FIGURE B

If you dad likes function over style, this might be the camera for him. More features, less money, but not as many colors. Click picture for a larger image.

Size matters
Luckily, these days size does not equal quality, therefore some really great cameras are small. If dad uses his hands a lot, you should look for a small camera that can easily fit into his pocket. Yes, these can still take great digital shots.

If you go for the SLR cameras remember that these are larger and heavier, especially if you want one with better zooming capabilities. There are lots of sizes in between tiny and large cameras so you will have lots of choices.

Understanding megapixels
This is the hardest part to understand when buying a camera. However, deciding on how many megapixels you need in a camera depends on two things:

• How much you can afford to spend, and
• What dad will be using his camera for?

Now what is this megapixel?

As you may know, the word pixel is shorthand for picture element. Megapixel refers to all the dots on a digital image or a computer screen. Each of those dots holds one color and when they come together they form the picture or image. By the way, one megapixel is one million pixels, so a four megapixel camera will have four million pixels. The more megapixel the digital camera, the better quality picture the camera can take.

For more information, you can read our article series on megapixels or buy What the Heck is a Megapixel?, an ebook that's basically a compilation of these articles.

With prices trending down, looking for a camera starting at around four megapixels is good. However, if cost is really a factor there are some great three megapixel cameras out there.

A lower megapixel cameras will be OK for most purposes, especially if dad will only be using his new gift to take pictures to send by email or print out as a snapshot. However, a camera with five to seven megapixels is better for large prints that are over 8 inches by 10 inches.

For the nature-loving dad, go for anything over seven megapixels. Cameras with this type of resolution allows for dad's creativity to come forth. He can do just about anything he wants to, such as print extra large prints for posters.

Zoom, zoom
Cameras with zooming capabilities are fun to have because they allow for close-ups from a distance. There are two types of zooms available on digital cameras, digital zoom and optical zoom. Remember that with digital zoom, quality can be compromised, and all it does is crop the image which can be done using the right software on a computer.

Optical zoom on the other hand gives much better detail and clarity and is the zoom you should be most interested in. Deciding on the size zoom needed for dad's camera will again depend on the type of pictures he will be taking, but the higher the optical zoom, the further away from the object you are filming you can be.