Different subjects require different things from a digital camera. All digital cameras manage well with daylight-lit outdoor pictures.

	Taking indoor pictures under typical household lighting demands the use of a flash or high ISO sensitivity. Most photographers use flash because high ISO sensitivities make pictures look noisy unless an expensive DSLR is purchased. High ISO sensitivities are preferable to preserve the mood of lighting.
	A built-in flash must reach far enough to light a subject completely, otherwise an external flash will be required. In such case you must get a camera with a hot-shoe to connect the external flash.
	Night photography requires slow shutter speeds. Preferably longer than 4 seconds. Control over shutter speed is critical, otherwise it is quite difficult to obtain desired results.
	Sharply photographing moving subjects requires fast speed shutters. For people doing sports you need at least 1/500. For faster subjects such as race cars, horses and speedboats look for a camera with 1/2000 or faster shutter speeds. To ensure a fast shutter speed is obtained a camera must have a shutter priority mode or a fast-shutter subject program. Indoor sports require a camera with high ISO sensitivity which is most likely a DSLR.
	Wildlife photography requires the use of long zoom lenses because most animals don't easily let people get close to them. Even insect photography is better with a long zoom because of their small size. If you intend to photograph wild life either get an Ultra-Zoom camera (10X or more) or a DSLR with a long zoom lens (300 mm or longer).
	A continuous drive mode is frequently used to get good pictures of moving subjects. Cameras that have a continuous drive mode take pictures in rapid succession. The number of frames- per-second (FPS) is the number of pictures taken in one second. The burst length is the number of pictures that can be taken consecutively at the maximum frame-rate.
	Special situations like fireworks, moving light-trails and artistic photography absolutely require having manual controls.

To take a picture of a subject, you must have your camera near it. To get it there, you must transport it. This is why it is extremely important to get a camera of the right size. Unfortunately not all features are available in all sizes. Picture quality is better with a bigger lens, which means a bigger camera.

Camera sizes fall into 5 categories:

• Ultra-Compact: Fit in most pockets and are easy to transport unnoticeably anywhere.
• Compact: Easy to transport, fit in purses and waist-pouches.
• Medium: Too big for the average purse, these can be kept in an average camera bag.
• Large: Definitely too big for a purse, fits in a nap sack or large camera bag.
• SLR: Large enough to need a large camera bag, they are easy to notice and can feel heavy to carry.

Other location considerations:

• Underwater photography requires a waterproof camera or an underwater camera case.
• A few cameras are splash-proof for taking pictures in the rain or in dusty environments.

Some cameras are better than others even if they are the same size and have similar features. Here are the types of quality to look for:

• Picture quality: Good cameras produce pictures with less noise or other problems such as distortion, chromatic aberrations, blurring, color shift, etc.
• Ergonomics: There are digital cameras that are easy to use and some that are not.
• Build quality: Some cameras are more sturdy than others and will last longer.
• Performance: The speed at which a camera focuses, takes pictures and updates its LCD all affect its usability.

When looking at camera models in the next step look for these icons which indicate quality.

	Excellent		Good
	Average		Poor