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When choosing a digital camera, the end use of the photos is an important consideration when deciding how many megapixels to get. For those that will primarily keep their photos archived on their computer, shared with friends on webpages and emails, or printed in 4X6 prints, a small megapixel camera is probably sufficient. Are you going to be photographing friends and family or are you going to be taking landscape shots of your favorite vacation spot? Are you a beginning photographer or have you been shooting with a film single lens reflex camera? Someone who has used a more advanced camera may be frustrated with the limitations of a small megapixel camera.

When digital camera's first came out, many people shot at the lowest resolution in order to get more shots out of their camera card. But when it came time to print or display large, the "noise" level became unacceptable. Digital photos are made up of small "dots" called pixels. A high resolution photo will have up to 300 pixels per inch to print a fine photo. So, if you want to do 8X10, 13X19 or 20X30 prints you need a higher megapixel camera than if you want to do 4X6 or 5X7 prints.

With my first digital camera, an Olympus D510 zoom (circa 2001), I only had 2 megapixels. I blew up two of those photos to hang in my living room. One of the I did a 16X20 print. When viewed at a distance, I have a pleasing piece of art. I printed another one 20X30. While I like this one, the image quality is much worse. When I look at the photo closely, I can see the pixels. They no longer blend to create a photo, you can see the pixels. In film terms, it has a very grainy look.

In addition to the pixel count, the other features of the camera are important. If the camera is a low megapixel camera with a digital zoom, rather than an optical zoom, image quality is going to suffer when the zoom is used. A digital zoom basically "crops" the photo for you in the camera, further reducing the number of pixels on the photo. An optical zoom uses lenses to increase the magnification without losing image quality. How versatile is the camera? Does it have settings for night with and without flash? Will it take closeups of flowers as well as wide angles for landscapes?

Another consideration, many small megapixel digital camera's have a "lag" time between when you press the shutter and when the photo is taken. If you are trying to catch children being cute and funny, that difference will be significant.

What is your budget? Larger megapixel cameras will cost more. But, buying a camera that you "outgrow" quickly is also a waste of money.

Digital Photography Review (http://www.dpreview.com/) is a great place to study the digital camera choices. After you have done your research, make a trip to a camera store. Play with the camera and if at all possible see if they'll show you prints from the different cameras so you can make a more educated choice as to which megapixel camera works for you.

Learn more about this author, Mary Ann Melton.
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