Total Cost of Ownership

When you purchase an automobile, you must consider the total cost of ownership (TCO). How much will it cost to gas up the car, as it may need higher-octane fuel? Does it require expensive tires? Does it require more maintenance with obscure parts?

The same should be considered when purchasing a digital camera. While a digital camera may be a certain price, consider the following accessories you will most likely consider buying to enhance your photography or protect your investment:

• Digital media to store photos (refer to This Article on the subject)

• Media card reader to transfer files to your computer

• Extra rechargeable batteries to prolong photo shoots, and you'll probably want more than one set (refer to This Article on the subject)

• UV Filter to remove UV light and protect your lens

• Protective camera bag

• Accessory lens for a digital SLR, you have to buy one lens to begin with if it's sold as "Body Only" (refer to This Article on the subject)

• Tripod to stabilize your photos

• Backup device if you don't have a CD burner

If you purchase the most expensive digital camera you can afford, make sure you don't break the budget when purchasing accessories. You may need to step down a notch in your digital camera's quality in order to pay for needed supplies.

"Body Only" Cameras

When comparing digital cameras and looking through sales ads, you may notice some cameras are listed with the phrase "body only". A "body only" camera means that the camera is not a compact or prosumer camera but a higher-end digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera. These types of cameras normally support professional features including the ability to shoot faster shots with less noise in the resulting photos.

Unlike other digital cameras, digital SLRs allow you to replace the lens, allowing for different degrees of wide-angle and telephoto shots. Plus, some lenses are 'faster' than others (ones with a larger aperture), allowing you to shoot even clearer photos in low-light conditions.

Since most dSLR purchasers want to choose a lens or group of lenses based on their photography needs, most dSLR cameras are sold as "body only", as cameras without a lens.

Does It Come With a Flash?

When considering the total cost of ownership when purchasing a digital SLR camera, note that many digital SLR cameras do not come with onboard flash units. While this may be beneficial in many situations in that external flash units may be more powerful and controllable than onboard flash units, this is something that you must note in the overall purchase cost.

A/V Cables?

Many digital cameras come built-in with a video output port and cable. This lets you play the photos in your digital camera's memory on a television set that has a video input jack, usually as a slideshow animation.

If your digital camera also supports movies with sound, check to see if your camera has an audio port. This way you can play the small movies recorded by your digital camera on your TV. The movies probably won't have the quality or length of movies captured with a digital video camera, but can be entertaining nonetheless.

If you do find a digital camera with an audio output, check to see if it supports monaural or stereo sound, and if it is stereo, if there is only one stereo port or left and right channel ports. This may determine what kind of connector cables, if any, you may need to buy to play the movies on your television set with sound.