site showing in picture form differences in megapixels and optical zoom?

Question

Is there a website that shows in picture form the differences between megapixels (4 vs 5 vs 6 ...etc) and also for optical zoom?
im lookin for a thin, pocket camera that takes nice vacation pix and im finding that the more MP the less optical zoom and the less MP the more optical zoom... so I dont know which to choose.

Answer 1

There is an animation on the Wikipedia website when you look up "zoom lens" that shows the different effects an optical zoom would have as it zooms in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom_lens

I've seen a site on the net somewhere (think it was drpreview.com) but can't seem to find it right now.

As far as showing both of these on the same site/article, I haven't seen anything of that magnitude yet.

Answer 2

You really cannot see the difference in pixel count until you create bigger enlargements. For 4x6's, 5x7's, (and even 8x10's in some cameras), you will not be able to tell any difference by megapixel count.

Now if you start printing 11x17's and bigger, the more megapixels the better.

For everyday photography the typical 35-105mm zoom (3x)gives you a good balance of wide-angle and telephoto. if you take a lot of long distance shots, a high telephoto can be helpful (10x or 12x). But then you need either a tripod or Image Stabilization.

If you are looking at low cost cameras (around $100), be careful with the specs they quote. Often they use techniques to get stronger looking specs, but lower quality pics.

Watch out for references to "interpolated" resolution. A camera can be programmed to add pixels that were not really in the image when taken. So you get a higher megapixel count, but some pixels are made up. Don't buy these.

For under $150 you should be seeing 2,3, maybe 4 MP. If you see 8,10, 12 MP, those are interpolated.

Also watch out for "digital" zooms. These just "stretch " a pic, losing clarity. Some low cost cameras have ONLY digital zoom. Buy only optical zooms.

I don't know of websites with examples. But unless you need to make big enlarged prints, 3 or 4 MP is plenty. Then pick any appropriate optical zoom.

If possible you should go to a camera store and see if you like the way these feel in your hands, and like the way they operate. A camera is a tool, so should feel comfortable to you.

Let me know of any questions.

Good Luck

Answer 3

There is no actual relationship between number of pixels and optical zoom in a camera, but since high-resolution pictures can be zoomed digitally, digital camera manufacturers keep down the capability of optical zoom in high-resolution cameras to reduce the prices.
If you want a camera both high-megapixel and high-opt-zoom, I recommend you to buy a Fujifilm Finepix S9500 (9 megapixels with a 28-300 wide-tele zoom lens) at around $600, as it's the best for both amateur and semi-professional work.

Answer 4

Optical zoom is the action that the lens does to move subjects closer or further away from the camera and megapixels determine how large you can blow up the picture before the picture loses it's optimium resolution,the higher megapixels the larger picture and the higher zoom gives you more distance

Answer 5

For pocket size camera, the mega-pixels is not that important, 4 MP or above should be good enough if you are not going to print larger than 8x12. The image quality is more important. You need something easy to use, wide enough, and has the image stabilizer (anti shake). The Panasonic DMC-FX01 is one of the best camera for vacation, see the following link:

Answer 6

i know what you mean but i dont know of any websites that have that...

-anything above 6 is enough(8 is nice but you prob dont need it)
-some panasonic cameras have a option to reduce image size to 4 mp and get 2x extra zoom out of it
-if you NEED zoom higher megapixals are NOT gona be enough to substitute for 10x vs 6x