Looking for the best point-and-shoot digital camera can be quite intimidating due to all the options out there. There are many models that fit the title “the best.” However, you can easily find one if you narrow your choices to which is “the best” for you by familiarizing yourself with the features you will need.

Here are some questions you might like to answer before shopping for a point-and-shoot digital camera:

1. What kind of pictures do you like to take?
If you will be using your camera primarily to capture personal moments such as your kids’ baseball game, birthday parties, and other family gatherings, among many others, you will probably be doing a lot of close-ups. Therefore, you might consider point-and-shoot cameras with optical zoom and optical image stabilizers. Some models even include Red-eye correction and Face Detection.

2. What will you use your pictures for?
If you will just be printing photographs from your shots or keeping digital albums on your laptop or online, an 8 megapixel camera will do just fine. However, if you plan to do lots of editing (using Photoshop and other similar software) to crop, enlarge sections, or blow your photos up into poster-size prints, then a 10 megapixel resolution camera will be the best for you.

3. How much control do you want over your shots?
Point-and-shoot cameras do exactly that—you “point” and “shoot” the picture. Everything else is automatic. However, novice and expert photographers might want additional control. Many point-and-shoot digital cameras do offer manual control over such things as focusing, shutter speed, and aperture. However, you can just as easily rely on choosing a proper “shooting mode” which provides optimum settings for taking a picture in a given situation. These will guarantee you the best shot every time as well as saving you a lot of time setting-up. Many point-and-shoot digital cameras offer several “shooting mode” scenarios including special scenes you might not have anticipated.

With the price difference of most point-and-shoot digital camera models relatively trivial, choosing one will certainly be based on your specific needs. If you aren’t looking to take poster-sized shots, you will most likely find 8 megapixels enough. If you do plan to incorporate a lot of photo-editing afterwards, like cropping and enlarging areas, 10 megapixel models provides a lot more flexibility without compromising picture quality. One positive advantage shared by most models of point-and-shoot digital camera is certainly ease-of-use. No doubt, when it comes to efficiency and perfect photographs, point-and-shoot digital cameras are indeed the best bets.

Ready to select a point-and-shoot digital camera? Take a look at “Top Point and Shoot Digital Cameras.”