For most people interested in just getting great looking snapshots and family photos, a compact digital camera will probably do the job nicely, but if you like to have more creative control over your photos, perhaps even enlarging them beyond 8 X 10 or so, then maybe you should consider the flexibility that a high quality digital SLR(single lens reflex) camera can provide instead.

One advantage of most digital SLRs is their speed. All digital cameras have some lag between the time when you press the shutter button and the time that the photo is actually taken, and in some compact digital cameras this lag can take almost a full second or so. But most digital SLRs reduce that lag time considerably to the point that it almost rivals the instant response of a film SLR. If you like to shoot fast action shots, this can important to getting the action quickly and easily without missing anything.

Flexibility is another great feature of digital SLRs. If you want to set the camera on full automatic mode and let it make all the exposure settings for you, it can certainly do that just like most compact digital cameras, but if you want to set it to manual mode and decide for yourself what exposure settings will be used depending on the photo effect that you wish to achieve, that can be done too. This wide latitude in camera control can be very useful if you have more than one person who will be using the camera with differing skill levels.

Another major difference between compact digital cameras and digital SLR cameras is that compact cameras usually let you view and set up the shot through a LCD screen on the back of the camera, whereas the SLR will require you to look through the viewfinder instead to compose your shots. Digital SLRs do come with LCD screens, but they are mainly just used for viewing images after they are taken rather than setting them up beforehand. Which works best for you is mainly just a matter of personal preference though.

Before you make your decision between buying a compact digital camera and a digital SLR, think about how you plan on using the camera beforehand and then review the tips and suggestions mentioned above to help you choose the camera type that will fit you best.