The increasing popularity and necessity of social media has, without a doubt, propelled the digital camera to transcend from a want to a definite need. I remember about ten years ago, only a few people owned their own digital camera. Cameras were usually shared by an entire family, and were only used during special occasions. Fast forward to today, almost every member of a family owns his or her own camera. Cameras are no longer exclusively used for birthdays or other celebrations. We now take the camera everywhere we go to record random images from our day.

Now that the camera has become a fundamental part of our ever-growing list of gadgets, it is only natural to search for the best digital camera. Factors which a buyer has to take into consideration when searching for the best digital camera are price, quality, features and camera size. As the selection for the best digital cameras are far and wide, this search has to be divided into two main sections – DSLR cameras and compact cameras. For DSLR cameras, it has always been a battle between Nikon and Canon. For Nikon, the DLSRs worth mentioning are the Nikon D5000 with 12.3 megapixels and the Nikon D3100 with 14.2 megapixels.

Both Nikon cameras have been described as powerful, versatile and user-friendly. The Nikon D500, which is the more recent of the two, promises to capture moments perfectly with its fast-acting shutter response and improved processing. As for Canon, the EOS Rebel T3i with 18 megapixels remains to be a firm favorite. The EOS Rebel impressed me immediately when I first saw the results as I’ve never seen images so vivid and alive. Nikon may be a favorite of photographers when it comes to DLSRs, but I will always be partial to Canon’s colors.

As for compact cameras, three digital cameras which has been receiving rave reviews are the Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9V, the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. Compact cameras are so popular because they have excellent quality but are not cumbersome. The Sony Cybershot has been praised for being very sharp, the Canon PowerShot has been singled out for its excellent interface and the Panasonic Lumix remains a popular favorite due to its full range of features. All three cameras have been praised for the excellent quality of their images.