End of the Megapixel Race @ The Tech Lounge

Linc

Is more megapixels the end-all of digital camera quality?

When consumer digital cameras hit the market, manufacturers looked for that magical feature which could determine the worth of one camera versus another. Once the megapixel barrier was breached, it was only a matter of time before the megapixel rating would become the star of the digital camera marketing world. Even now, many consumers associate more megapixels with higher quality. Some manufacturers have even touted digital features to further confuse the consumers. Features such as a digital zoom, acting as a multiplier of the true optical zoom to produce a big number for “total zoom,” or interpolated (up-scaled) resolution - which while bringing lower quality, still carried the illusion of being higher quality because of the higher numbers.

Source: The Tech Lounge

Qeldroma

In a word- NO. I like some of what i read in this article.

As a general consumer, I have been satisfied with picture quality at 4 megapixels and 5x optical zoom for still-shot cameras. I don't see the need for more for simply family photos, etc. It's always nice to have more, but ....

My biggest distress is in motion smudging and smearing. Similar to shutter speed in film cameras, the picture capturing sensor in the camera has a sensitivity to motion that is heavily dependent on the amount of ambient light. This is something that is much more important to me right now than 8 megapixels and 10x optical zoom. Most times, "seeing it as I see it" with the ambient lighting is simply what I want. Lines like this, I think, are saying what I want to hear-

The APS-C size sensor, which is most commonly found in digital SLRs, is roughly two and a half times larger and results in a sharper, less noisy image. It’s also a sign that Sony’s marketing department understands that some consumers may be wise enough to understand that a larger sensor will contribute more to image quality than a high number of megapixels alone.

Now if they can only price it right for me too ...

Nice, Keebs,

primesuspect

It's just like megahertz. When marketing gets a hold of a number they can use to show "bigger than the other guy", they run with it.

Mt_Goat

A feature that I like and find essential in vid cams and would very much like to see in stil cams are image sabilizers. It is simply amazing how much they help. I have found that they even have a large effect when used in binoculars. Most of the gadgets being incorporated in both still and video digicams are just that, gadgets. They are totally non-essential and even not really practical or useful. I do like things like haveing different metering options including 'spot-metering' with a lock or an adjustable 'backlighting' feature.