As the saying goes, different strokes for different folks. While there are people who admit to having a habit of collecting books or a bad habit of collecting dust bunnies, there are of course those who love collecting cameras. Sometimes it does not even matter whether or not the camera that they are going to buy is in good working order or not, some of those who collect cameras actually just use it as a piece of decoration.

For cool-looking antique SLR cameras avid collectors can check out flea markets, better yet, online auction sites where sellers of hard-to-find camera models abound.

If you are not yet ready to invest in pricey, limited edition Leica manual cameras, old-school Canon SLR cameras or unique Russian camera models, then you can start with the more affordable compact cameras that are popular among the youth these days. In spite of their incredibly cheap price, do not mistake compact cameras as disposable cameras though. In fact, you might get pleasantly surprised with the kind of photographs that these simple-style compact cameras are able to produce.

In order to get more artsy fartsy type of photos, compact camera enthusiasts suggest using expired films to help you create blue green or yellowish toned photos. This definitely saves you the time from trying to digitally edit your photos on the computer plus it is definitely more admirable since you were able to get that artsy effect all by yourself.

If this piques your interest, set aside $100 and start looking up cool compact camera models on the Internet. If you are clever enough to know which sites to look for, you can easily score 3 compact cameras with some 35mm film to boot with your hundred bucks. This will easily put you on a good start with your camera collection.

Brand new compact cameras usually come with its own box, its better that you store these babies well so that they would not get filled with dust or anything that would prove to be harmful. Remember, these cameras are usually made of plastic, they may prove to be more prone to damage as opposed to old-school SLR cameras that were definitely built to last a lifetime.

If you are more on the techie side however, there are also a lot of cool and unique digital cameras available out there. Aside from the usual point and shoot digital camera or the very stylish SLR Digital cameras, camera collectors may want to check out pen cameras or stick cameras that have also been popular among the youth.

Pen cameras are actually digital cameras, just minus the 2.5-inch LCD screen, flash, and other high tech features. Pen cameras will cost you around $25 and is the side of a USB memory stick, it works best with bright lighting or outdoors and you can easily load your pictures to your computer once you are done.

Expect the quality of the pictures to be similar to that of camera phone shots but you gotta admit, this nifty gadget is pretty darn cool and cheap! If you do buy digital cameras for your collection, do take note that you should not just buy every little thing in sight. You have to choose which models are the most unique or will last you for a great deal of time.

In spite of their sophisticated technology, digital cameras have the tendency to degenerate through the years much like your cellphone. Aside from online auction sites, you might want to book a trip to Akihabara, Japan which has a great selection of gadgets especially digital cameras on display. Don't forget to bring lots of money and your phrase book!