I often get asked digital camera questions and these are the most frequent answers I give.

Digital cameras have a host of advantages over their standard cousins. Most notably, with a digital camera, you can instantly send your photos to your computer to print them out. There’s no more waiting on photos to be developed at your local drug store.

But as with all new technology you will undoubtedly also have some common digital camera questions you need answering.

Thankfully, most of the most common digital camera questions that I get are easily answered. Here, for instance, are some quick answers to the questions you might have about how to operate and maintain your own digital camera.

You might be concerned about the maximum picture resolution available on your camera. However, this isn’t as critical question as it once was.

Today’s newer digital cameras usually come with enough resolution to allow amateur photographers to print out high-quality shots.

You won’t get professional-level quality on most digital cameras, but the resolution is usually more than adequate for family photographers snapping shots of their kids at the amusement park.

If you’re new to the world of digital cameras, you might wonder, too, how exactly you get the photos from your camera and into a printed format or photograph. There are two main ways, but both start with you taking your photos and, using software that came with your camera to sendthose photos to your computer.

You can the print the photos out by using your home laser printer or high quality inkjet printer and specially designed photo paper. You can also use the memory card that came with your computer to print your photos at kiosks located in many stores, such as Costco. Expect to pay a small fee for using this service. Prices vary so shop around first!

If you’ve never used a digital camera before, you might also wonder why your camera seems to delay for a few seconds after you snap your shot. This can be an annoying quirk for photographers not used to using digital cameras, but you will soon get used to it.

This delay usually happens when you’re using your digital camera’s auto-focus feature. Your camera will need up to a second to focus on a shot when you’re snapping pictures in this mode, and that’s what causes the delay. This delay can cause you to miss spontaneous shots. Just ask anyone who’s tried to capture action shots at a car race or sports arena.

Then there’s the most common digital camera question beginners have: What digital camera should I buy, and how much should I spend on it?

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer to this question. Every digital camera is different and every user has different requirements. You may want to pay more for one with extra features. Or, if you just want a camera to capture family snapshots, you might not need to spend quite as much money.

The key to buying a digital camera that’s right for you is to carefully look at how you plan on using it.

By knowing this, you’ll be ready to make the right decision before you spend your hard earned money on your new digital camera.

When buying a new digital camera do you know how many megapixels you need?

As you might expect many of us have no idea what to get and normally we just go for the maximum we can afford as this will give us the best image results.

Digital cameras allow amateur photographers to decide how high a resolution they want to use before shooting any photo or video. This leaves many digital camera owners with the question: How many megapixels do I need to capture a good quality shot?

Answering this question is fairly easy. It all depends on what you want to do with your photos.

For instance, if you’re taking a photo that’s going to end up on a Web site or in an e-mail message, you won’t need many megapixels at all. You can shoot that particular photo at a low or medium resolution.

However, if you’re going to print whatever photo you take, you’ll need more megapixels to prevent a grainy or blurry image. In these cases, you’ll want to set your digital camera at a higher resolution level. The highest setting you have will always be best.

It’s important to remember, though, that resolution levels and megapixels aren’t the only factors that influence the quality of a photo or its printed version.

Photographers must also keep in mind several other qualities if they want a print-level photo.

For instance, you’ll need to make sure that there is enough light to guarantee a clear shot. You’ll also need to hold your camera steady during a shot to avoid a blurry photo.

You will also need clean equipment that is in proper working order. If you don’t account for these factors, the number of megapixels you have won’t mean much.

Once you’re ready to buy a digital camera, take some time to consider how you’ll be using it. If you’ll mostly be snapping photos for personal Web pages or online social media sites, you can get by with buying a camera that doesn’t boast a lot of megapixels.

If, on the other hand, you plan on printing out most of your photos, you’ll need a camera that snaps photos at higher resolution levels.

For example, if you have a digital camera that can take photos at a resolution level of at least eight megapixels then you can print out photos in 11 inch by 14 inch sizes with high quality.

If your digital camera can only take photos with a resolution level of say 4 megapixels, then your photo quality will start to diminish if you print photos at anything larger than 5 inches by 7 inches.

To be honest there is no one perfect digital camera. It really is horses for courses!

You’ll have to consider several factors before deciding which digital camera, though, is the perfect one for you.

One of those factors, of course, will be the resolution levels a camera has available. Again, how many megapixels you need will depend upon how you plan to use the photos you shoot with your digital camera.

Buy the digital camera that will work for you - just make sure that it has enough megapixels to do the job that you want it to do.