equipment recommendation - What camera will give me the most clarity for simple photography?

I am looking to buy a digital camera or a SLR for simple photography. By that I mean, photographs of family and such. I am not interested in professional photography or complex stuff like the discussions on this site!

I am having difficulty choosing between a digital camera and a SLR. My only concern is clarity -- size of the photographs doesn't matter much; not too less but I don't need gigantic photos also. I read and researched that megapixels doesn't matter. So what should I look for? Note again, I am looking for only clarity.

Answer

If "clarity", which I'm going to take to mean sharpness only matters to you - just get a decent namebrand point and shoot. Something like a Canon PowerShot SX130IS is a decent little camera for family shots and doesn't break the bank. Its a decent balance of cost and power.

For average family shots - don't get an SLR, its way overkill.