Mark,

Although far from an expert, my conversations with people (especially
professional types) indicate you are on the right track based on your
desired usage. Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Fuji would be my picks. Glass
lens, not plastic, ability to adjust settings manually as well as auto, are
some aspects you want to look for in your selection. Since you want the
ability for both close-ups and blow ups to 8 x 10, pixel count is very
important, the higher the better. Big problem is budget, since as you are
probably aware, the price goes up geometrically as pixels get in the 5 and
over range. Also, depending on your needs the higher the optical zoom the
better.  In my opinion, digital zoom is a waste. Bottom line - much depends
on how much you want to spend for the results that you want. Based on what
you want to accomplish (close-ups I would suggest nothing less than 5
Mpixels. Also, as in film cameras, a good lens is important. Good news is,
sales are common. Especially as you have seen, when an "older" model of a
very good camera moves to a "clearance" sale, simply because a newer, more
glitzy, edition hits the market.

Maurice Reid

P.S. There are several good digital camera review sites
which I don't have handy, but which can be googled or which  I'm sure you
may be made aware of my other replies. Good luck.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Rode" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 11:48 AM
Subject: [PCBUILD] How many MegaPixals do I really need


> I have to decided to move up from my 10 dollar, after rebates, digital
> camera............
>
> Thanks!
>
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