Camera advice please

Mrs_Bones

Hello
I've been looking at camera's but not being very techy I'm feeling a bit lost on the subject of megapixles. I know that the larger the amount of MP the better the photo, but is there that much difference between 10MP and 12MP? I will want to print photos up to A4 and just now and again at A3. I've seen a couple of cameras that really don't seem to be any different other than one is 10MP with a 2.5" screen and the other is 12MP with a 3" screen.


Thanks for reading.

davetrousers

Your view is too simplistic. A higher number of Mega Pixels will give a greater resolution not necessarily a 'better picture' If the lens on the camera is rubbish you'll just have higher resolution rubbish.

A £200 10 MP camera will be better than an £80 12 MP camera (most likely )

isofa

Ignore megapixels, completely irrelevant in a camera for any standard usage. A 8 megapixel DSLR can produce prints twice the size and clarity of a 12 megapixel compact.

Marty_J

isofa wrote: »

Ignore megapixels, completely irrelevant in a camera for any standard usage. A 8 megapixel DSLR can produce prints twice the size and clarity of a 12 megapixel compact.

Totally agree. I have a 6 megapixel Nikon DSLR, and my wife has an 8 megapixel Canon IXUS. Her camera takes larger photos that use up more space; my camera takes photos that look better.

I wouldn't even let the number of megapixels be a consideration when choosing a camera. It's mostly just marketing.

Strider590

Mega Pixels are simply a way of making a camera seem bigger and better than it's rivals!

In the same way that you can get cheap high spec PCs with poor quality components OR pay more for better quality....

People ignore quality because it cannot be measured!

Ive just got a 5MP Sony camera phone on contract, the images are horrendous quality compared to my 4 year old 3.2MP Sony compact digital camera...
I use my camera phone for making notes, it saves me writing things down if I can take a photo of a phone number, or a newspaper article, or a landmark, or sign post, or the numberplate of the battered old Volvo I just parked my pride and joy next to at Morrisons.
Occasionally i'll use it when I spot a potential good photo spot, then I come back with my DSLR later on.

My Nikon D40X is 10.8MP, but it's still out performed by the older Canon 20D 6.4MP in image quality (although not by much).

£$&*"($£&(

It's not just the lens, the sensor is important. Compact camera sensors are small and trying to cram 12 megapixels into leads to problems. Some manufacturers are better than avoiding the problems than others perhaps by using a larger sensor and through electronic trickery. I would only choose 12 megapixels if I can find reviews that show it produces really decent results though I'd probably just go for an 8 megapixel with decent reviews. What cameras are you looking at?

Mrs_Bones

Thanks everyone, I think I understand about the pixels, now I'm just confused as to what I should be looking for.

Is Pansonic Lumix a good make, I think the one I prefer now is the dmc-fz18. that one is only 8MP but it does have a bigger optical zoom. I'm not sure what the lens or sensor is like on it

buglawton

Panasonic now lock their batteries to their cameras; expect to pay £50 for a spare or replacement battery that used to be £10.

Nikon are launching a very compact camera, 12MP or so, that has a built in projector! Could be worth waiting for: Nikon S1000pj projector camera goes official‎
Or review at: T3 - hands-on with the camera

In my next camera (not for a long time though) location tagging via GPS will be a must.

moonrakerz

Mrs_Bones wrote: »

Thanks everyone, I think I understand about the pixels,

Just in case:- http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm

mchale

google: "finepix f200 exr"

elsien

I have the panasonic lumix tz3 - very happy with the pictures that it takes, and the bigger optical zoom has made more difference than I expected. (I'm more your point and click type of photographer, not techie, in case that makes any difference.)