What to look for in a digital camera? better pixels or ISO?

Question

I take a lot of photos indoor and in low-light environment and thinking of upgrading my current digital camera that doesn't do the job perfectly. I've been told to get one with a higher pixels or ISO rating.

Is this true? or there are other factors I need to take into account? Can you also recommend a good brand of compact digital camera I should buy? Size does matter for me.

Thanks in advance..

Answer 1

In reality what you might want to look into is a tripod and good external flash. These two elements might make your current camera still work well. Not all compact cameras these days have a hot shoe (it is used to connect the flash); however, you can get an external flash that can be triggered remotely by the flash on your camera (Pentax 600 flash has this feature).
Basically, the more light you can supply the better your pictures will be. Then the ISO number can be kept low and the noise on photos will be low.

Current compact cameras pack huge pixel numbers while keeping the sensor the same size. As a result, the noise on the image actually goes up = the quality of the image from each pixel goes down. Try not being to hang up in the pixel number game.
Also, you might want to consider shake reduction features. It will let you keep ISO low and increase the exposure time.
And try dSLRs perhaps. They cost more but the quality is better.

Good luck.

Answer 2

The two are kind of related. The number of pixels crammed into the ccd chip has increased and now 10MP compact cameras are available. However, as the size of the ccd has not generally increased in proportion the amount of light available to each pixel has decreased. So whereas cameras of a year ago started at ISO 100 the new range of cameras have to start at ISO 50 to make the best use of the available light. So they are less sensitive. Increasing the ISO setting on the camera now seems to lead to the noise on the image increasing at a far earlier stage than the 'old' cameras with less Mega Pixels! Mega Pixels are important to a point but too many is not necessarily better!

Answer 3

Many compact digital cameras are capable of good results using ISO 100-200, but beyond this, they struggle to produce 'noiseless' photos.
The best compact digital camera for low light photography using ISO 800 &1600 (handheld, no flash) is the Fujifilm Finepix F30 of F31 fd. No other compact can match it's noise-free, high ISO capabilities.
It's the camera to get if you particularly want to shoot indoors such as at parties, family gatherings, concerts, museums etc.
Or the ultra compact & very stylish, Canon SD 700 IS, would also be a very good choice...and it has the advantage of an optical image stabilizer. However, it cannot quite beat the F30's low light performance.

Check out the reviews below...

Answer 4

I do believe Jason is correct. Megapixels is fine but according to you low light is very important. Look at the fugi's. I believe Jason meant 1600 ISO, which is a heck of lot. You'll get a lot of grainy pictures at the higher end of ISO numbers. Look at website
dpreview.com Check out the Fugifilm cameras.

Answer 5

Fujiflim F11 series. I think it simply is the best. It's around 5 to 6 pixels, 16,000 ISO(not very sure!), and it takes beautiful pictures under low light environment. It is made in Japan, of good quality, and it cost about 250 pounds in Singapore.

Answer 6

hi i think u should check the pixels nt iso coz pixels is used to improve the quality of the picture if u have more pixels then u will get a better picture
nd i think u should go for sony n2 digital camere its a camera wid a touch screen nd having a 3inc screen which is very good nd it also have a good iso also
i dnt think so u wuill find better camera then dis
bt also wait for others answer also

Answer 7

if you are shooting indoors the ISO is more important than pixels
1, you need light

camera, there's only one CANON