The myth of the megapixel on digital cameras

The myth of the megapixel on digital cameras | Which? Conversation

Image by pvera via FlickrThis is very true. With the current crop of digital cameras, megapixel count by itself doesn't mean much. What you really want to look into is what else can the camera do to help you take a better picture:

How good is the lens? Some Sony cameras have Sony lenses, while some have superior Carl Zeiss lenses.
Can the camera offset vibrations from your hands?
What about low-light performance? Will I need the flash simply because the sun isn't shining?
How fast can it shoot? Will it work well when taking photos at a kiddie soccer game?
Does it have some kind of scene identification mode? Most modern cameras can tell if you are trying to take a portrait, a backlit picture, etc.
Can the camera shoot HD video? If yes, which codecs? Will you need to recode the video before posting it online?

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