I've got a big camera problem. There is this one camera I've been looking at and researching for a while now.

The Olympus E-330 that has 7.5 Megapixels!! Then today online, I saw that Olympus is releasing a new camera with high Megapixels...10 Megapixels, but this new one isn't being released until May or June (Some sites say May, some say June...Who do I believe???) What makes this even more complicated is that I want to take pictures at my college's choir concert this month...and then there's another show on May 3rd.

I don't have a digital camera right now.......

I don't know what to do. Do I buy the one that is available for purchase now...the 7.5 Megapixel one...or get a cheap camera to take pictures of the concert and try and return it after the shows are over in May & get the 10 Megapixel camera???

The biggest pictures i'd be printing are 8x10's. will the 10 megapixel look soo much better at that size than the 7.5???

If you always plan to compose your pictures perfectly, you don't need a whole lot of pixels. These days, I'd say that 5 MP or even 4 MP is fine for the average snapshooter and this can be obtained without unreasonable expense. If you want to allow for cropping, which means enlarging only a portion of your image, the more pixels the better.

Imagine taking a scenic view and then noticing that the middle 20% of the photo would make an even better picture. Suppose you take a picture of a whole group of people and Aunt Clara really, really looks great in the picture, but everyone else looks lousy. If you have the pixels to work with, you can still make a decent print of Aunt Clara that she would be happy to have. If you buy an 8-to-10 MP camera and don't want to TAKE large photos, you can always set the camera to a lower file size. You can never go the other direction, though.

Unless the cost is a major issue, buy the camera with more pixels. You will never be sorry that you did, but you might one day be sorry that you didn't.

Having said all that, though, pixels are not the only measure of image quality. The sensor size is important as well as the image processing softare included in the camera. You need to read reviews if you want a critical understanding of image quality for particular cameras. Try http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/ for more information on the cameras you are considering.

Personally, I'd say that you should just go ahead and get a better 10 MP camera TODAY instead of counting on returning a used camera. The 10 MP Olympus will certainly cost more than the E-330, so the higher price of a Nikon D80 is not so different than the price I expect a new Olympus will bring. Or, for less money, you can get a Canon Rebel XTi which is an excellent camera. Both the Nikon and Canon will gain you entry into an array of lenses that would simply embarrass Olympus. The ONLY thing I see the Olympus has going for it is the live-view LCD and I'd hardly base my decision on that factor alone.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_...

Go here and read the "Cons." It's a pretty long list to me...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse...

Buy the 7.5 one. Megapixel doesn't make that huge a difference at that range unless you are printing huge prints. Take pictures of your friend. What is more important? Saving memories or saving money? In a year there will be 15 MP cheap cameras will you wait till then and miss everything from here to there?

The average consumer will have no use for ten megapixels, especially if it's in a compact camera. Using 7.5 megapixels to make 8x10 prints is really enough. Actually, theoretically, the ten megapixel sensor will suffer noise issues more so than the 7.5 megapixel sensor, unless Olympus has a breakthrough in sensor technology.
While more pixels sound like more detail, it's slightly over rated. A 2.5 megapixel increase lends to very little advantage, the difference is not that big; there's not a lot of gain in the amount of captured detail. Look at this page where a 6 megapixel camera is compared to an eight megapixel camera. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40... You will see how small the difference is. The difference between six and eight megapixels is similar to the difference between 7.5 and 10 megapixels.

wait for the new camera
I have been thinking about buying it
go to link below
save the page in favorites
watch it everyday
the camera will be out soon
you can even preorder it
good luck

there are several brand of digital cameras out there which has a 10 megapixels like Sony.
If you need it right away then settle for another brand name,this save you time and headache in the future
the higher megapixels,the better quality of pictures you'll get.

7.5 mega pixels are perfectly adequate for printing 8 x 10 pictures. Save money and buy the current model, unless there are any other features on the new model that you particularly need. You will probably get a better deal on the current model now if there's a new one due soon. It's easy to get sucked in to the whole bigger numbers are better marketing ploys that the camera companies use. It isn't always the case, you can get more noise with more pixels. You would also benefit from being able to get more images on your memory card with less pixels. If you buy the current model now it would give you time to practice and experiment with the camera so that you will be more used to it when you have to take the important photos.

I own both the E-330 and the E-500. They both use the same Lenses. The 330 is a Quality Body,...but you'll need a lens with it. The E-500 comes with two lenses, it just doesn't Have the live View screen