The more megapixels, the better the picture quality. I think its pixels per inch. Something like dots per inch on printers. The more the better. But it also depends on the optical zoom. Do not go with digital zoom, its not good. I suggest
www.cnet.com for the camera reviews.I use the canon A70-great so much function for a 3.1 megapixels camera. The battery life is great. It uses AA battery. I get more than 8 hours non stop. If you use the better rechargable, more than a day. But they only give a 16mb CF. So better find a bigger CF or make sure you can upload it when the film is full