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Lens quality and pixel resolution affect the resolution of a digital camera. Four-, five-, six-, and higher megapixel cameras with quality lenses can match the resolution of amateur 35mm photographs. Digital cameras with fewer pixels (such as a CCD of 2-3.2 megapixels) are fine for snapshots, but just don't have the resolution of film. If film-like resolution is required, definitely consider a camera with a chip of five or more megapixels.

Surprisingly more important than the CCD is the lens. In fact, the quality of the lens is so important that you should seriously consider only the finest lens manufacturers for your digital camera. Companies that produce the best lenses include the following:

• Carl Zeiss-Considered the best optics on the planet.
• Nikon-Exclusively on Nikon cameras.
• Canon-Appear on Canon cameras.
• Leica-Leica lenses are considered the sharpest among 35mm photographers.
• Schneider-An American company that manufactures lenses for Kodak.

Look for ultra-low dispersion glass, fluorite (a mineral) glass, apochromatic lenses, and aspherical lenses. These technologies, which add significantly to the cost of a lens, can even be found on instamatic digital cameras, such as those from Kodak (Schneider) and Sony (Carl Zeiss).

You might encounter a number of different terms when shopping for a lens:

• APO (apochromatic)-These lenses have special coatings that focus different wavelengths of light (red, green, and blue) more precisely. Nikon calls its APO technology ED, for Extra-Low Dispersion.
• Fluorite-This type of glass creates lenses that have no distortion whatsoever.
• Aspherical-These lenses are ground into nonspherical shapes that enable more compact lenses to be manufactured. Aspherical lenses also reduce coma, through a lens far from its center. The rays do not focus on a point inside the camera, but instead create a cone of light, which looks like a comet tail.

Tags: apochromatic, aspherical, carl zeiss, ccd, fluorite, leica, lenses, schneider, sensor resolution