Bottom Line: Image sensor size is measured in fractions of inches. Size determines photo quality, so the bigger, the better. Simply put, image sensors are becoming more important than megapixels.

The two main image sensors on the market are CCD and CMOS. Most Point-and-Shoots house CCDs, and more DSLRs use CMOS. Arguments can be made for each, but truth be told, they both accomplish the same thing; neither is categorically superior at least in image quality, although the CMOS sensor is slightly faster.

Bottom Line: The truth is, you really only need around 2 MP for a 5x7 photo, but you won't be able to edit or crop the photo. We say, start with 5 MP at a minimum, with 10 –12 MP being a better bet for a point-and-shoot.

Higher megapixels mean higher resolutions, which means bigger pictures. Although megapixels are responsible for image size and resolution, they are not the only determining factor of image quality.

Bottom Line: Don't even pay attention to digital zoom. Optical zoom is what really matters. 4X optical zoom is a nice starting point.

Optical Zoom uses the optical lens to clearly focus on the subject, giving you a clean, well-focused picture without loss of image quality. The digital zoom attempts to simulate this process by cropping the image (keeping the original aspect ratio) and blowing it up, so images can get blurry and pixelated.

Bottom Line: Optical viewfinders are nice complements to a screen, but you may not get a large screen on a camera with an optical viewfinder.

LCD screens are sharp and accurately frame pictures, but they are hard to see in bright sunlight and drain your battery. Optical viewfinders save your battery and let you shoot in any lighting condition. DSLRs have both. Most Micro Four Thirds and Point-and-Shoots only have LCDs

Bottom Line: The larger the screen, the better, you'll appreciate the big display when playing back photos. The tradeoff is that you may lose the viewfinder with a large display.

LCD screens range from 1.1 to around 3.5 inches (measured diagonally) and take up almost the entire back of the camera, giving you the most amount of viewable area.

Bottom Line: All DSLRs and Micro Four Thirds cameras have advanced exposure controls that work with large image sensors to reduce noise from low-lit images. Most Point-and-Shoots have manual exposure controls, but expect a grainier picture, because they have smaller image sensors.

Manual exposure controls allow you to set the white balance, shutter speed, ISO (sensitivity to light), and aperture to correspond to existing light and motion conditions. You want a camera capable of at least 400 ISO to be able to confidently turn your flash off and begin shooting in dim light.

Bottom Line: This feature lets you snap multiple shots in succession. It's useful for capturing a subject in motion and giving you several photos to choose from.

DSLRs are faster, because they have less shutter lag and more buffer memory. Most Point-and-Shoots have burst mode —just expect a little more latency (time between shots). The more buffer memory a camera has, the less latency you'll experience with this feature.

Bottom Line: HD is the way to go for great-looking video.

Most digital cameras come with some kind of video & sound feature. If you're looking to upload videos to YouTube, you want a minimum resolution of 640 X 480, and since we live in an HD age, look for 720p or 1080p. Stereo (2 channels) sound recording that uses codecs like Mp3, AAC, and Wav at 44.1 KHz or higher will give you the best sound, although mono (single channel) sound recording is decent for web video.

Bottom Line: 32GB Memory cards will let you snap an incredible amount of high-resolution photos (over 5,400 at 12MP) in between computer uploads, and, if your camera is capable, you can shoot plenty of HD video (32GB = approx. 10 hours). For the average user, 4 GB (over 650 at 12MP) is plenty.

Here's a tip: purchasing memory cards with high data transfer rates can decrease shot latency and computer upload time. For example, memory cards capable of sustained read/write speeds of 20 MB per second are on the faster-end.

Bottom Line: Everything is going wireless. Wi-Fi makes sense, but wired connections like USB and FireWire connections are still faster and very reliable for data transfer.

Cameras with Wi-Fi let you wirelessly transfer photos to other Wi-Fi enabled devices. For viewing photos or video on your TV, there are even more options like RCA, HDMI, USB, FireWire, and memory-card slots.

Bottom Line: Unless you're shooting from long distances, for instance, at a ballgame or at a safe distance from a tiger, you might not need this feature.

Found on Point-and-Shoot cameras, this feature delivers at least 13x optical zoom, ranging from wide-angle (35mm or less) to super telephoto (300-500mm).

Bottom Line: Just tap the screen to adjust camera settings, select your focus, and view your photos. It's a nice new feature, but it takes up quite a bit of battery, because you're using the electronic screen. Expect to pay extra for hot new features like this.