and if you know about these can you tell me what they affect when adjusted;
ISO speed
Shutter speed
aperture value
lens (bigger-smaller)
focal length
exposure compensation

and can you tell the quality of a camera’s image based on the quality of the camera’s video. like if the camera has 720p vids or 1080p vids will the picture quality be somewhat close to that sort of quality scale?
where do i see the resolution specs? i mean i don’t usually see the resolution specs listed anywhere when i look up cameras. sorry i don’t know anything about cameras. by the way i am in the category of using intermediate to advanced digital camera types (point and shoot type). not into the dSLR/SLR camera types. more of around $400 price range cameras.

anyone have a link i can learn how cameras work
oh i just seen that resolution is megapixels. i only print 4×6s so high megapixels is not needed for me. i am only looking for point and shoot cameras (ones that don’t change lens). sorry for the confusion.
thank you so much Jens for the help. best help received yet from yahoo answers.
one thing. i am just an average point and shoot camera guy. i have a few 12mp cameras, a olympus, sony and nikon. i was wondering why my pictures still come out not so good. what you said about too little light on high mp cams made a llot of sense i didn’t know. i only print 4×6s so what mp camera is more appropriate? you have any more recommendations on great point and shoot cameras under $250?
keerok i am only looking into point and shoot cameras that take great quality pictures under $250. i am not a photographer, just an average user. so i am not expecting high professional photos, just the best i can get in my range. is that so hard to ask for? i understand that the camera is just a tool. maybe you could kindly offer some knowledge/link so i can learn how to properly use a camera. but like you said no camera is made the same. thanks for the suggestions and answer btw
the camera is a tool, i know. so any Helpful information like a guide/tutorial that shows one how to use a camera properly?
will a 1/1.7" image sensor at ISO 12,800 produce a noisy pic?
what about a 1/2.3" image sensor at ISO 3,200?
just say they both are at f/2.6 with whatever speed. picture examples would be nice.
thank you all again. and thank you Jens for checking back. appreciate the help very much. thank you.

Megapixels merely determine the image size. A full HD tv or computer screen can only display 2MP (yes, two MP), anything more is wasted on it. 6MP are sufficient for poster sized prints, and 10MP are good enough for nearly anything.

More MP than that can actually be detrimental to image quality, especially in point and shoot cameras. The reason is that the more MP a sensor has, the smaller the individual pixels on it are. The smaller the pixels are, the less light each of them catches. The less light a pixel catches, the less accurate will its measurement of that light be. That’s bad for image quality. This is why cameras with lots of MP usually perform especially bad in low light situations, where each pixel has to work with particularly little light.
The current best camera for professional sports photographers, the $5300 Nikon D3s, has 12MP by the way. If they can do with 12MP, what does Joe Average need more for?

In case of vide 720p and 1080p only determines the resolution. If the video actually will be that sharp or blurry is an entirely different question. The resolution of the photo or video merely catches wthe image that is projected onto the sensor by the lens. A bad lens will project a bad, blurry image, and then increasing the resolution of the sensor won’t help at improving that anymore at all. All you will get is a bigger blurry image then instead of a smaller one.

There aren’t really any numbers that directly tell you how good a lens will be, but some can give you a good idea about it.

First off, bigger zoom ranges usually are detrimental to image quality. That’s because good quality lenses with big zoom ranges are more difficult to make. So at equal price, the lens with the smaller zoom range most often offers superior image quality. On DSLRs, many people use prime lenses, which don’t even zoom at all, for uncompromising image quality.

The second indicator is the aperture size. That’s the f-number behind the focal length number of a lens. E.g. 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Here small numbers indicate good quality. f/3.5-5.6 is a rather poor value. High quality DSLR zooms have f/2.8, prime lenses can even get f/1.8 or f/1.4
Among point and shoot cameras the values can differ. The high quality Canon S95 has f/2-4.9, which is a very good value for a point and shoot.
Basically these numbers say how wide the aperture can open (lower number means wider opening), and that determines how much light the camera can let in. This is crucial especially for low light performance, and also has a big effect on the ability to blur the background. Just google "aperture tutorial" for detailed information.

Edit:
Follow AWBoater’s recommendation, $280 for a P7000 is an awesome deal:
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Coolpix-P7000-Digital-Zoom-Nikkor/dp/B00427ZLRO

Myself, i use a S95 when i don’t bring my DSLR:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-S95-Stabilized-3-0-Inch/dp/B003ZSHNGS/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322578527&sr=1-2
It has a slightly better lens than the P7000 (f/2-4.9 vs f/2.8-5.6), but a smaller zoom range (3.8x vs 7x). I don’t mind the zoom range, but you might find it to be limiting. The main reason why i chose the S95 over a P7000 or Canon G12 (its direct competitor) is that i was looking for a really, really compact camera, as opposed to by big DSLR. A "big compact" such as the P7000 hence wasn’t what i was looking for, but other than that those are fine cameras.

Here is a sample shot that i took with my S95. Admittedly i post-processed it in Lightroom, but the P7000 should be capable of similar shots
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jens_wurm/5627655965/in/photostream

Compatible SD/SDHC memory cards
1 SD/SDHC Slot
Do you have questions about this product? Ask a question.From the Manufacturer
Thank You Is the information in this section helpful? Yes / No
Overview
Shoot more life with the Sony® DSC-W530. Capture landscapes with one touch using Sweep Panorama™ mode, get that perfect portrait with Smile Shutter™ technology, snap wider scenes with the 26mm wide angle lens, get high quality photos with 14.1 megapixels, and automatically get clear shots with SteadyShot™ image stabilization and iAuto; all in a sleek little design.
Detailed Features
14.1 Megapixel Super HAD™ CCD Image Sensor
A powerful 14.1 megapixel ½.3” Super HAD™ CCD image sensor helps you capture gorgeous images with superb contrast and clarity down to the finest detail. With 14.1 megapixels, you can create stunning, photo-quality prints up to A3+ (13×19”) size, or crop your images and still come away with high resolution shots.

2.7” Clear Photo™ LCD display (230K dots)
Generous 2.7” (230K dots) Clear Photo™ LCD display features sharp, natural color that makes it easy to compose shots, read menus, and view photos, even in bright sunlight.

Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® Lens with 26mm equivalent wide 4x Optical Zoom
The high-performance Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® 4x optical zoom lens brings distant subjects closer for video recording as well as for outdoor, sports, and travel photos, and Close Focus shoots close-ups within a ½” of the subject. A wide angle of 26mm equivalent wide-angle lens allows you to take wider shots of the scene or group in crowded spaces.

Sweep Panorama™ mode
Reach beyond the traditional wide angle lens, and capture more breathtaking shots with Sweep Panorama™ mode. Simply press the shutter button and sweep the camera in the desired direction and the camera continuously shoots at a high speed, then seamlessly stitches the images together with automatic position adjustment to create one stunning panoramic image. Available in wide and ultra-wide options, the camera can take panoramic shots of up to 230 degrees. Now capturing wide landscapes is as easy as press and sweep.

SteadyShot™ image stabilization
SteadyShot™ image stabilization compensates for camera shake and helps prevent blur through use of digital processing technologies.

Intelligent Auto Mode
Unlike traditional auto mode, Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode thinks for you, recognizing scenes, lighting conditions, faces, and adjusts settings resulting in clear images, faces with natural skin tone and less blur. Take advantage of all the technology without leaving Auto mode. Kids on the playground, landscape shots, a beautiful flower or an indoor birthday party; all result in clear images without leaving auto mode.

Face Detection technology
Face Detection technology detects up to eight individual faces and adjusts focus, exposure, and white balance to help deliver crisp, properly lit images of family and friends.

Smile Shutter™ technology
Smile Shutter™ technology captures a smile the moment it happens. Simply press the Smile Shutter™ button and the camera does the rest. You can also select adult and child priority and indicate the degree of Smile Detection sensitivity. Intelligent Scene Recognition can now be used together with Smile Shutter™ mode when the I

http://point-and-shoot-camera-review.toptenreviews.com/

have a look here, gives a fairly wide range of prices so just click around and see which ones have what your looking for. Most Point an shoot cameras like this are pretty similar, so your best looking for the best image quality rather than gimmicks like ’smile shutter’. An remember, don’t be tricked into thinking that more mega-pixels equals better quality, its the quality of the sensor and its ability to use those pixels that counts. Hope this helps

Notes:

1) I am referring here to CONTRAST-DETECTION autofocus speed

2) I am looking for CONTRAST-DETECTION autofocus that is about as fast as the speed of typical [thru-the-viewfinder / non-live-view] PHASE-DETECTION autofocus [for example, the Nikon D3100, or Canon T2i].

Is this currently technologically feasible? If not, what new technological breakthroughs would be necessary?

Contrast-detection auto-focus has always been slow.

Using a dSLR as a video camera will always be problematic. Slow auto-focus if any, jelly effect when panning using CMOS sensors and the necessity of using live view to compose the images.

This is why if you want to do serious video productions, a proper video camera is still the best option. They use 3-CCD sensors (better resolution) and have features like genlock, time coding and other features necessary to make traditional editing practical.

The new Nikon D5100 will have both an articulated LCD and auto-focus in the video mode

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