When More is Less

When a new camera is announced, the megapixel count is stamped on the box in big, bold type. That is after all, the most important thing about a camera, right? Wrong.

David Pogue discussed the megapixel myth a while back and said that the average consumer can’t tell the difference between a 5MP and a 10MP camera. Now Adorama is talking about how having more megapixels could actually mean getting worse pictures.

Sounds strange, right? Well, their argument goes like this: the more pixels you try to cram into a tiny sensor, the harder it gets for each individual pixel to grab details. As each pixel on the sensor gets smaller, the amount of noise in the image increases.

Does that still sound geek to you? Try Canon’s explanation: “The relationship between image quality and pixel size can be readily understood if you imagine the pixel as a kind of bucket used to collect not water but light.” The larger your buckets are, the better they are at collecting light. The noise level stays the same, but since you have more light coming in, the noise is less noticeable.

So the next time you decide to buy a camera, don’t get sucked in to the megapixel myth. This is one case where paying more could actually mean you’re getting less.

For more reading on the myths of megapixels check out Mike McNamara’s column on megapixel vs. optical zoom in the April 2007 issue and his explanation of megapixel's effect on resolution in the January 2007 issue.
—Luis Cruz

Comments

[Andrew Ferguson]

I wrote about whether or not megapixels are important on my blog as well:

http://www.goldengod.net/2006/08/16/are-megapixels-really-that-important/

If you're interested, give it a read and let me know what you think :)

[Brian Auer]

I couldn't agree more with this article. It's unfortunate that most people see the megapixel number as an indication of picture quality. People see me with my dSLR and the first thing they ask is how many megapixels. I tell them it has six. Then most people will proceed to gloat that their camera has seven or eight or ten -- and 98% of the time they're talking about the P&S camera with an itty-bitty sensor. I stopped trying to explain to them that pixel count doesn't really matter in comparison to pixel size a long time ago. I usually just end the conversation with "cool" or "wow, that's a pretty nice camera".