Profesionally, what is better, a picture w/ more megapixels (more resolution) or the kind of camera you used?

Question

In other words, what would be a more "professional" photograph: one taken with a 10MP point-and-shoot, or one taken with a 7MP DSLR?

I'm talking about an advanced point-and-shoot, such as the Canon PowerShot A640.

Answer 1

I'm not sure that I fully understand what you mean by "professional" but the images taken with a point-and-shoot as compared with a DSLR really depends on the skills and knowledge on photography of the person taking the photo. If you know the capacity and the limits of the point-and-shoot, and factor that in while taking photo, you should be able to take a fairly good image comparable to the one taken with a DSLR. However, having an advanced DSLR and not knowing how to use it will give you poor images.

The difference between 7mg pixel and 10mg pixel will only determine how much you can enlarge an image. If you take a photo with a 5mg pixel and another of the same image but with a 10mg pixel and you enlarge both images to 8"x10", you'd be REALLY hard pressed to tell the difference.

The difference between a point-and-shoot and a DSLR is that the DSLR will probably have more options for you to control the environment's light (ambient, reflected) while also giving you options for different lenses for a different perspective and shooting distance. The DSLR may have better glass components in its lenses (better glass formula) whereupon the very minute details can be captured with crytal clarity. But, there are some pretty sophisticated point-and-shoot cameras out on the market today with plenty of mega pixel and fairly good lenses to satisfy most consumers, and most DSLRs can be used on Automatic Mode, where they function pretty much like a point-and-shoot camera.

A very knowledgeable photographer can probably use one of these sophisticated point-and-shoot cameras and take some rather spectacular images; it has to do with the person's knowledge and understanding of the limits and being able to work around these that matters most.

One of the biggest obstacles of using a point-and-shoot camera is that most people don't bother to read the instructions manual and some of those that do read the instructions don't know the terms used and never bother to find out, so they don't fully understand what they've read. The same holds true with someone who has a fancy DSLR; he/she may not fully understand what the functions are and cannot, therefore, make advantageous use of these functions. Experience, knowledge and talent do factor into taking a "professional" image. For example, what to do if the subject has the light coming from behind it? Composition is likewise important. Sometimes you must move to eliminate background details (such as a tree limb that will appear to be growing from the subject's head or shoulder). Just because you have a zoom lens doesn't mean that you can sit/stand on one spot; you may have to move from your spot to get a better perspective or to eliminate distracting background elements. There's more to photography than just knowing how to press a button. I hope I've helped you some.

Answer 2

A professional looking picture can be taken with a point and shoot camera, it all depends on the capture and the photographer. Using a DSLR gives the photographer more control but using one doesn't make the professional--a good eye and technique does. Now, on the other hand, the public would probably tend to believe that one is a professional photographer if one uses a DSLR simply because of the look of the lenses and camera lol.

Having more megapixels just means that you can print the photo to a large size with better clarity.

I have a Canon Elph 110 (4mp), Canon 300 (6mp) Canon 350 (8mp) and I get professional results with all them. I don't think I will upgrade until again until the 350 completely wears out.

Answer 3

As far as pixels 7 vs 10 is not significant. You could take a photo done at 7MP and enlarge it to poster size without losing sharpness.

When you use a point and shoot you don't get the controls you need to make a professional quality picture. That means you need to try to correct it with an imaging program.

For example if you are taking a picture of someone outdoors and they are in front of a tree the point and shoot might make it look like branches are growing out of their head. The DSLR would either automatically make the subject in focus be surrounded by trees that are not in focus as part of its portrait option or would give you the controls to make that difference in focusing happen manually. Similarly the point and shoot fails miserably at nighttime shots because it flashes for the faces in the front and leaves the rest dark. The DSLR can automatically hold the shutter open to expose the background also or can let you use manual controls for that.

Answer 4

The more pixels really only come into play as you enlarge the picture. The DSLR will probably do a better job in color seperation and such. the quality of the lens is important and the DSLR will have better lens and more advanced electronics.

Answer 5

THE LIGHT RULES HERE.
all depends upon how much light ur lenses can grab and how much clearly it is recorded on the film or the lcd in ur case.
more megapixels will record with more details but the slr will have wider aperture so it will grab more amount of light.
But the slr has more options to work with so chances are better wid the SLR.
BUT proffessionals use editing programmes (we can download free here http://angle-mine.blogspot.com )too much these days (photoshop ,google picasa and so on) to enhance the images bfore presenting them.

Answer 6

if you think you may want to make larger prints of your photos to sell or something, then a higher megapixel is best. if you just plan to email your photos or post them online, a 7mp will do just fine. it just depends what you are using your camera for.

Answer 7

I think that the type of camera is more importent than the amt of megapixals because better camera can make up for lower resolution with other features.

Answer 8

Each serves a different purpose