Is The Megapixel Count Vital In Today's Cameras

"Akira Watanabe, manager of Olympus Imaging's SLR planning department, has officially thrown down the gauntlet and drawn a line in the megapixel sand. "Twelve megapixels is, I think, enough for covering most applications most customers need."

Anyone that has played with today's smartphone cameras knows that a higher megapixel count doesn't necessarily mean a better picture.  For example, certain HTC phones have eight megapixel cameras but they have not been able to produce better pictures when compared to Apple's five megapixel sensors.  Megapixel, software, optics and processor speed are some of the factors in producing good pictures.  Pure high megapixel count alone if combined with horrible optics will produce bad images.  Great images comes from a combination of all factors.  

What is the optimal megapixel count?  According to Akira Watanabe, pros should look for about 12MP and average consumers 6-8MP.  Click the read link to see his rationale.