameras 2012 1 Canon EOS Rebel T3i 2 Panasonic DMC-ZS9 3 Canon PowerShot SX230HS 4 Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS 5 Nikon Coolpix P7100 6 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 7 Canon Powershot A2200 8 Canon EOS 5D Mark II 9 Canon PowerShot SX150 10 Canon PowerShot D10

The introduction of the micro four thirds system by Olympus & Panasonic presents an exciting breakthrough for anyone looking for a miniature camera which is capable of taking interchangeable lenses. Also with an adapter, a micro four thirds camera such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 can use four thirds lenses with some limitations on certain lenses. Olympus have also released their own high quality micro four thirds system cameras including the Olympus PEN E-P2, E-PL1, E-PL2, E-PL3 and E-PM1.

Panasonic has recently announced the Lumix DMC-GH2 micro four thirds camera which can take full high definition movies with stereo sound. Sony and Samsung have also released their own miniature mirrorless compact camera systems. Samsung have released the highly praised NX10, NX11, the NX100 and the recently released 20 megapixel NX200 camera. Sony currently has the NEX-3, NEX-5, NEX-5N and the semi-professional 24 megapixel NEX-7 in their line up. Both systems use an APS size sensor and have interchangeable lenses with a new mount. Pentax have released their Q system but this uses a small sensor and therefore cannot compete on quality terms with other compact system cameras. Nikon and Canon are likely to release their own compact system camera systems in the near future.