A little known fact about choosing the best digital camera is the proper CCD chip. I know what you are thinking...What the heck is a CCD chip? I have never heard of that. Neither did I until my son's photography teacher explained it to him in class. Do you want to know what a CCD is? Well here goes....A charge-couple device (CCD) is an image sensor, consisting of an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, light sensitive capacitors.

I'll bet you are really confused now. Well here it is in a nutshell. Basically, the CCD is a chip that converts the image captured by the camera into a digital picture. And the larger the CCD, the better your digital picture will be. The CCD used in most digital cameras is approx. 5.3 X 4mm.  The CCD in the new Sony DSLR-A100 is 23.6 X 15.8mm, (which my son uses at school), will give you a much higher resolution in your pictures.

Also don't worry too much about the number of megapixels. If you stay in the 4.0 megapixel range, you should be fine. That should be plenty for taking pictures of the kids soccer games and piano recitals. Just don't attempt to make prints larger than 8 x 10. I actually keep my camera set at 2.0 megapixels, and it works great for me.

Finally, do a good internet search on the camera you are hoping to buy. If need be, go to the manufacturers website and look up the specs for the particular camera you are looking for. More often than not you will see the CCD listed there. And remember, the higher the number the better.

Hopefully, this helps. I am by no means an expert on cameras and don't claim to be. (I just finally through out my Kodak Brownie.) I just wanted to pass on some info I found interesting and helpful. If you found this guide helpful, please click on the button below. Thanks.