Buying your next digital camera. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. Improvements in digital cameras have come along so fast…many consumers who may have purchased models two or three years ago…are in the market again looking to upgrade. The competition among manufacturers is fierce…and that's good news for buyers. Companies like Sony, Canon, Olympus, Casio and FujiFilm have been boosting the resolution of their cameras…and lowering prices. For instance, FujiFilm is selling its FinePix E550….a 6 megapixel compact camera…for under 400 dollars. That's a big step up from the 2 or 3 megapixel camera you may be using now. FujiFilm's John Loira…

"The more megapixels, the bigger file size is, the better resolution you're going to have. It's got a great 4X zoom lens. And it's got a great movie mode too, so you capture movie clips with sound."

And if you've been annoyed by the lag time …the time it takes to take a photo when you push the shutter button on the camera you have now….you won't have that problem any more. On the downside, the E550 uses XD memory cards…which are considerably more expensive than SD or compact flash cards. About the continuing decline in camera prices, Loira says…

"It's like back in the 80s when VCRs came out and they were a thousand dollars and they dropped down to less than 50 dollars now for a VCR. As technology gets better, as the market gets filled with more models, the pricing will come down as well."

You can find us on the Web at Bootcamp.com. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.