"Dick" LeadWinger wrote in message
...

Now what digital mp would I need to make similar quality prints? I
could take the media to Costco, or I could print it out on my Canon
i860 printer. I am looking at cameras like the Sony DSC -W1 and P100.
Maybe the Canon S500. I realize they are not SLR's. Do I need to
look further up the mp scale?

As others have said, you can get good 5x7 prints out of 3-4 megapixels.
However, with the non SLR digicams, you are working with very small sensors,
so noise is a concern, especially at ISO ratings of higher than 100. My Canon
10D (digital SLR) has less noise at ISO 400 than a lot of compact digicams
have at ISO 100. I have even printed an ISO 800 shot at 11x17 with pretty
good results. I wouldn't want to try that with a camera as small as the S500.

Not to knock the S500 - I want one as my snapshot camera - but be aware that
resolution is not the only factor.

Ken