The only problem with the FinePix F550EXR is that its flash is a bit weak and doesn’t work really well in different lighting conditions. If you are fine with this then paying for the FinePix F550EXR at over $200 is still a bargain.

What’s our verdict? Well the photos taken by this camera are pristine making the FinePix F550EXR a favorite among compact digital camera enthusiasts. In terms of resolution, the FinePix F550EXR does better than the Lumix TS3. For $252.99, this camera ain’t that bad. Its optical zoom is over 3 times better than the Lumix TS3 or the FinePixZ900EXR. It has a very low shutter speed though compared to other compact digital cameras but if you take a look at its battery life, it lasts more than other digicams in the market today.

At 16 MP, the FinePix F550EXR offers one of the highest resolutions in the digicam market because cameras under this category are often praised for being able to offer 12 MP photos. This means that the FinePix F550EXR takes highly detailed pictures of professional quality. If that is not wonderful enough, it is also equipped with 15x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom. It also has a wide angle lens allowing one to shoot from a number of angles and distances. If that doesn’t sound professional enough for a compact digital camera, we do not know what would.

Besides this, the camera also offers several settings to make your photo taking experience a more fulfilling one.

The number one thing that most look at is the design. Remember that a compact digicam won’t be called sleek and slim if it is chunky –this is like circular reasoning but hey, what we are trying to say is that it has to fit in your pouch or pocket and shouldn’t be as heavy as a brick. Buying a digital camera means you want something compact yet powerful which means you probably do not want to do some heavy lifting.

It’s not just about the looks though. It’s like when you are on a date, you first get attracted to the physical appearance of the person but when you’re past that, you would be looking for substance. Now the next thing to look for is image quality –what use is a digital camera that looks good but fails in producing clear photos? It’s not just about the pixels really, you should remember that the higher th optical zoom, the better.

You should also take a look at other features i.e. whether it has an image stabilizer, red eye reduction, has a timer, different effects, continuous shooting options among others. If you are fond of uploading your photos online immediately after taking them, you might also want a compact digital camera with GPS Geotagging capability.

The battery life of the compact digital camera you are about to buy is also important. If it runs on AA batteries, you would have to invest on rechargeable batteries. A camera with a rechargeable battery is a much better choice though. You should also take a look at the memory of the camera itself and whether you can add a memory card or not.

People who have gone through near death experiences often say that their lives flashed before them –this is what Project 365 is all about but of course it’s just 365 photos all in all. If you are thinking of starting this undertaking, you better be ready because those who have tried it did not only do the project to test the capability of their cameras but also to document their lives one photo at a time.

Often it is difficult for us to remember what we did the other day making it difficult to remember what we did for a year. This appeals to the emotional or to those who would like to look back on one whole year with clarity. It’s a wonderful project really whether you want to focus on your relationships, school, your career or the people you met on a certain day, or just want to take photos that will remind you of a certain event.

It doesn’t matter what kind of camera you use. You do not need any of those professional cameras,  you just have to use whatever camera you are using now.

What is challenging about Project 365 is that you would have to take only one photo to depict the whole of your day instead of taking hundreds of them just for one occasion.

If you think you’ve got what it takes to document one whole year of what’s going on in your life, join Project 365 today.

This first photo was taken by Maja Daniels from the UK.

While others are simple, photographers like Pawel Kopcynski from Germany went out of their way to show movement and color.

Palani Mohan from India took this photo and made it to the shortlist under the Nature and Wildlife category. Doesn’t this remind you of a feature story in TIME magazine or NEWSWEEK?

Anastasia Taylor-Lind from the UK on the other hand took a beautiful shot of women in their underwear. This photo was submitted for the Arts and Culture category.

Another interesting photo was in the shortlist and this involves current events. This photo of a man being taken by rebels was taken by Remi Ochlik from France.

Capturing life in a photo is difficult and we must admit that no matter how advanced your camera is, it will never be a substitute for talent.

Andrew McConnell from Ireland took this photo for the Sport section of Sony’s photography contest. Much like the one taken by Pawel Kopcynski, McConnell was able to capture movement and of course, life.

Donald Weber from Canada took a snapshot of a town after a disaster. This is probably in Japan and this just tells quite a story. Weber’s photo was shortlisted for the Current Affairs category.

Photo via xaxor.com

Photography used to be something that was reserved for the rich because it took money to get a few photos taken. By 1985 this has improved but people still had to buy film. A 24-roll of film would be used for one occasion and often, there just weren’t enough photos. Today however we can take hundreds even thousands of photos just to cover one event and it is amazing!

Photo via photocritique.us

Digital cameras are amazing to be exact and since it is almost effortless to take photos, it makes things more amazing.

Why do we take snaps? We do this not only to document what we did last weekend or last night, we also take snaps because we would like to share these photos with friends and family.

According to a report, during the week of the Royal Wedding, there were over 300 million photos taken relating to the said event. These photos were of course taken by digital cameras and camera phones.

Photo via torontoist.com

If one talks about numbers, this is the era where there will be so many photos to choose from. If one is aiming for 5 good pictures for one event for example, one can take as much as 500 photos or even more and pick 5 good ones. The only predicament this brings is the choosing part.

Digital cameras brought about a revolution in photography. Thanks to Kodak of course but many won’t remember Kodak as the inventor of the digital camera. We should though because recognition must be given to where it is due.

People’s behavior towards taking photos has changed so much that in restaurants it is no longer uncommon for one to take a few excited clicks when the food has arrived. Whether one captures a bagel or a pizza for posterity’s sake or for one to have something to post in their social networks, it no longer matters as long as one can document one’s life.

Photo via Limos.com

The most pronounced changes, as observed by many, is of people taking photos of them in concerts or sporting events. The idea of “I was there” is truly alive in this decade and will always be as long as digital cameras exist.

At a football match for example, thousands will be clicking their digital cameras and if you go out with your friends you would have to pose for a lot of photos because everyone has a digital camera.

Photo via torontette.com

Decades ago, one can only tell someone of an event through memory but now, we can tell our stories through a range of photos. Those who are fond of taking photos say that their reason for taking photos is for them to remember where they were at a certain period of their lives. Since pictures paint a thousand words as the song goes, digital cameras are now the historians of our time –very accurate historians for that matter since they capture almost everything.

It’s not just photos really, video recording is also a part of this era. When we were kids, our parents would take videos of us –our first step, the first time we spoke or said Dada or Mama or whatever. Today, one can use a digital camera to record just about anything and then later on upload it to YouTube.

About four decades ago however, the photography company was given credit for making the first digital camera ever –an innovation, according to the BBC, that changed the world.

Not everyone knows that Kodak took its very first image in 1975 nearly obliterating the market’s need for camera film. Later on of course, all of us got to go digital and can now even take decent photos on our phones.

It was Steven Sasson who invented the first digital camera for the company. It is unfortunate though that Kodak was not able to fully profit from the said invention as its share price went down last year.

There is very little prospect left for Kodak, experts say and now people are paying more attention to the company than ever before. Some are hoping that it will bounce back somehow.

Although the digital camera is revolutionary on its own, one of the greatest fruits of Kodak’s invention is the advent of the cameras on cell phones.

In 2011, while the international media had a hard time getting into Libya, the people captured the goings on on the ground through their camera phones. The looting that happened in England was also captured by camera phones making them a wonderful invention in terms of keeping the world updated with events that matter. It’s not just the news agencies that benefited from this though, families and individuals also got to capture special moments of their lives.

A man who calls himself Zorro in the Philippines (Photo via Juice Kupo's Blog)

Standalone digital cameras became popular four years later but what really made digital photos more popular are camera phones. In fact, it was the camera phone that brought the wonders of digital photography to the masses.

A modern photo in sepia. Photography by Kaye de Castro

This impact has been quite dramatic not only to the masses but also to professional photographers. Before, the pros had to make sure that everything worked –the lighting, their equipment, etc but now, they can take as many shots as they like without having to worry about camera film.

Berlin, 1939 (Photo via philseed.com)

Margolis, in his interview with the BBC added the story of a photographer who was in Berlin in the year 1939. The said photographer had in his possession eight photographic plates and he had to make sure that he took photos in the right angles. In the end of course, as Margolis says, out of the said number of plates, the photographer got four award-winning photographs.

An old church in the northern part of the Philippines (Photography Wilfred Salucop)

Those were the good times, as an old person would say because people gave more importance to the shots they made due to the costs of taking photos. Today, with the digital cameras we have and with the camera phones we have, we can take photos at almost no cost or even consequence.

300-year old church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte (Photography Wilfred Salucop)

Armed with a digital camera, my father would take very nice photos but since his generation is that of an era where digital technology is something almost unbelievable, he makes every click count. This is something that many of us should take into consideration –that in every click, there should be a relevant photo that tells a story somehow but of course, not everyone is an artist.

For those who are thinking of buying a new digital camera before the year ends, here are a few of the best and the most affordable digital cameras one can find.

Canon PowerShot SD1300IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera

This digital camera from Canon features a 2.7 inch LCD screen that’s also scratch-resistant and has anti-reflective coating. More information

Nikon Coolpix L22 12.0 MP Digital Camera

With the Nikon Coolpix L22, taking sharp photos does not necessarily have to be expensive. With its advanced stabilizing features, this product from Nikon is definitely a good buy. The camera also has the capability to adjust shutter speed to suit the preferences of the user. Last time we checked, the camera is sold under $100. More information

Fujifilm FinePix S1800 12.2 MP Digital Camera

This is a professional-looking camera that many would mistake for one of those expensive DSLRs. It features 12.2 megapixels for crisp pictures as well as a lens with 18x wide angle optical zoom. More information

Kodak EasyShare Z981 14MP Digital Camera

Although Kodak does not really have a good reputation when it comes to cameras, this one offers high quality photos as well as precision. It boasts 16x optical zoom and can produce stunning prints. More information

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 12.1 MP Digital Camera

This model is a wonderful little gadget that includes 12.1 megapixels equipped with effective recording. Other product features of this Panasonic digital camera include built-in GPS making it easy for you to keep track of the photos you take depending of course on your location. More information

Photos via gadgetsee.com, pma-show.com, doubledroy.hubpages.com, nikon.com, photographyreview.com

Photo via equalreviewer.com

Featuring 12.2 megapixels, Fujifilm’s FinePix S1800 is dubbed as one of the best and most affordable digital camera for the year and for a few good reasons.

Reason #1 Apart from its rather large photo resolution, the Fujifilm digital camera has a ½.3 inch CCD that enables the user to print quality posters.

Reason #2 It is equipped with Fujinon’s 18x wide-angle optical zoom equal to 28mm – 504 mm telephoto.

Reason #3 It has dual image stabilization.

Reason #4 The camera can capture movies at 720p resolution, HD quality of course.

Reason #5 It has a high contrast LCD screen and electronic view finder. It’s a large display too i.e. 3 inches.

Apart from these 5 main reasons, there are a lot of other reasons why one should buy this digital camera from Fujifilm. The professional-looking camera is a wonderful buy because it is affordable and as beefy as cameras that cost more.

One of the highlights of this camera is its wide-angle optical zoom lens because it enables the gadget to produce crisp, sharp and high resolution images from 28mm to 504mm telephoto as mentioned above.

Photo via kodak.com

Kodak EasyShare Z981 14MP Digital Camera

Photo via kodak.com

If you are not a Fujifilm fan, you may want to take a look at Kodak’s EasyShare Z981. Much like the Fujifilm FinePix S1800, this is a professional-looking digital camera that offers 14 megapixels and 26x optical zoom. Its wide-angle lens is definitely a wonderful addition to the EasyShare Z981’s specifications.

Why should you buy this camera though? Well for one, it is affordable and secondly, it has a lot of features.

Reason #1 14 MP resolution that allows the user to print posters up to 30 x 40 inches

Reason #2 It is equipped with a one button upload that allows you to upload to social networking sites, photo sites and YouTube.

Reason #3 Vertical shutter release.

Reason #4 Can capture images to your memory card.

Reason #5 3 inch bright LCD.