People that are trying to decide which digital camera to buy often pay a lot of attention to the number of pixels that different cameras have. It is important to remember that in the long run, you are likely to be more satisfied with a camera that has intuitive controls and is easy to operate than with a camera that has a lot of pixels. Generally speaking, the number of pixels that you will need depends on the following three factors:
How you plan to use the pictures
If you plan to post your pictures online or just use them personally, your images do not have to have the same quality as a picture that will become a billboard or a newspaper advertisement.
How much editing you plan to do with your pictures
If you plan to use Photoshop or some other photo editing software extensively and if you find yourself cropping small fragments out of your pictures, then get a camera with many megapixels.
Number of enlargements
If you plan to have 4 by 6 or 5 by 7 prints, then any quality digital camera will have enough megapixels.
