Just a few short years ago digital photography was only 
accessible to those willing to pay the rather high entry fee 
required for purchasing a then expensive entry level digital 
camera.  Advances in hardware have, as they always seem to do, 
bring the concepts and technology of digital photography closer 
to earth and now even those on a modest income will find the 
entry point into the world of digital photography to be more 
reasonable. This, coupled with the fact that digital imaging 
software has also become available that is not only a lot easier 
to use but also much more affordable (The reigning professional 
package, Adobe Photoshop, come with a steep learning curve and a 
hefty price tag, but consumer grade digital imaging software from 
Adobe, Microsoft and others has bridged the gap between 
enthusiast skill sets and professional results).

Also boosting the ease of use and learning curve for newcomers to 
the digital photography scene is functionality built into modern 
operating systems that makes managing digital photos and dealing 
with digital cameras and imaging hardware a snap.  The latest 
offerings from Microsoft, Apple and even the open source 
community’s Linux product include numerous features designed to 
aid the digital imaging enthusiast (and professionals, for that 
matter) to deal with their images and cameras. 

Microsoft’s Windows XP product, for example, has the ability to 
display and sort photos by the meta information contained inside 
the file itself.  This meta information can range from 
dimensional data (i.e.: a 1024x768 pixel image size) to camera 
data (make, model, f-stop and aperture settings, etc).  This 
makes dealing with large volumes of digital imagery much less 
cumbersome and is a feature that just a few short years ago 
required expensive their party software packages to even begin to 
implement such functionality.

In addition to the feature sets of programs and the ease of use 
that comes with these advances, there has also been a groundswell 
of support for digital camera buffs on the internet.  New 
enthusiast message boards, chat rooms, review sites and tutorials 
pop up on the internet every day.  No matter what camera you use 
or media card you prefer, you will be able to find vast amounts 
of information regarding your hobby on the net.  One particularly 
useful feature of the entire “digital photo revolution” is the 
easily accessible product information that the internet 
facilitates. 

Thanks to advances in the internet and ecommerce It is now 
possible to shop for a digital camera and do side by side 
comparisons to find exactly the product you are looking for 
without leaving your desk.  You can check prices, read user and 
professional reviews, and ask questions about your potential 
purchase, which allows you, the consumer to make the most 
informed decisions possible.

If you have hesitated getting into the digital camera hobby 
because you were bewildered by the technology and confused about 
how to get involved, now is the time to dive in.  You will find 
that it is a fun a stimulating hobby that can be enjoyed by 
enthusiast of all skill levels. 

Brock Levinson is a photographer and the owner of 
FGA Photography, which is one of the leading photography 
resources on the Internet.  To learn more about photography 
go to:  http://www.fgaphotography.com