But don’t fret: we’ve got a few tips on what to consider when looking for a camera. Use this checklist to find a point-and-shoot with the features that meet your particular needs. And if you’re still stumped, we have a trio of suggestions for cameras that have fared well in our recent testing.

Point-and-shoot cameras buying advice

The megapixel myth: As already noted in our , a high megapixel rating doesn’t mean better image quality. It does give you more flexibility when making enlargements or cropping. If all you want are 4-by-6 photos, a 6-megapixel camera will work fine.

Zoom in: Look at optical zoom and ignore digital zoom. Though digital zoom offers a longer zoom range, the image quality isn’t as good as optical zoom.

Samsung NV11