The term of megapixel refers to the size of an image. Megapixel means one million pixels. The resolution of digital cameras is often measured in megapixels. For example, a 3-megapixel camera can produce images with three million pixels.
When buying a digital camera, many people make their choice based solely on the camera megapixel. The more megapixel the better quality. They expect the higher image quality. They suppose that a 12-megapixel camera is better than an 8-megapixel camera. But, is that absolutely right? The answer is No. Camera megapixels play a small role in the quality of an image as would any other feature.
You have to be aware with this if you want to purchase a camera based solely on megapixels. It is true that more camera megapixels mean higher clarity, which is especially helpful in printing quality pictures. But more megapixels don’t always mean better pictures quality.
To understand why a higher camera megapixel often doesn’t produce any better image quality than a lower camera megapixel, we need to understand more about sensor technology.
A ‘Point and Shoot‘ digital camera usually has a fixed lens system, and the sensor is always exposed. The size of its sensor is generally 2/3″ which is approximately 8.8 x 6.6 mm; that is just about four times smaller than the size of a typical 35mm camera. Instead, a digital SLR camera usually has a larger sensor. For example, the 6MP Nikon D100 has a sensor size of 23.7 x 15.6mm.
An 8MP ‘Point and Shoot’ camera has a smaller sensor size compared to a Digital SLR with 6MP. This is why most ‘Point and Shoot’ cameras generate much more noise and hot pixels in their images. It will result the lower image quality. Even a camera has higher camera megapixel, it doesn’t guarantee the higher image quality. The sensor size is one of the important factors in the value of a picture.
So, be aware of this fact. Go with the quality model!