How do you know how good a camera you need?

Cell phone cameras have been making strides over the last year or two, and the point and shoot digital camera market is feeling the heat. For those of us who are not photographers, and only want to snap some quick pictures so we can look back and laugh at that sign that said "Driver's eat free" (The eat belonging to the driver.... is free? NO WAY! Let's go THERE.), and show pictures of the cutest German Shepherd puppy to every person we can flag down (We does not accost; we has witnessed the owner of Perelandra Kennels blissfully accosting), smartphone cameras eliminate the need for a separate digital camera. Cell phone cameras aren't adequate for photographers, but for the casual commemorator of life in photo form, they can impress.

Camera quality is measured in megapixels (mp). You can look at the number of megapixels and the presence or lack of a flash, to gauge the camera's quality. A secondary front-facing camera and video recording in HD are also features to consider, but those are just buying decisions (for example, if you want to video chat from your smartphone, you need a front-facing camera), and we will focus on the flash and the camera quality.

If you will ever be taking pictures in lower light settings, even as innocent as a poorly lit room, you will want a flash. I recommend avoiding smartphones without a flash.

Few and far between are the smartphone cameras under 3 mp. Still, they must be discussed. This low quality camera will be adequate if you only want pictures to keep on your phone and maybe send between phones. On a computer, the pictures will be very small and often grainy.

A camera with 3-6 mp is pretty typical right now, for smartphones. Most will be happy with this quality. They aren't minuscule on a computer and are high enough resolution to look decent on Facebook.

Any camera 7 mp and up is a high quality camera for a smartphone. These pictures are of a quality that can be edited, even cropped a bit, and still look sharp. This is a nice luxury, but not necessary for the average user. The primary reason I find my 8 mp smartphone camera quasi-necessary is because I work with SmokyMountainViews.com, often providing pictures of the gorgeous fall foliage, or of the town's progress in the intense Christmas decoration process. At 8 mp, the details in these pictures are sharp, even posted full page on the SmokyMountainViews.com Facebook page.

In order to identify Android smartphones that boast the camera you want, you will again be looking for a Specs page. This section will be called "Camera" and will be divided into headings something like "Primary," "Features," "Video," and "Secondary." The section called "Primary" is where you will find the information about number of megapixels and the flash. If you are starting at square one, without any idea what phone you want, continue watching How Do You Android? for updates, culminating in a variety of specific Android smartphone recommendations. 

UPCOMING POST -- Part 3 of "Buying Guide" series -- Phone Size