More megapixels, better photos: Fact or fiction?Digital camera makers continue to squeeze ever more megapixels into their products. But does that make for better pictures?
Camera makers disagree, saying consumers have an appetite for higher-resolution images--for making larger prints or cropping to focus on specific details--and that image quality has indeed improved overall. But even if they're correct, they have a growing perception problem among influential camera experts and enthusiasts. Some of the blame can be laid at the feet of consumers, who fixate on megapixels as a measure of quality. It's the same thing that happened with PC processor megahertz and flat-panel TV dimensions. "The word 'megapixel' is a marketer's dream. Every consumer believes more is better," said Chris MacAskill, chief executive of SmugMug, a Web site that hosts photos and lets users print them. "The trouble is megapixels stopped mattering once we passed 6 of them," MacAskill said. "One in a million shots would benefit from more than 6 megapixels, while every indoor shot would benefit from less noise." | ||||
Planet82 has the answer with a chip that's supposedly 2,000 times more sensitive to light, and 50 percent smaller than current CMOS and CCD sensors.- Talkback
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