It's hard to buy an inexpensive camera with less than 6 or 8 megs these days. New technology keeps improving cameras, and prices keep falling. A new camera for Christmas? Sure. It's a gift that keeps on giving, and to others at that.

I've used my current 6-megapixel super-zoom unit so much that I'm wearing the megs out of it. It still works like a charm, but the newest similar model offers even more resolution.

I'm a former Des Moines Register film shooter who is happy to be in the digital age. I worked on staff with guys who shot large-format cameras and made the switch to then-revolutionary 35mm format cameras much like I moved from 35mm film cameras into the digital era. I like the convenience of quickly downloading pixels into a computer rather than browning my fingers in chemicals and print-developing trays.

My dislike for film goes back even further, though. I probably developed a bad taste for it during a 13-week crash still-photography course, courtesy of the U. S. Army Signal School. For most of the course, we shot huge Speed Graphic cameras that exposed 4-by-5-inch sheet film, two per holder. The camera and steel tripod packed into a steel suitcase. I'd rather have carried a drill sergeant than hauled that heavy gear.

Also, with film cameras, you never really knew what was happening to the film during its exposure inside the camera.

One time, I drove 134 miles to take a picture, got back to the Register office, opened the camera back and realized, hey, the film never advanced through the camera. Once the problem was discovered, I sneaked back and got the pictures in time to meet deadline. After that, I always made sure I was shooting on two cameras for insurance.

When we started shooting digitally, the cameras had viewing screens on their backs to ensure we'd caught the image.

Nowadays, it seems that digital camera prices keep falling while megapixel ratings keep going up. While improved digital quality (higher meg ratings) is generally a good thing, two local camera dealers say they have reservations. Higher megs mean longer download times and more resolution (camera expense) than many amateur shooters will ever need.

Even before digital cameras moved over the once-unimaginable 20-meg rating, Rick Leiserowitz, camera sales veteran of his family's H.B. Leiserowitz Co. in Des Moines, observed that many photo buffs simply have "megapixel envy." They just can't seem to get enough camera resolution. He says, "8-megs is overkill for most shooters," unless you're doing a lot of cropping or blowing up for big prints.

In that case, if you're shooting professionally or simply want a higher-end camera, look at Canon's EOS 5D Mark II, 21.2 megs, with full frame images for $2,700. The similarly featured Nikon D700 sells for $3,000. High-end matching flash units sell for around $450.

For value, Leiserowitz may direct shoppers to the 8-meg Canon A590 IS with image stabilization for $149. It comes with a 35mm-140mm zoom lens, offers an optical view finder so you can see what you're shooting in bright daylight and runs on two AA batteries.

Dick Christian of Christian Photography in Urbandale asks customers what they intend to shoot with their camera. If it's sports, avoid cheaper point-and-shoots that have a long delay between exposures that prevents following action well. He recommends a Nikon D40 with an 18-to-55mm short zoom lens for around $499. A 55-200mm zoom lens may be added for around $199 for shooting fast-moving action.

At the lower end, new point-and-shoot camera models take a lot of the mystery and uncertainty out of photography.

Liquid crystal viewing screens let you see what you just shot, compactness makes carrying easy (like the nearly credit card-size and thin models), built-in zoom lenses eliminate the need for multiple lenses and new battery designs allow hundreds of flash pictures between charges. Other features such as red eye elimination, sound recording, video capability, a panoramic setting and waterproofing are pluses. Some newer models even have face recognition. The latest new feature: a fuzzy photo warning that detects when you shake the camera.

Old camera or young camera, they surely will soon be recording smiling faces of grandkids, the prettiest turkey ever, shimmering Christmas trees and the family dog appearing from under drifted snow in the yet-to-be-shoveled driveway. Holiday moments need preserving, and cell phone cameras some now available with 3-meg ratings probably won't provide the zoom and enlargement qualities we want. But they're getting there.