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Feb 10, 2005 11:09 am US/Pacific
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Consumer Paige: Megapixel Myth
By Randy Paige
LOS ANGELES (KCBS) ―
They're big, small, black, white… digital cameras have definitely come of age. If you take a closer look, you will usually see one number prominently displayed on the front of the camera, showing the number of megapixels. Camera manufacturers want you to believe the more megapixels, the better the picture. That's why more megapixels can cost hundreds of dollars. But are the extra megapixels really worth it?
Ken Rockwell, an avid photographer who runs a popular digital photography website, says not to worry about the number of megapixels.
"All of them are OK," he says. "The difference between two and five and 10 isn't that significant, there are more important things to worry about."
Ken showed us pictures he'd taken using a 3.3 megapixel camera -- a small number by today's standards. They are blown up to 12 by 18 inches, and they are razor sharp, with vibrant natural colors.
Rockwell says there are more important things than megapixels, like battery life.
"It doesn't matter how many megapixels you have if the battery just died."
Also important is how long it takes for the camera to turn on.
"When you're walking around and the kid does something interesting, how quickly does it operate?"
And how long does it takes for the camera to focus?
"There's a very large variation between cameras in that. Some of them are frustratingly slow."
Rockwell says a good camera needs to be able to capture those fleeting moments of everyday life -- before they vanish into thin air.
"The number of megapixels is only a contributing factor."
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