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The number of megapixels is one of the most important decisions when buying a digital camera. The range can be between 1 megapixel for a cheap, intro camera to over 20 megapixels for an uber-pro camera.

Megapixels are the number of dots the camera records for the picture. The more dots, the better the quality. The better the quality, the larger you will be able to print a picture and it not look fuzzy or grainy. About five years ago, a 2 megapixel camera was considered a good quality. Today, that would most likely be considered a minimal entry level camera. Most digital SLR's like professionals use produce between 6 and 10 megapixels. Many point and shoot style cameras will provide between 3 and 6.

This leads us to picture size. If you are just going to be printing standard 4x6 snapshots, a 2 or 3 megapixel camera will provide sufficient images. They will look sharp and clear. If you are wanting more 8x10s, you may need to look at a 4 or 5 megapixel camera. The 6 to 10 megapixel cameras will be capable of printing much larger, say 16x20 or 20x24 photos very impressively.

Remember, though, the more megapixels the camera captures, the larger the file. A 2 megapixel image can be as large as 800k while a 6 megapixel image can be 3.5mb. This will mean that you will need larger storage media. For a 2 megapixel camera a 256 or 512mb card may be sufficient for a days shots. If you have a 6 megapixel camera, though, you will need between 1 and 4gb to be sure you have enough.

Learn more about this author, Jim Becker.
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