October 9, 2010

Camera Comparison Sites - Compare Digital Cameras Side-by-Side Online

Top camera comparison sites

When it comes to buying a new digital camera, you probably have more than two cameras that you debate on. Choosing between two different camera models can be pretty hard sometimes. When it comes to features, the best thing to do is to compare digital cameras side-by-side online and see the differences between them. In some cases, there are many features that you probably won't use. On the Internet you can find many features and price comparison buying guides, that will help you choose your next digital camera.


Those websites usually have a large camera database that lists all the features for each camera model. After that, you need to select two or more cameras for side-by-side online comparison. Digital camera comparison services allow you to look at the big picture first, prior to reading in-depth reviews. In some cases, you can see the camera's user rating, which is based on the photographers who've bought the camera. Everybody has its own opinion, but you can get a rough conclusion whether the camera worth considering or not. For example, when you  see a camera that was rated with 2 stars by 2000 people, this camera probably doesn't worth your time and money.

There is nothing like "The Best digital camera", every camera has its pros and cons for every photographer. In this article, I want to go through and review the most useful digital camera comparisons services. Some websites are dedicated for product comparison, while others are a part of a huge photography portal. Those camera's comparison free services will get you a quick overview of the camera features side-by-side. So which are among the best digital camera comparison sites? - Let's find out!


Dpreview.com - dpreview dot com offers a very useful Digital camera side-by-side comparison in its "Buying Guide" section. Dpreview is one of the largest photography reviews websites, so you actually get more than just side-by-side feature comparison.  Comparing cameras is as easy as it gets. You need to click on the camera you want to be compared and click the "Add" button to add it to the comparison list. You can compare up to ten different cameras each time
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Digital Camera Comparison features:
  • Technical features
  • Consumer reports digital camera ratings (5 stars rating system + number of votes)
  • Direct links to reviews and product galleries
  • Latest prices from leading merchants
  • Small picture of the featured digital camera
  • For both consumer digital cameras and Digital SLR cameras

My opinion: Very easy to compare cameras and has the advantages of having a large user based online community behind it. The score can somehow better represent owners opinion about a specific camera.


TestFreaks.com -Test Freaks is a web-based product rating and recommendation website. In its "Digital Cameras" sub category you can compare up to 5 cameras side-by-side. The rating system is divided into 7 segments: User score, Expert score, Design, Value for money, Features, Ease of use and Picture quality. The "Freak Score" is a calculates rating that takes all the above into consideration.  The main screen (before the comparison page) includes price comparison, best price digital camera, links to the camera specific page with owner opinions and links to 3rd party reviews. Prior to comparing the cameras, you can sort the list by: Freak Score, Price, Name, Release Date and Recently Added date.

Digital Camera Comparison features:
  • Limited features comparison, shows only: Effective Megapixels, LCD size, Optical zoom and weight
  • Price comparison
  • Score for each category
  • Compares both consumer level digital cameras and SLR cameras

My opinion: Limited features comparison, but it digital cameras' rating system is very useful. I recommend it for comparing between consumer level digital cameras. Professional photographers will need more in-depth information.

Imaging-Resource.com - Compare up to 16 digital cameras and SLRs side-by-side online.  What I liked about Imaging-Resource.com cameras comparison page is that it is sub-categorized. Every group of features is groups into a well visually defined category: links, general, image capture, lens, display and so on. This website has an extensive database that lists many features that can't be found anywhere else. The owner of the website keeps the camera database up-to-date.
  • Comprehensive and categorized camera features list
  • Compare up to 16 cameras side-by-side
  • Includes both consumer level cameras and SLR

My Opinion: Easy to use, nice camera rating system but lacks the list of many of the camera's features when comparing them side-by-side.

ConsumerSearch.com - A more professional reviews-based rating system.ConsumerSearch.com also has a list of the best cameras according to its average rating. If you base your buying decision on professional reviews' site ratings and recommendations, this is a highly recommend site. You can easily add and remove cameras from the comparison chart by clicking the "Add/Remove Products" button. You can sort the cameras by dragging a column right or left.

Digital Camera Comparison features:
  • List of Pros and Cons for each camera
  • Out source reviews' summary (CNET, TrustedReviews.com, StevesDigicams.com, Amazon.com, etc.)
  • Average Amazon rating and the total number consumer user ratings
  • Price comparison (Best prices)
  • Basic list of features, including Megapixels, optical zoom, LCD size, RAW file support, HD video, colors, size, weight, etc.
  • Compares both consumer digital cameras and DSLRs

My opinion: A very intuitive user interface for comparing digital cameras' features. Top-notch out source reviews summary. Easy to add and remove cameras from the comparison table.

LetsGoDigital.org - Compare up to four digital cameras side-by-side online. An in-depth feature comparison which includes a link to the camera's user opinion rating page. Users can submit their reviews and recommendations to appear on LetsGoDigital. The side is always up-to-date with the latest digital cameras.



Digital Camera Comparison features:
  • Highly detailed features comparison table
  • Direct link to the camera's rating page
  • Compared both consumer and SLR cameras
My Opinion: A straight forwards highly-details features comparison.

SnapReport.com - Head to Head camera comparison done right. I really liked snap report camera comparison site. Instead of providing you a long list of features, it crumples the data into meaningful easy-to-understand words. For example, if one the sensor side from one camera is larger than the other, snapsort will write "Slightly bigger sensor".  The website has two input boxes at the top of the page with "auto complete" to help you choose the cameras.

At the bottom of the page you can find popular comparisons for the following type of cameras:
  • Ultra compact
  • Travel zoom
  • Super zoom
  • Waterproof
  • Pro digicam
  • Entry-level DSLR
  • Pro DSLR
  • Mirrorless Interchangeable-lens

Digital Camera Comparison features:
  • Features comparison presented in simple words, rather than side-by-side comparison
  • Easy to use user-interface
  • The most user-friendly camera database in my opinion
  • Utilizes special icons to quickly understand the cons and pros of the camera
  • How the camera is compared to recent DSLRs
  • Best "Compared To.." implementation ever made!
"Utilizes the Camera's features to automatically build a mini-Review for comparing Digital Cameras Head-to-Head. Highly Recommended!" (DigitalPhotographyWriter.com Editor)

My opinion: This is my top pick camera comparison application. This cameras comparison web application really stands out from the crowd. It is user friendly, visually appealing and really can help consumers make a smart buying decision, Highly Recommended!

If you are searching to buy a new Canon, Nikon, Olympus or any other camera for that matter, camera comparison services can serve you quite well. When you find the top cameras for your needs, than you can read in-depth reviews about it. You should also compare the latest prices, sometimes you can find great deals and discounts on older digital camera models. Cheap cameras are not always a better choice. When you buy a cheap camera, you are giving away some useful features that you might need.
I recommend carefully going through the specs for each camera, and see how it compares to other cameras at its price range. Today's Web 2.0 comparison websites also allows buyers to read summaries of professional camera reviews. This will save you time, because you won't need to visit each website to read its conclusion.

I hope those sites will make it easier for you to compare and buy a new camera. If you know some other recommended camera comparison sites, please comment below.



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