Which is the best mega pixel for a digital camera?

I need to buy a new camera...I forgot the best megapixel to buy.My last one was 5.1. Thanks in a advance for your help!

what's wrong with 5.1? unless you're printing huge pictures out, 5.1 is a fine size. it doesnt take up alot of space on your computer, and the pictures look nice. i would buy from 4-6, but tahts my personal preference. what youre looking for is optical zoom, brand, a good flash, and a good screen. a lot of mega pixels is for a photogrpaher who likes BIG pictures. hope this helps!

The higher the better quality picture

The more megapixels the better quality anything under 5 is bad but, on a phone 1mgpxl is good

best buy has one with 9megapixels i think that one would be great.

YOU HAVE CAMS UPTO 12-16 MEGA PIXCEL AVAILABLE.

BUT IF YOU WANNA BEST ABOVE THAT SPEAK TO LOCAL SONY OR OLYMPUS R&D LAB TO GET ONE DEVELOPED FOR U

4mps

i had one that was 3 megapixels....made some 8x10's with it, i thought they looked great........it got broken so i bought a 4 megapixel on ebay.........good prices don't you know........pictures are great as well...........

Always go with at least a 5. There are some really nice Sony one's out with 7 and Nikon has a coolpix with 7. And be sure to shoot on the highest resolution your camera will allow.

I believe the current professional standard for photographers is around 12 or 13. Pay attention though, make sure that the camera you choose dosen't merely take pictures at a low resolution and then enhance them to a higher pixel level through software or processing.

Unless you're a professional or talented amateur photographer, you just don't need a super high megapixel camera. It really depends on how you're going to use it. If all you're going to do is e-mail pictures, you don't need anything over 1 megapixel. Your monitor can't take advantage of the super high resolution. If you'll print your pictures, 1 megapixel can make a good 5 x 7 print; 2 MP can make an 8 x 10 print; 3 MP can make an 11 x 14 print. When's the last time you printed a poster? Most people just don't need a 5 megapixel camera. The only advantage I can think of for an average user is the ability to crop the heck out of the pictures and still print them at a reasonable size.

The link below has a good, SANE explanation of what a digital camera buyer should consider. Even if you aren't a first time buyer, it makes some good points.

There are a few professional digital medium format cameras at 23 or more mega pixels. Expect to pay over $10,000 though.

Currently, the best digital camera that money can buy is the Sony DSC-R1 which weighs in at 10 megapixels. It will run you about $800 and is a steal at that price.

Some of the digital SLR cameras can perform better but only if you spend about twice the price of the R1 and get a decent lens for it (the kit lens that comes with them aren't as good as the R1). None of them can take professional looking pictures as easily as the R1 can.

Megapixels does'nt determine the quality of a picture.
Depending on how big you are going to print ,you can choose MP's.If you dont plan on printing more than 20"x30",5 MP will do it.A better way to shop for a digi cam is by its features not by MP.
Hopefully this answers your question.

Excellent points swbiblio!

Keep in mind a camera with a high megapixel rating requires a larger memory card to get the same number of pictures you had before.

High pixel count is for bigger print size so if you don't need to enlarge your photo or do some signifcant cropping, you don't need a camera with high megapixels. At the resolution of 2400*1600 (or 4 megapixels), you can print an image of 8 in. * 5.33in. with a good quality. For more information go to http://www.megapixel.net/html/articles/a...

Just don't equate pixel count with quality. It has long been a "pixel war" among camera companies as they continually come up with newer models with higher and higher pixels, an indication that general consumers think that higher pixels mean better quality. What should also be taken into account is the ability of the camera to clear out the noise at any given resolution.

People will make the mistake that the number of pixels you have will guarantee better pictures THIS IS NOT TRUE.
Most importantly the quality of the lenses and components in a camera come first.
I had a Nikon 8800 (8MP)and a Nikon D70 (6MP) (now have a D200) without a doubt the quality of the D70 was superior to the 8800 at all levels.
Any Nikon or Canon digital SLR will be a great start for you.