What to Look for in a Digital Camera

So you want to buy a digital camera. Among all the megapixels, zooms, LCDs and any other factor you can find in weekly Best Buy circular, what should you look for? Well, see which consumer generalization best fits you for the answer:

Basic Shooter (basic) - You want a simple point-and-shoot camera that works just like your old reliable 9mm film camera. Fancy stuff is not for you, you're the tried-and-true type who just wants the ability to print and e-mail your shots.
Megapixels: 4-5
LCD: 1.75"-2"
Extra features: red-eye reduction, picture-printer-dock capability
Price: $150 to $300

Budding Artist (intermediate) - You've been a photographer for a while, and you want something a step up from Fisher-Price. Something you can take on your trip to the Vatican and capture the detail on every last fresco, then later drop into Photoshop.
Megapixels: 5-7
LCD: 2"-3"
Extra features: manual focus, image stabilization, basic video capability (320x240 VGA)
Price: $300-$500

Professional (advanced) - If its new, you gotta own it. Price is no object for you. The only camera you'll settle for is one that doesn't take x-rays. Yet.
Megapixels: 8-10
LCD: 3" and up
Extra features: high quality video (640x480 VGA), wi-fi, extra small size
Price: $500-$1,000 (or higher)

If you'd like to learn more about what cameras have to offer, CNET has a nice buying guide, and reviews for damn near every camera you can think of. When it's time to buy, Best Buy, Amazon and Overstock all have good deals. Be sure to compare.

Tech Talk:

Megapixel	One million pixels (tiny digital dots). The higher the number, the better quality the photo.
LCD	Liquid Crystal Display. This is your screen on the back of the camera. The bigger, the better, the more expensive.
Image stabilization	Helps overcome taking a shaky picture/video when the button is pressed.
###x### VGA	The numbers are the number of pixels in the video. VGA stands for video graphics display. A 320x240 video will look small, about 3"x2" on a typical monitor. A 640x480 video will look about 4.5"x3" on the same monitor.