I often get asked this question whenever I meet people, close friends even strangers at weddings and events. “What is the best camera?” and “If I were to buy a camera today…How many pixels should my new camera have?”
The first question is really easy to understand and have a very simple answer. “Buy the camera that best fits your photography style and budget”. I’m Serious.
I photograph a wide variety of jobs from Weddings, Events, Concerts, Motorsports and Studio work, from Diamonds to Buildings and Bozo the clown at a kids party. I pretty much shoot anything and everything. The most important criteria for me would be the fit of the camera and its image quality. You can buy “The Best” camera out there but if its uncomfortable to hold for more than 15 minutes you can assume you won’t be using it much when the times comes. Try out a few brands and model, make a shortlist and pick one. I will suggest you try a Nikon sometime during your shopping, you might get hooked, like myself. (Nikon does not pay me to say this, I am just a happy customer). I also believe all roads you take with your photography decision will lead you to a Nikon purchase eventually 
Always shoot at maximum quality and size available. Storage cards are cheap nowadays so try not to compromise your quality by shooting on economy space saving settings. You don’t see Lewis Hamilton puttering around a race track at 20kmh with a race car that’s is capable of speeds upwards of 300kmh. If a camera is capable of recording 10 megapixels, use it and use it all. Need to make it smaller for email? Use your computer to make it smaller in size, but always keep the high resolution file. Many of today’s camera ships with some software to help you manage file size and also assist you in sorting out your pictures into folders.
So, how many megapixels do you need? A 6 megapixel camera would be able to produce clean high resolution prints up to 8” x 12” in size (about an A4 paper size). So if you typically print 4R or 5R the chances are you will be well served with a camera around 6 to 10 megapixel.
There you have it, buy what you need and what fits you best. Happy Clicking.
DarrenC
