So, how many megapixels does one really need??

[mirandalea]

We're expecting our first child in about six months, and one of the items that I consider essential baby equipment is a decent digital camera. I LOVE my Rebel SLR (35 mm) and I will never give it up in a million years. But I know that with a new baby, we'll go broke processing the thousands of daily snapshots that are bound to be demanded by both first-time grandmas. My mom has a Canon Powershot A620 which I really love. It takes beautiful pictures. It's 7.4 megapixels and the shots can be enlarged to 11 x 17 according to the booklet. There's an earlier model of that camera that's only 5 megapixels that is a little more in my price range, and I guess I really don't know how much difference that makes. Any words of wisdom from you wise scrappin' ladies out there??

[Jana1506]

Check out this site: http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html
It's a "best of" list that is continously updated as new products hit the market.
Are you looking for a "diaper bag" camera or a dSLR?

[mirandalea]

I'd really kind of like something in between. When I want to take nice "portraits" I will still use my 35mm, but I want to be able to use the digital on a daily basis, and I want it to be good enough to do my scrapping, or email, or print photos.

[Jana1506]

I'd really kind of like something in between. When I want to take nice "portraits" I will still use my 35mm, but I want to be able to use the digital on a daily basis, and I want it to be good enough to do my scrapping, or email, or print photos.
You know, some of those little point-and shot have come a long way and are amazingly advanced. I'd definetly opt for a camera with higher mp's because the clearer a picture you are going to get. It's also wise to pick a camera with optical image stabilization. It will so come in handy when you chase after your toddler. LOL (yes, I know, you still got a long way to go).
I myself just got a Panasonic DMC-FZ7. It's pretty much equivalent to the Canon S3, but about $100 less expensive. It's in the "prosumer" category meaning that it is more advanced than a point- and shot with a lot of manual options but does not quite fit into the dSLR class - yet. It's small and handy and about half the money of a dSLR.

[designs by krista]

Oh Jana I'm a huge Panasonic FZ fan ~ Love them.

Look into the Panasonic TZ1 10x zoom ~ gotta love that!

[Lauren]

Once you get to about this level, the increase in megapixels isn't as drastic as it once was. I've printed 5mp up to 12x18 and it looked fantastic. We used to have them hanging up in our hall, always lots of compliments.

Regarding your budget - if you would really like to get a higher end model, is there the possibility you could register it as a baby gift? My BIL and SIL registered for one for their wedding because they also couldn't afford it, was the first thing bought!

[clickhappy]

I agree that 5mp seems more than adequate, esp if you have access to a good 35mm. That's what I have and if it isn't time to splurge, I don't think you have to. The only time I have trouble w/ pixles is if I didn't do a good job framing the scene and REALLY crop a photo down, then print it too large.
I love having a one hand/pocket camera. But definately remember to use your 35mm though esp for some of your shots inside. They always turn out a bit more true to life to me. The eye color is more of a guessing game w/ my digitals esp. with corected red eye since our house tends to be dark.

[clikchic]

I found it REALLY hard going back to a compact after using an analog SLR for so long, but when I got my digi compact Digi SLR's were way out of our budget. They are now much more reasonable in price and if you can afford it I say upgrade your analog to a digi SLR. Unless you specifically want a small camera I say there is just NO comparison to an SLR. Sure there are some great compacts around but my digi Rebel does such BEAUTIFUL photos!

[Hollie]

More megapixels does not always equal a better, clearer photo. I don't know if I can explain all the technical stuff very well, but sometimes more megapixles will actually cause the photo to look more grainy (or have more "noise" as it is called in the digital world). The industry keeps bumping up the megapixels b/c consumers have this idea that more is always better. It sells. But really, you would be totally fine with 5 megapixels--at least that's my opinion. I don't know what new cameras in the consumer/prosumer range are even out there anymore with 5 megapixels though. You might read some reviews on cams if you find one or two that interest you.

[clikchic]

More megapixels does not always equal a better, clearer photo.

This is absolutely correct.. the BIGGEST way to improve the better clearer photo side of things is sensor size. The bigger your image sensor (ie. the place your camera that reads the image - equivalent to the area of a negative in an analog camera). SLR's generally have a much bigger sensor than compact camera's because there is more room to have a bigger sensor than there is in a compact, so an 8mp compact does not come close to the image quality of an 8mp SLR.

[stayawake]

I think one of the most important considerations for us when buying a camera ( before the birth of our baby! ) was rechargability and life. Friends of ours had to replace battiers about every 100 shots! We bought a Kodak EasyShare for that reason. We put it on the dock at night, it recharges itself, and we never have to replace batteries. We can get about 500-600 shots without the battery loosing power...
Second thing was zoom for us - we wanted at leats 10x optical, and a good lense. ( Ours has a Schneider).
We have 5.0 megapixels but don't even use the full amount of most of the time... I've never really wanted to enlarge anything to wall sized! :)

[danger girl]

My camera is an Olympus C-2100UZ (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_c2100uz.asp). It's 2.1 megapixel with a 10x optical zoom and image stabilization. It is an antique (it came out in 2000!) Occassionally I wish I could enlarge pictures more, but for the most part I am happy with it.


You will most likely be perfectly happy with the 5MP camera. The Cannons take really nice pictures.

[Jinkies]

Another thing to consider is optical zoom!

I have the Fuji Finepix S5000 (I think) and it has 6x optical zoom - love it.

I have mine set at 3mp and have developed 11x14s mounted on matboard and they are incredibly clear.