Do you need a really good camera to take photography pictures?

With the quality of the new digital cameras, you don't really need an expensive camera to take good pictures. There are 12 MP cameras available for $99 or less that will beat the snot out of a 5 MP Nikon of a couple of years ago. Just remember that higher resolution means more memory usage, so when shooting remember to set your resolution with printing in mind. If you are going to print as a 4x6 then 3 MP will be fine. If you are looking at enlarging to 8x10 you might want to up the resolution to 5 or 7 MP.