Does 2 megapixels times 3x optical zoom equal 6 megapixels?

[sublime]

I'm a bloody idiot when it comes to cameras. I tried asking another site but got no response. Is it better to have 3 megapixels and no optical zoom or 2 megapixels and 3x optical zoom?

Don't laugh at me :(

[Jeff Rutledge]

I am pretty sure the answer is that it's not the same, but I'm no better at understanding digital photography than you.

However, I'm pretty sure there was an article on this exact topic at Digital Media Thoughts. You may want to poke around there.

[Fishie]

No its not the same.
Optical zoom means its like a binocular, it can magnify whats in the distance witouth loss of quality but it remains the same pixel count.
Software zoom just blows up the picture you have and that goes with loss of quality.

[sublime]

So which would you suggest is better? To optical zoom with a smaller megapixel count, or to have the higher megapixel count with no optical zoom?

[Locksmith]

Best rule to follow when buying or evaluating digital cameras is to ignore and never use digital zoom.

Optical zoom is what you are used to in a film camera. The lens of the camera magnifies the image and gives you the best image with no loss of quality.

Digital zoom takes a small part of your digital image, cuts off the rest, and then enlarges the remainder to fill the screen, with a resulting loss of quality. You can do digital zoom much better on your desktop computer.

[Kati Compton]

They don't quite do the same thing, so it's hard to say which is more important. I mean, you can simulate having more optical zoom with a higher number of pixels - you can crop. But I'm not sure you'll find a 4Mpixel camera with a 2x zoom and a 1 Mpixel camera with a 8x optical zoom to compare, and if you did, the "better" choice would depend on what you needed it for.

On the whole, I'd suggest that the Megapixels is more important, because it gives you a little more flexibility to have big pictures that are zoomed out...

But to address the original post - the number of pixels is set by the camera (there's the upper limit, but you can usually take lower resolution pictures if you WANTED), and the zoom just affects what area is captured by those same # of pixels. So a higher number of Megapixels makes the same image sharper.

Think of megapixels as analagous to DPI.

[Dave Potter]

Unless your a really serious zoom meister - I'd go with the camera with the most megapixels. (There are some really nice 3.1 MP fixed lens Canons out there)

[JustinGTP]

The higher the megapixels, the better the look and quality of your picture. You want lots of those, I have a 3.2mp and they are nice. I also have 3X optical zoom and 4 times digital, but I dont bother with the digital - it is useless!

-Justin.

[ignar]

But, between 3 megapixels with no optical zoom and 2 megapixels with 3x optical zoom, I will go for a 2 mega one. 2 megapixel is good enough for snap pictures unless you print a large picture. Optical zoom is very useful, and your legs will thank you.

[shah]

i used to do a lot of photography. If landscape and stuff are your forte, then 2 Mega with and Optical zoom is better than a fixed 3 mega.


Unless you are into didgital printing in which case get a 4-6 mega with a SLR..... or else 2x is fine.

Also depends on make and comptression algorithm used.. so three different cameras will give three different results even with the same mega pixels..!

[Jeff Rutledge]

... but I dont bother with the digital - it is useless!
-Justin.

I agree. I'm getting into the habit of shooting wider pics and then cropping them later. I don't lose any quality and I'm able to frame them just right. I know that serious photographers shudder at that, but it works for me. 8)

[sublime]

So then the real question is what camera I should choose:

Powershot a300 - 3.2 megapixel, no optical zoom
Powershot a60 - 2.0 megapixel, 3x optical zoom

I won't be doing much printing at all, so I think the latter would be the better option.

[shah]

absolutely. With a zoom camera you can zoom into an area or subject, rather than having to take a panoramic view and then crop on your pc then resave and loose more quality on further recompression.

Simple choice: If you were to take two photo's with the same compression algorithm and the subject at say 5 meters or over.. as an example someones face, then with a 3Mega fixed camera you will get the face, head and shoulders and chest and may be the legs..! etc. You will then need to crop the image just for the face. If you used the optical zoom, you just zoom to the face and snap it..!

NOW THE FUN PART...! If you look at the cropped face and the optical face at the same size, the optical will be better. For its size it will contain 2 million pixels, while the cropped one may have about a million...! So where has the other two million gone.. (Well thats the area you cropped off and lost..)

So read the above and make a simple choice...!

Shah

[Kati Compton]

I agree. I'm getting into the habit of shooting wider pics and then cropping them later. I don't lose any quality and I'm able to frame them just right. I know that serious photographers shudder at that, but it works for me. 8)

Serious photographers would sudder more at the thought of digital zoom. ;)

I never use digital zoom. If I want it more zoomed than the optical will take me, I crop.

[Kati Compton]

So then the real question is what camera I should choose:

Powershot a300 - 3.2 megapixel, no optical zoom
Powershot a60 - 2.0 megapixel, 3x optical zoom

I won't be doing much printing at all, so I think the latter would be the better option.

Between those two? I'd go with the a60 for sure. More megapixels are good, but not at quite that expense. But like I said, it's not a direct equivalent.

For hobbyist, 2 megapixels are plenty.

Other important questions:

* What kind of batteries? Can you use rechargable AAs or is it a special battery pack?
* How big is it? Is it small enough that you'll take it with you often enough? The better camera is the one you'll *use*, and something big and clunky is difficult to carry around.

[Jason Dunn]

I'm a bloody idiot when it comes to cameras. I tried asking another site but got no response. Is it better to have 3 megapixels and no optical zoom or 2 megapixels and 3x optical zoom?
Don't laugh at me :(

Did you ask over at <A HREF=http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com" target="_blank">Digital Media Thoughts</A>? I can't seem to find your question anywhere...

Anyway, as the others have explained, digital zoom is useless, because all you'd end up with at the end of your 3x digital zoom would be a 2 megapixel image digitally croped down to a 1 megapixel image (give or take). Digital zoom is bad - very bad. It's always better to crop after the fact.

[tanalasta]

I'm going to agree that digital zoom is bad. very bad. The loss of image quality is definitely noticeable. It is comparable to opening the photo/jpg in Photoshop and clicking "zoom". So pick the A60 which is a decent camera. Or better yet, if you have the extra cash fork out for the A70 or A80 (or the new IXUS!) I use the A70 :)

Now what do you intend to use your camera for? I assume just point and shoot right?

A good digital camera site is www.dpreview.com

[sublime]

Did you ask over at <A HREF=http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com" target="_blank">Digital Media Thoughts</A>? I can't seem to find your question anywhere...

It's at the very top forum
:)

[Jason Dunn]

Did you ask over at <A HREF=http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com" target="_blank">Digital Media Thoughts</A>? I can't seem to find your question anywhere...

It's at the very top forum
:)

Ah. I looked for posts with no responses, and didn't find it because two people have responded. ;-)

[Janak Parekh]

Ah. I looked for posts with no responses, and didn't find it because two people have responded. ;-)
I think no one had responded when he replicated it here. I'm sure DMT is going to build up a loyal community before long that will be as quick as we are. 8)

--janak

[sublime]

Yeah, as soon as my camera comes in the mail (I went with the A60 afterall), I'll be posting there more often, asking every obvious question known to man and contributing as much inappropriate material as propriety can withstand.

:wink: