If you want to find great discount digital slr cameras, then you must maintain an objective rather than emotional buying mentality.  The best way to do that is to be certain you know your own photography needs before you begin shopping.  In this article, I will give you a three step process on how to find the perfect camera for you.

1.  Pre-Determine Your Budget

Ask yourself this question –  how much do I feel comfortable spending for my discount digital slr camera?  Prices range from $500 to $1,000 dollars for discount and range up in $1,000 increments for the high-end stuff.  Don’t waste your time even considering those cameras outside your budget range.  You will be able to take quality, professional photographs even with cameras on the low end of this range.

2.  Decide On Your Photography Needs

Different discount digital cameras come with a wide range of differing features –phase-detection autofocus, interchangeable lenses, live view mode, and integrated dust reduction systems  just to name a few.  Determine the type of photography you will be performing. Then armed with that information, rank in order of importance the camera features you need.  This will prevent you from being seduced by all the sleek, sexy bells & whistles that are available.  Start off with sticking only with those cameras that have just what you need.  Then, if you have some of your budget left over, you can look at a few cameras with extra features that you might like but know are not essential to your photography needs.

3.  Determine The Picture Resolution You Need

Most photographers shop for discount digital slr cameras based on solely upon the number of megapixels.  Also, because they know this, most salespeople sell cameras based primarily upon the number of megapixels.  They’ll start their sales pitch with “…well this Nikon over here only has x megapixels, but this here Canon has xx megapixels so you get higher quality.” This is incorrect.  Quality picture resolution depends upon BOTH the number of pixels plus dynamic range combined.  Dynamic range via large sensors is what allows cameras to perform better in dim lighting – thus enhancing depth and contrast.  Although typically digital slr cameras range from 6 to 22 megapixels, unless you’re taking extreme close-ups, anything in the 6 to 8 megapixels range will do just fine.  Armed with that information alone you’ll be able to find some great bargains.

So to re-cap,

Step 1 –Determine your budget at the outset, and stick to it no matter what.  Once the sales person gets you to break it just a little, they’ll get you to break it again and again and you’ll leave the store feeling like you got taken advantage of.

Step 2 – Decide what features you need.  This is determined solely by the type of photography you plan to do.  Don’t be swayed by the bells & whistles of features you don’t need –and often you won’t ever even use.

Step 3 – Use your knowledge of the importance of megapixels and dynamic range to find hidden bargains.  Most cameras’ prices increase as the number of megapixels increase.  However picture quality is determine by a combination of dynamic range (i.e. size of the sensors) in addition to the number of pixels.

Take a few minutes to answer all these questions before you begin shopping.  It will help you determine the best camera for you.

If you answer them honestly, then you’ll find picture perfect discount digital slr cameras that objectively meet all your needs without breaking the bank in the process.  Now let’s go find those cameras and start shooting some great pictures!

By reading on, you will get acquainted with some dos and don’ts, some pros and cons of discount digital cameras (Like I’ve written in Nikon D5100 review) which will help you in your buying mission. Firstly, before stepping out to buy a digital camera, make sure you have done some homework. That is, try and find out as much information as possible about the various brands that are available, the different features of a digital camera, the haves and have-nots of all brands and so on. Newspapers, websites, internet forums can help you in this. Remember, that a digital camera is not as complicated as it is perceived to be. Once you understand some important features, like the camera resolution, the lens width, optical zoom, modes, compatibility with computer and so on. Knowing these qualities and deciding what you are looking for in ‘your’ digital camera helps you shortlist the available discount digital cameras.

The next important thing to do comes once you have stepped out. It is necessary to do some research on the various outlets that offer the various brands of the camera you are looking for along with the discounted price in each outlet, the services and other offers. Many outlets are not in to advertising or in to online forums. But they do offer great deals. Similarly some times, the web shows a particular outlet having a particular offer but that does not turn out to be the case in reality. So the on field research is always better in order to get the best discount digital camera.

A digital camera is such a product, which is of the same, consistent quality even if it is priced differently. It’s definitely worth taking efforts to buy on discount as a digital camera will always retain its best features, with or without discount. In spite of this, checking the credibility of the outlet where you are considering buying is inevitable. Do not hesitate to enquire everything about the camera at the outlet. It’s their job to clear your doubts. Try gauging the authenticity and customer-friendliness of the outlet. You will need this in case of following up with any warranty or services for your camera.

By and large, the best digital camera brands are Sony, Nikon, Kodak, Canon and Olympus. The main feature that generally matters in a digital camera is the resolution. But many features, added and subtracted do have an impact on the final price of the product. So be sure of the features you want and chose the brand you get good review about and make a great buy for your discount digital camera!