Will Austin

From sunshine, sand and 80 degrees in Brazil to the cool wet of Seattle, Digital Dad is back from vacation.

I want to address an issue that people ask me almost every day - shopping for digital gear, specifically cameras. I am constantly amazed by the new technology and the quality of digital cameras is so good now that if you spend more than $150 you will be able to make quality photos. That being said, however, you do get what you pay for and the camera I have on order right now retails for $1,800....

When you are choosing your camera think about things like convenience and ease of use more than just the megapixel count. Contrary to popular thinking, more megapixels often means more "digital noise" and lower quality images. The larger files also take up more space on your hard drive.

I think 6-8 is just fine for most people. I have sold beautiful 24-inch prints made from 6 megapixel files. Think about this - how many 24-inch prints are you going to make from the pictures you took of your kid's birthday party?

-- Will Austin

(Will Austin is a Seattle-based professional photographer. Check out his work at www.willaustin.com.)