The Megapixel Myth

Just how many megapixels do you actually need?

The megapixel myth was started by camera makers who use the number of megapixels a camera has to hoodwink you into thinking it has something to do with camera quality. They use it because even a tiny linear resolution increase results in a huge total pixel increase.

Forget the silly debate over pixel counts among digital cameras. There is little visible difference between cameras with seemingly different ratings. For instance, a 3 MP camera pretty much looks the same as a 6 MP camera, even when blown up to 12 x 18.

This is something I've blogged about before.

If a salesperson at an electronics or camera store tries to tell you that megapixels is what determines the quality of a camera rather than the sensor size and quality of optics, be very wary of the rest of the advice they give you.