The Megapixels of a Digital Camera Don't Matter

All the hype over the megapixels a digital camera has is wrong. People have always looked for a good way of judging cameras when they go shopping, so people like to compare the number of megapixels a camera has. But did you know that more megapixels doesn't equal better pictures?

It's a pity that I didn't know that before I went camera shopping. I spent $350 on a Sony DSC W-200 because it had 12.1 megapixels and at the time, I thought megapixels meant better quality. After I bought it, I did some research and learned a few things.

One guy did a test online between two cameras, and he concluded that he couldn't tell the difference between the quality even though one camera had more megapixels. Out of a huge crowd, only one person was able to guess correctly which was taken with the "better" camera. Don't believe me? Google "the megapixel myth" and read it yourself.

So why is it that megapixels don't equal quality? Surely, with more pixels comes with a more vivid picture. But that's not necessarily true. There are two reasons for this. Most prints that people do are small enough for 5 megapixel cameras to be more than sufficient for. Imagine a small photo, with a lot of pixels. Would you notice the difference if there were a few less megapixels?

The second reason is that as manufacturers put more pixels in, they usually decrease the size of each pixel. That means that each pixel gathers less "information", so more megapixels doesn't necessarily make a better picture.

So if you're shopping for a camera, and you can't judge them by amount of megapixels, what can you judge them by? The best way to choose a camera is to look at its features. I always look at the brand first, because the brand name implies a certain amount of quality its cameras hold. But brand names are not the best way to choose cameras, so I just use that get a starting point.

Then I look for features like Steady Shot. Sony has a feature called Steady Shot that helps stabilize the image when you're taking a picture, so there's less blur. A lot of cameras have this now, but you still need to check to make sure. I know a lot of cheaper cameras don't have it.

Another thing to look for is the amount of shooting modes it has. Most point and shoot cameras don't give you much choice when it comes to changing the ISO, shutter speed, aperture, etc, so it's important to have a lot of shooting modes that'll suit your location of shooting.

When looking for a camera to buy, just find one that suits you. What conditions will you be shooting under? Find a camera that has a shooting mode that'll fit those conditions. Just make sure you don't look at a camera's megapixels as the only way of telling which camera is better. Megapixels only matter some of the time. Also, be sure to look online for reviews of any cameras you're thinking of buying.