Digital Camera Megapixels - How Many Is Too Many?

What type of camera do you want?

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SLR
SLR-Like
Compact
Ultra Compact
Point and Shoot
Underwater

What brands of camera do you prefer? (check all that apply)

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Canon
Nikon
Sony
Fuji
Pentax
Kodak

What's your budget?

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$100 $200 $300
$500 $600 $800
$1000 $1200 $1400
$1600 $1800 $2500
Unlimited

How many megapixels do you need?

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4 5 6
7 8 9
10
More than 10

What zoom do you need? (check all that apply)

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70 mm
100 mm
135 mm
200 mm
320 mm
None

What size of LCD screen do you require?

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1.8 inches
2.0 inches
2.5 inches
3.0 inches

What do you plan on using your camera for? (check all that apply)

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Weddings
Family Events
Landscapes
Sporting Events
Wildlife
Underwater
Studio
Glamor
Fashion
Portrait
Travel
Vacation
YouTube
MySpace
FaceBook

Would you buy a camera from an online website?

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Yes
No
Maybe

Other Criteria?



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Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Kodak, and all the rest of them, would have you believe, that the most important feature of any digital camera was the the number of megapixels. Just take a look at any packaging, or the name / description of most cameras. Megapixels size is right there in big bold lettering, daring you not to notice it. Well, that’s just BS! When are the manufacturers going to start treating consumers like the intelligent humans they are, instead of just money machines. There are plenty of other more important features, such as lens quality and sensor size to name a few.

I suppose it’s just easy for the manufacturers to differentiate their products that way. Lucky for us, you know better and won’t be suckered into that losers game. Generally speaking, any camera with 6 or more megapixels will be fine for the average photographer. I took a quick perusal through Amazons bestselling digital cameras, and saw only a couple cameras with less than 7MP. Unless, you plan on doing some major photo editing, which involves lots of image cropping or you want to blow up your prints to super poster size, anything more than 7 or 8 megapixels is just a waste of money.

Can’t decide on a camera? . . . Personal Camera Finder

Instead of paying for extra megapixels, spend your money on features that can help you take better pictures. Features like, zoom, image stabilization, face recognition, auto focus and video capability. I can’t think of anyone whose complained about having too much zoom. Generally, the more the better. Make sure it’s true optical zoom, accomplished through a better lens. Digital zoom is pretty much worthless, as even the most basic photo editing software will accomplish that for you after the fact.

When considering megapixels, you really need to take into consideration the size of the sensor in the camera. It’s a specification that’s a little harder to find out, as most manufacturers don’t plaster it all over the place. A camera with a big megapixel rating, but a small image sensor, will very likely take worse pictures than a camera with less megapixels and a larger image sensor. To satisfy the marketing department, some manufacturers try to cram too many pixels into an image sensor, and end up with excessive image noise. Image noise, is basically small distorted spots on your picture.

Knowing what your looking at, is really a big part of any purchasing decision. Especially with gadgets in the technical world. Once your understand what specific features are, you can decide if they’re relevant to you. Once you decided what features you want, our Personal Camera Finder is a great tool to help compare different camera makes and models by feature and price.


Can't decide on a camera? . . . Personal Camera Finder

Digital Photography Success - At last! How to take the digital photos you've always wanted, and finally have them turn out like a professional photographer has taken them.

April 29, 2008 · Filed Under Digital Cameras, Digital Photography, Technology

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