What characteristics do I have to look at when buying a digital camera?

Well, it really depends on how much you are willing to pay for a digital camera and what you need to use it for. For example, if you want to take professional looking pictures you will want a digital camera with more mega pixels but that will cost a lot more. Also, no matter what kind of camera you are looking for you should check to see what the lcd size is, wether or not is has a connector to enable the camera to connect with a tv, if the camera can capture video, and also what kind of memory card the camera requires. Its hard to tell you what YOU should look for because each person's needs are different so you should actually first find out what you would like in a digital camera and then try to find one that matches those needs.

Megapixels, zoom capability print quality of photos, shutter speed.

hi, you should first take a look at the picture resolution( indicated in megapixels). The more the resolution, the greater the image quality. Next, you should consider the storage capacity(the amount of data that can be stored). It would also be useful to check if the camera has video recording capability(that is if it is not a camcorder). And finally, always check on the price!!