If you want to start capturing moments of your life, you’re going to need a camera of some sort to do that. There are a huge variety of cameras based on exactly what you want to get out of it. When buying one, you should first set up a price range to narrow your choices. Next you have to figure out what you want to use it for. You can go one of four ways:

1. Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR): you can get a DSLR camera, which is for mostly photography purposes and gives you full control of the camera features (such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO). One pro to this type is that the picture quality is uncanny compared to other consumer cameras on the market, but one con would be that they usually are pretty large and bulky and can take a while to learn.

2. Digital Camera: This is just your basic digital camera and can serve a number of purposes. They are great because pretty much every thing is automatic, so you can shoot everywhere. Now a con to this is you can get the control of the camera features (like shutter speed, aperture) but these features usually aren’t very strong. The quality of these cameras today have greatly improved, so you can still get professional quality without the professional price.

3. Video Camcorder: This type would be perfect for anyone just starting to get into video or if you just want to capture moments for video. Just like the digital cameras, they are usually completely automatic, so they are great for point and shoot. These range all the way from incredibly basic for someone who doesn’t know much about cameras, all the way to pro grade, but my personal opinion, if you want to get great video without the price, buy a Canon DSLR.

4. Action Camera: These are absolutely amazing for anyone who wants to capture any type of action sports. They are very versatile and some are almost indestructible. They come in pretty small sizes and come with many mounts so they are great for attaching to helmets, vehicles, and anything else you could imagine. They are all automatic and they capture great video.