Though not truly a peripheral, having a digital camera can help sell your products for higher prices because a good quality photo will make your product look better to the public. They can also help cut down on the number of questions from potential buyers because they will be able to see all the details of your product, especially if you have views from many different angles.

Since you will be dealing with the Internet, super-high mega-pixels aren’t an absolute necessity. But you still might want to look into a higher-resolution camera if you need to capture very fine details.

A digital camera’s megapixel count is an important specification. Stating the number of megapixels is another way of expressing a camera’s resolution – the higher the megapixel number, the higher the resolution. In general, higher-resolution cameras let you produce larger, higher-quality digital images and prints.

If you’re interested in producing mostly small snapshots or images to send via email or publish on the web, you probably don’t need anything better than a 5-megapixel camera, as images with greater definition than this will require a file size that will be impractical because they will not download in a reasonable time.

Another specification you need to consider is the focal range. Cameras with greater focal range can zoom out to fit more into a shot or zoom in to fill the frame with the subject. Optical zoom produces sharper images than digital zoom. All new point-and-shoot and advanced cameras offer at least a 3X zoom that will work sufficiently for most online business needs.

You can ask yourself these four questions to help determine the digital camera that is best for you:

1. Will you need to be taking close-up pictures of small objects that require a lot of detail to sell on your website?

All cameras let you take close-up photos, but some are easier than others. If you’re going to be doing a lot of close-up work, look for a camera with an easy-to-use close-up feature.

2. Will you be taking photos from far off?

If so, you will need a camera with higher optical zoom. Most offer 3X zoom, capturing a picture 3 times larger than if you were seeing it with the naked eye. For far away photos, you will want an optical zoom that is more than a 3X. Keep in mind that cameras with a bigger zoom are usually heavier and bulkier because of the size of the lens.

3. What about LCD size?

The LCD [Liquid Crystal Display] is what makes a digital camera unique because you can see the photo you just took and decide if it truly captured the image correctly. A large LCD will show the details more clearly; however, it will also be larger and drain the batteries more quickly.

4. Are you on a budget?

You can buy a perfectly good 5-megapixel name-brand camera with lots of features starting as low as $40. The important thing is to find the camera that offers the features you need at the best price. Often, the best price comes from buying online; however, try out different cameras in a store before buying so that you absolutely understand the different features of each camera.

Below is a chart to help you determine which features are right for you.

Feature  Very Important  Somewhat  Important  Not Important

High Optical Zoom
(4x or greater)

Larger LCD
(greater than one inch)

Wide-Angle Lens

Pocket Size
or Lightweight

4-to-5 megapixels

6 or more megapixels

$350 or less

Extra Memory

Memory Card Reader

Almost all digital cameras come with software that lets you download images to your PC and print them. Some cameras even come with picture-editing software, but it will be important to have a higher quality photo-editing application for most businesses.

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