[Kamuel]

whoa there are counts for shutter life?!

anyway, I think there needs to be a medium in a good number of megapixels without being too low or too high. This is how I understand it:

Too low: you can think of this extreme as the very basic, early camera phones that came out very small pictures with hardly any detail at all.

Too high (in a particular sensor size): your camera can take in so much information but trying to cram it in such a little space you get more noise/grain in your picture. (I've been told this is why you shouldn't necessary go for the tiny pocket size cameras with like 12MP they come out with these days)

Just right: You get pictures that are sufficiently big enough for you to work with and provide the detail you want without excessive noise.

My Canon S3IS only has 6MP. I bought it when the S5IS was already out (has 8MP) but i figure the extra 2MP for almost $200 wasn't cost efficient at all for the casual photography I was begining with. It produces some splendid shots! I only plan to make 4x6 prints for now (personal records, scrapbooking?) and even my old 4MP camera was enough for that.