InfoDigitalCamera.com

Are more megapixels better?

According to Ken Rockwell’s comment on the megapixel myth, he states that "There is little visible difference between cameras with seemingly different ratings. For instance, a 3MP camera pretty much looks the same as a 5MP camera"

I tend to agree with him as I beleive resolution has little to do with image quality. The important factors beside the functionality of the camera are color, sharpening algorithms and tone. Ask yourself this question, how often do you print pictures greater than A4 or even A3 sizes? I normally print 4 x 6 and at times 5 x 7. Frankly my 6MP is more than enough.

He goes on to say that "One needs about a doubling of linear resolution or film size to make an obvious improvement. This is the same as a quadrupling of megapixels. A simple doubling of megapixels, even if all else remained the same, is very subtle. The factors that matter, like color and sharpening algorithms, are far more significant."

Think carefully if you are upgrading your camera just to keep up with the megapixels race. The marketing guys in the digital world are out there to make you spend more money. Below is a graphical representation on the difference between printing a 6 versus an 8 megapixel image. Not much in it at all.