The best thing about a digital camera or a digital camcorder is that it is built for amateurs. Just about anybody can handle them and click amazing snaps. But before you shop for one, you may want to be at home with a little terminology.

The performance of a digital camera or camcorder (camcorder can shoot both stills and video) is described in terms like mega pixels, zoom and memory cards. Pixels are the little dots that make up a digital image. The more the mega pixels the better the picture quality. If you want to use your stills only on your computer and for smaller size prints 2 or 3 mega pixels should be enough.
Zoom is the functionality that allows you to change from a close up to a wide angle and vice versa. Most cameras come with optical zoom and digital zoom. What you must know is that picture quality depends on optical zoom. A digitally zoomed still or video will have quality problems. For amateurs a digital camera with 3X optical zoom is enough.

One of the most useful features of a digital camera is the LCD screen. It lets you see what you are about to shoot, also lets you browse through images before making final prints or home movies. Memory decides how much video/how many pictures the camcorder or camera can hold. A digital camera with 3 mega pixel and 128 mb memory can store around 100 photographs. Most digital camera/camcorder offer print and shoot options. Some also offer manual controls.