I want to buy a Digital camera,and i need to know how good 4 mp is ??

Question

i want to use it for taking product pictures to put on a website. so it's not like i need to win a pulitzer prize or anything.i live in tijuana though so i might want to take a few snapshots of the donkey show though.

if i want higher quality GO TO 6 !!!
what a you a wiseguy ?

Answer 1

four is plenty big
to put on a website - you will have to make it smaller than 4

Answer 2

For your stated purposes, 4 MP should be fine. I have a few photos on Flickr to include in a discussion on how many pixels are enough. Go to my page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/ Near the top, click on "tags." In the "Jump to" box, enter the word "Pixels" and then press the "GO" button. Some of the pictures are from a 4 MP or even 3 MP camera, showing you what you might expect without any cropping. I think they are quite acceptable. Some of the pictures are from a 10 MP camera (the swan and the pansies), showing the value of having those large images so that you can crop a smaller image out of the original picture and still end up with a satisfactory image. There is one VGA picture, just to show what you could expect from 640 x 480 pixels - not much.

Also, check out these "product" photos that I used on eBay. They were all made with a 3 MP Nikon Coolpix 885 camera about 5 years ago.

http://members.aol.com/swf08302/carvina.jpg
http://members.aol.com/swf08302/skullfront.jpg
http://members.aol.com/swf08302/konkontu.jpg
(The patch is about 4 inches long.)

Answer 3

From 4 to 6 mp is the best for compact digital cameras. Choosing a 4mp is fine. Check out Dr. Sam's samples at http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/page2/ showing how 3mp is good enough most of the time.

Cramming too many pixels into a small chip actually hurts the photo by washing out the colors. So not only look at the pixels, but check the sensor size as well.

The Canon A610 5.0mp, the sensor size is 1/1.8 sensor (7.18 x 5.32 mm)

Whereas the A530 5mp, the Sensor size 1/2.5 (5.76 x 4.29)which is about 25% smaller.

So technically, the A610 should take pictures with better color.

This page http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Camera_System/sensor_sizes_01.htm explains this very well.

Check www.dpreview.com and do a features search for those items important to you, and browse the reviews on each camera. Good luck and don't get hurt out there!

As an idea, check out the specs of the Fuji F20, F32fd, and F40fd, all reasonably prices units, against other brands like Sony, Nikon, Olympus. THen get the camera that feels rigth to you!

AND MAKE SURE your camera has a good video (30fps) with sound.

Answer 4

At this point in time where having a 6 to 7 MP camera is the norm, id like to point out that a 4MP camera is actually equally as good unless youre planning to print really large pics, you intend to zoom in to edit/crop etc, you want really really high detail. If you want to budget and just merely post pics up on the web, a 4 MP digicam is more than adequate. Ive had a 4MP cam for the past 3 years (Nikon coolpix 4200) and the pics have come out lovely everytime. No problem with 4R and 5R prints, though there might be loss of detail printing larger sizes (never tried printing that big before); pictures are generally sharp and crisp and the colour is really good (though this might be the camera more than the amount of MP). Check out cnetasia's digicam buying guide if you'd like to know more.

Answer 5

4MP is good enough. in fact, 3.2MP is already the basic requirements for a standard pic in my opinion. Unless you need to print VERY large pictures, no point getting a higher MP camera - which also means more costly $$$!

However, high MP doesnt means its a good camera. Other factors counts as well.

1 major factor: Resolution. if you have low res, its no use even if you get a high MP camera. This is where usually the "powerbrands" has an advantage. To me, brands like Canon, Konica-Mino,Sony,Fuji comes into my mind.

Do consider semi-pro/pro camera- but no skills in taking pictures will render the camera useless regardless how good a camera is.

Never use video/handycams to take picture if picture quality is important.

Hope my info helps! =]

Check out more digital gadgets forums and hear what people comments on the models you shortlisted and see what pros and cons they have before you purchase any!

(I've been using a Sony P8 3.2MP camera for almost 5 years? and I have no complains about it... other then size that is - its relatively bulky compared to the slim form you see everywhere)

Answer 6

Go with the ans od Princess and Jim More. Nothing wrong with a 4 MP camera, check out the Canons More mentioned.

Answer 7

It all depends on the camera. if all you are going to do is post on the Internet go for the cheap ones but you might like to take other snapshots so you might want to spend a little more for a better camera so you can print the pictures out

Answer 8

3MP is more than enought for web and up to detailed A5 prints. As with any camera the lens plays a very big part in the picture quality. If you are going to take action shots(pig show?) check on shutter delay time as distinct from shutter exposure time.

Answer 9

Do a Google search on the GE A730, and the GE A830. They are new and have a lot of MPs and features for a little money.

Answer 10

I have a Kodak 4 mp camera. the picture quality is phenomonal. even in low light!i recomend this camera to anyone.