PIXEL COUNT VS SENSOR SIZE

PHOTO TIP - Everyone knows that the more pixels you pack onto a camera's sensor, the better will be the quality of the resultant photographs. So why don't we have 25 megapixel point and shoot cameras? well, to answer that question, let's play a little game of true and false. The more megapixels packed on your camera's sensor, the better the picture quality will be. True up to a point. False from that point on. Here's why. If you want to pack more megapixels onto a camera's sensor, you have to do one of two things. You can make the sensor larger. Or you can make the pixels smaller. If you choose to make the sensor larger, the camera becomes bulkier and more expensive. So, a decision is made to go with smaller pixels. However, if you attempt to pack too many pixels onto a small sensor, the pixels don't work as well at gathering light. Now there are complex rules of physics that come into play here. But none of that matters. All you're interested in is taking good pictures. Suffice it to say that if you try to pack 25 megapixels onto a point and shoot camera's tiny sensor, the camera ain't gonna take good quality pictures no more. Larry Elkins elkinsphotos.com