Digital Cameras

[Ryun]

I want to get my girlfriend a digital camera for xmas. I was going to get her this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830109001 (I'm on a bit of a budget since I'm on a break from college) but I thought it looked okay (there were reviews on newegg and they were good, but now they're gone /shrug). Then I showed my dad and he thinks 3.1 Megapixels is crap, and to buy at least 5.0MP. But I'm not so sure. I've owned disposable cameras that you can buy at Target and they honestly can't have more than 3.0 MP and I thought the quality was fine.

So, the question I have to all of you is, should I try looking for 5.0MP camera, or is the 3.1MP alright? Thanks in advance
-Ryun

[Feronia Loba]

It depends on what you want to do, if you're gonna make professional photo's or make photography your hobby then i would go for the 5mp, if not 3.1mp really isnt bad. I myself have a digital camera with 4mp and photography is my hobby and i personally do not feel the need to have more. Also know that with 3.1mp the photo's wont be as large as with an higher resolution and will be easier to transfer (but you can of course lower the resolution on the 5mp camera but then you wouldnt need 5mp in the first place).
Hope that could help you in your choice.

[Ryun]

Thanks for your help. :)

[Nólaquen]

A very good digital camera review site: http://www.dpreview.com

Edit: It's more of a prosumer camera review site, though. Doesn't seem to have the one you mentioned.

Pixel count in large part decides what size prints you can make without hideous blurring/distortion. If you want to make 11x17 prints of your photos, 3MP probably won't cut it. However, if you're content with the standard 4x6 prints, 3MP is fine.