Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Five Things to Consider Before Buying a Digital Camera

by Evan Shamoon on July 9, 2008 at 05:54 AM



Photo Quality: It's not all about the megapixels

In reality, sharpness depends more on the shooter's skill than the number of megapixels in his or her camera; sloppy technique or motion blur can negatively affect the image much more than the width of a microscopic pixel. Essentially, "sharpness" has very little to do with image quality, and resolution/megapixels has little to do with sharpness. Very often, lower resolution digital cameras produce better images than some higher resolution ones because they're better at handling color and tone.

While explaining the way megapixels actually work is a bit of a complicated task (just Google "pixel wiki"), the big takeaway is this: More megapixels doesn't mean a better image. Rather, it just means higher resolution -- good if you're looking to print something poster-size, or want to crop part of a larger picture – but largely irrelevant if you're going to be posting images to your Flickr account as a medium or large JPEG.

That said, physically bigger lenses generally provide better images; that's why you'll see a significant gap between shots taken with DSLRs and shots taken with point-and-shoots (it's due to many other factors as well, of course). If you're poking around camera reviews before you buy, look for models that are said to produce even, consistent colors and good contrast, like Canon's Digital Elph series (particularly the SD 850IS) or Panasonic's Lumix DMC-TZ5.

Ultimately, the best quality photos are going to come from a DSLR, however, so if you're interested in going that route you'll need to learn about lenses: Higher speed lenses let you shoot in darker environments, longer lenses give you more zoom range, etc. Remember, DSLRs have a bit of a learning curve and will always require carrying a big bag or case around with you.


Comments

1

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular