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View Poll Results: Assuming same size sensor, does 24mp or 10mp result in better photography?
Strongly Agree 619.35%
Generally Agree 825.81%
Neutral 825.81%
Generally Disagree 516.13%
Strongly Disagree 412.90%
Voters: 31. You may not vote on this poll

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05-10-2012, 12:03 PM   #1
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MegaPixel war still on-going for DSLR's

See the new Nikon D3200 - New Nikon D3200 entry-level DSLR continues megapixel war « Fuzzybokeh.com. It seems to have a regular viewfinder, too.

But does it matter? If it does, then to whom? Will the new entry-level Pentax be similar to the K-01 (16mp) but better in image/signal processing (such as noise characteristics)? Will other manufacturers follow Nikon's lead?

Certainly, 10mp is enough to do most any kind of photography. But people decide to upgrade for various reasons. I am still learning about photography and its art but does a 24mp camera make it easier or harder to learn how to be more artistic with photography, compared to 10mp???



PS,
I screwed up the question to the poll. It should say "24mp compared to 10mp", not "24mp or 10mp". How does one fix a poll question???


Last edited by goldenarrow; 05-10-2012 at 12:16 PM. Reason: messed up poll question
05-10-2012, 12:10 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by goldenarrow Quote
See the new Nikon D3200 - New Nikon D3200 entry-level DSLR continues megapixel war « Fuzzybokeh.com. It seems to have a regular viewfinder, too.

But does it matter? If it does, then to whom? Will the new entry-level Pentax be similar to the K-01 (16mp) but better in image/signal processing (such as noise characteristics)? Will other manufacturers follow Nikon's lead?

Certainly, 10mp is enough to do most any kind of photography. But people decide to upgrade for various reasons. I am still learning about photography and its art but does a 24mp camera make it easier or harder to learn how to be more artistic with photography, compared to 10mp???

the benefit of more MP is twofold
1. print larger
2. more ability to crop and still have usable image size for print

Certainly you can even get a good print out of a 6mp file. but apparent sharpness will suffer at larger sizes

I was kind of surprised to see Nikon pull this move on the entry model though, with the caveat that it makes good marketing sense. the 3200 is aimed at neophyte entry level users who in most cases will know little of the technicalities, and will look for an easy number to grab on to. audio went through the same thing decades back, video cameras had the lux race until everyone was effectively as low as they could go. Video also had a zoom race for a while
Nikon will probably win the entry level sales war this year as long as they can meet demand
05-10-2012, 01:15 PM   #3
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Assuming same size sensor, does 24mp or 10mp result in better photography?
Strongly Agree
Generally Agree
Neutral
Generally Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Agree to what ? 10mp ? 24mp ?

After seeing the 36mp D800 I would say more is better.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6803077070_edd58081c2_o.jpg
05-10-2012, 01:16 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by jogiba Quote
Assuming same size sensor, does 24mp or 10mp result in better photography?
Strongly Agree
Generally Agree
Neutral
Generally Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Agree to what ? 10mp ? 24mp ?
He later said, "It should say "24mp compared to 10mp", not "24mp or 10mp". Basically the question reads: "Does 24MP result in better photography than 10MP".

I think a better question might be: "Does 24MP bring any added benefits to make it worthwhile, and if so, what are those benefits?"

.


Last edited by jsherman999; 05-10-2012 at 01:31 PM.
05-10-2012, 01:20 PM   #5
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Generally agree, because:


1) 24MP holds more potential for resolving much more detail than 10MP,
2) When downsampled to the same sizes or printed, can produce images with less-perceived noise
3) Noise reduction in post can be more effective and less disruptive with 24MP
4) 24MP can be cropped much more cleanly and effectively than 10MP


I said 'generally' instead of 'strongly' only because of the wording of the question - "does 24MP vs 10mp result in better photography", and does implies always. And it's never 'always' because it depends on the shooter using each tool, or whether or not you're in a situation where any of the four things above would bring any added benefit to the shot.


.

Last edited by jsherman999; 05-10-2012 at 01:49 PM.
05-10-2012, 02:35 PM   #6
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"Generally disagree"... there are some cases where more pixels might be of advantage, specially when cropping. But generally it doesn't make any difference. Never have used a 24MP camera, so maybe I am missing out, but downgraded from 16 to 10MP and the only difference I see is them taking less disk space and transferring faster.
05-10-2012, 02:44 PM   #7
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Of course more means better. At least, the best available IQ should be better unless something weird with higher MP sensor.
Higher MP means more details (and thus higher color accuracy).
Plus another reasons that were said above.

05-10-2012, 02:52 PM   #8
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To be honest I think that for aps-c 16 megapixel is more then enough. But I was talking to a client of mine who was looking into updating his Nikon camera body (D40). The choices D3100, D3200, D5100, D90 and D7000. Not willing to spend money on D7000 for a vacationcamera using with Nikon 18-200mm lens. I say, buy the D5100 since I like the 16mp camera more. His descision: D3200 since that is new and has the most megapixels! It does work.
05-10-2012, 03:02 PM   #9
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It's unclear what each option means.
05-10-2012, 03:14 PM   #10
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The original question isn't a question or even a statement one can agree or disagree with. So I'm assuming that it was supposed to read "does 24mp result in better photography than 10mp?". We'll also have to assume "all else being equal", meaning the sensor is just is good otherwise, and putting aside and problems like lower diffraction limit, etc.

So, is 24mp better than 10mp, all else being equal? For me, no question yes, if for no other reason than it is effectively like being given extra reach on all your lenses due to the ability to make high-quality crops from relatively small portions of the original image, i.e. if I'd like a 500mm lens for shooting birds but only have a 300mm, the increase in MP is somewhat of a substitute because I can crop a relatively small area and still have it be 10mp+
05-10-2012, 03:40 PM   #11
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Doesn't this have to do with the photosites size as well?

I mean, what's better: a sensor with 24 MP with "small" photosites or a "16 MP" sensor with larger photosites?

Without being overly scientific, can someone briefly explain why would "size matters" in this case?

I would tend to agree with the fact that having more MP would allow me to crop a bit more without loss of details but again, what about those "megapixels" vs. "photosite size" ?

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05-10-2012, 04:35 PM   #12
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I think the point is moot. Physics assume that less mega pixels will be better because each pixel will take up a larger size in the sensor and thus take in more light, leading to less noise. That is a pretty good assumption, but it assumes that the only difference between a sensor that is 16MP vs 12 MP vs 8 MP are the size of the sensors in each pixels(photosites). Obviously this is wrong, they come with better processors and may be more efficient. Just take Pentax's 2 latest sensors, consider the K-5's/K-01's 16MP sensor vs the K-R/K-X's 12MP sensor.

If the assumption that less MP is better than more then the K-r's sensor would be better than the K-5's obviously this is not the case. Because technology increases in a variety of areas. The photosites in each sensor becomes smaller while maintaining the same overall sensor size, at the same time each photosite is now better (even though they are smaller). Obviously this is not always the case, but it shows that less is not always better.

Tech wars are good, they lead to better technology for us consumers. Not innovating because something is 'more than enough' leads to complacency and less innovation from the companies. Consumers are always the winners while a tech war is going on.

With regards to file sizes, moores law states that the number of transistors doubles every 18 months, effectively our computer becomes twice as good every 18 months. New computers have no problem handling large file sizes(computers released in the last few years wont have any issues -besides netbooks-), Hard drives are now really cheap (I got a 1tb external hdd for $99 last year), bigger file sizes are a non issue and if they are they can be resolved with a cheap upgrade.
05-10-2012, 04:39 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by jpzk Quote
Doesn't this have to do with the photosites size as well?
Total area seems to be more important than individual photosite. This should remain farely constant no matter if your sensor is 10MP or 24MP. There is a small overhead because of the space the circuitry takes up between sites, but this is less and less an issue with miniaturization and improving quality of microlenses and mirrors.
05-11-2012, 12:16 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by jpzk Quote
I mean, what's better: a sensor with 24 MP with "small" photosites or a "16 MP" sensor with larger photosites?
Everything else being equal (quantum efficiency, read-out noise, etc), they are equal and the 24MP sensor has the advantages listed by Jay.

A 16MP crop from a 24MP sensor, e.g., taken to increase "reach", won't have the same quality as a non-cropped shot from the 16MP sensor, though. The reason is that you are not using the full surface of the sensor and increase enlargement which will show more noise.

A 16MP crop from a 36MP full-frame (Nikon D800), on the other hand, will have the same quality as a non-cropped 16MP shot from the K-5.
05-11-2012, 03:12 AM   #15
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QuoteQuote:
I am still learning about photography and its art but does a 24mp camera make it easier or harder to learn how to be more artistic with photography, compared to 10mp
More pixels do not guarantee "better photography":

If your photography is poor, more pixels will not make it any better.
If your photography is outstanding, the number of pixels will not really matter.
If you know, what you are doing, more pixels can be helpful.
If you fall into pixelpeeping, everything is lost.
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