Should I get a 12 megapixel camera or a 8 megapixel? Is a 12 Megapixel just TOO CLEAR??

Question

I know this answer sounds dumb or may seem obvious to some(duh! get the 12 megapixel) lol. What I really want to know is if a 12 megapixel is just TOO CLEAR? Will it show a darn pimple on your face or a piece of broccoli in your teeth?!! LOL I mean I love clear pics, but im looking for something with great quality that wont show every little detail on my face or if something is stuck between my teeth LOL

Or AM I JUST OVERREACTING? Is a 12 megapixel not really that bad?

Thanks!!

Answer 1

Don't worry about it. Since it is your camera, you will be behind it most the time. How will you view your photographs most the time? Computer Screen, Print, or photo paper? Will you send copies via Internet. Having a slow modem connection, it pains me to wait 15 or two minutes to down load a few pictures that I will probably erase. It is important to know how to reduce the size of the photos before you send them over the Internet. The larger the picture size, the more able you are to crop out individuals in the photos and still have them been sharp images. If you take a snap shot of something, but you spend more time cropping your image on the computer than composing your image at the time it was shot, then the more pixels, the better. You can always take a large image and cut it down to size if you think it shows 'too' much. Bigger Photos require more memory to store them. You may need to by more memory storage devices, depending on the camera. If you have the opportunity to take pictures with camera, then do that and see what results you get. Try low light conditions and see how it looks. I would rather have an 8 meg pixel camera that took more pictures per set of battery and was good in low light situations than a 12 mega-pixel that needed batteries and a memory dump at least 3 times at a birthday party or wedding. I think you would be happy with anything above 5 mega-pixels.

Answer 2

This really depends on the camera. If you are using a point-and-shoot, the megapixel change from 8 to 12 will go unnoticed. In an SLR, it still doesn't matter much. To match Film quality, which is as clear as it gets, you would need a 25 megapixel camera.

***Anthoney, not to attack your status, but ANY camera can pick up the pores on your skin if you're are close enough. It's just a matter of distance and focus. If you don't believe my I can show you pictures of my pores taken from a 6 (Yes SIX, for all of the uninformed.) megapixel camera, that is over 5 years old!

Answer 3

12mp is overkill. Once you get up to 6mp, the extra megapixels are pretty much wasted unless you routinely print extremely large shots or crop a lot.

So yeah, a 12mp camera will pick up too much detail, like the pores on your skin, if you're close enough. And you can often get other features in lower mp cameras that will have a bigger effect on quality, like image stabilization, high ISO/low noise choices, better flash systems, etc. without breaking the bank the way a 12mp camera will.

My opinion: once you get to 6 or 7 mp, buy the camera based on the other specs (image stabilization, optical zoom, high ISO capability, etc), not the megapixel count, unless you specifically need the extra resolution for some reason.

Answer 4

Big question is how much ya spending. You want a regular size camera or a tiny cutsie which usually costs more?
My ex bought a camera 2 nights ago, a kinda no frills camera. The Canon PowerShot A560. She paid $139 and likes it a lot. 4X optical zoom, 7 megapixels. Chances are you will never need a 12 megapixel camera.
My Sony by the way takes excellent 8X10 prints and acceptable 11X14s.Sony DSC-H2. It's only 6 MP.
Another decent camera a bit more money is Canon PowerShot A570. Has image stabilizer and shutter/aperture priority. 4X optical zoom, 7 megapixels.

Answer 5

Either one is going to show flaws if you get close enough. There are soft focus lenses and filters for dSLRs, but I'n not aware of any for compact cameras. Photoshop will work to take out imperfections. 12 megapixels in a compact might be overkill, but there is an arms race among camera manufacturers to see who can claim the most. For all but the biggest enlargements, 8 is plenty. Optics and other features are more important.

Answer 6

The thing is that for most people 12mp is overkill. You don;t need that kind of resolution unless you are going to print enlargements (like 11x14 or larger). Otherwise the 8mp will be fine. Also consider that in general, the higher the resolution, the larger the file size of the picture will be, so it will be harder to email them to friends and they will take up more space. Unless you plan to be a pro, I'd go for the 8mp and try to find 6x or 10x optical zoom. That will be more useful. Good luck.

Answer 7

8 mp is big enough for all but the biggest enlargements. If you got too close and don't like that much detail, just download Google "Picasa" and hit "glow" once or twice. It'll get that perfect movie star look. It's free.

Answer 8

the 12 takes longer to process between shots