35mm film is likely to be a supported standard for years to come unlike digital file and storage standards, which evolve with changing technology. A digital camera is ideal for real estate agents, insurance adjusters, contractors and other professionals who need pictures fast especially if those images are being used on web pages, sent by email, entered into a database or inserted in a report. If you shoot dozens of pictures every week, savings on film and processing will generate a quick return on your investment. For printed documents, you'll want the highest possible resolution. Web pages require much lower resolution, so you can get by with a cheaper camera although a high-resolution camera will let you crop out sections of an oversize image for the equivalent of a telephoto shot.
Some models are available with wide-angle or telephoto lens attachments.
An optical viewfinder allows quick aiming and lets you save battery power. That handy LCD display also drains batteries fast, so either buy a camera that includes batteries and a charger or go out and invest in a set on your own. Most of today's better digital cameras use removable SmartMedia or CompactFlash memory cards to store images. Cheaper cameras may store images internally, which limits the number of photos you can take before uploading image files to your computer. Serial ports are handy for users with older desktop and laptop computers.