What do I look for in a digital camera before buying one?

Try to get at the very least a camera over 3 megapixels. For average use..I would go for 4 or 5 megapixels..You probably don't need anything more than that unless you plan on making posters or something.

All the other features are up to you. What I do is make a list of must haves. So..make a list of things you would like your camera to have and then try to find a camera that best suits your needs. I also go to websites like epinions.com to read other peoples opinions on products.

megapixels

How many megapixels you need/want.
How expensive are the lenses for the camera if there are changeable lenses.
Look for features you want such as auto-focus.
Can you add memory cards to hold more photos?
Are you looking to buy the best camer to keep for a long time or pay less now and upgrade later?
I LOVE my Canon D20....interchangeable lenses, auto focus...awesome camera. But...it is not cheap. Go to a camera shop-not somwwhere like Target or Best Buy. The camera shop people are more knowledgable.

The lens is still the most important part then megapixels,type of memory card,type and durability of batterys.

Actually you need to answer a very basic question first - what do I want the camera for.

If you are the family history keeper or take pictures mostly of people, you can look for a compact camera with 3x to 5x optical zoom (never mind the digital zoom). Look for a 4 mega pixel camera. The higher the better but not essential to be much more than 5 megapix (exept for availibility).

If you are looking to have a bit more flexibility, Canon and Olympus have cameras with in built zoom that goes to 10x or 12x. This is ok for some sports and other nature photography.

If you have about $1500 or so to spare, you can fo in for a SLR camera with lenses. At least two. One should be in the 28-80mm range and the other may be in the 70-300mm range.

1. Megapixels. At the least, you gotta have 5 to get very good printing.
2. Optical Zoom. Small cameras can only zoom 4x max. Larger cameras have 10-12x(ex. Olympus SP 500 UZ). So if you want to shoot far objects, more zoom is better. Forget Digital Zoom---its not true zoom.
3. Lens. You don't have to worry on ths because most camera makers(Olympus, Canon, Kodak, Nikon) have very good lenses.