Camera pixel size

[woad&fangs]

Make sure that you set the camera to "super high quality" or "RAW" format before you take pictures. Otherwise you'll only use 3-4 Megapixels at most, regardless of how many the camera can use. The problem with "RAW" format is that you need special software on your computer to deal with it but it uses the most Megapixels possible. Photoshop CS is the only program I know off the top of my head that can deal with it.

Most cameras are set on "high quality" which use about 3-4 megapixels but you can go into the camera's menu and set it to "super high quality" which will use 4-5 megapixels.

In short, unless you plan on making poster size prints of fall landscapes you really only need a 6 megapixel camera at most.

edit: you can get a good 6 MegaPixel, 12Xoptical zoom from any manufacturer for about $300 nowadays, maybe even a bit less.