Replacing the camera

[Toby Corkindale]

On Thu, Feb 23, 2006 at 03:49:52PM +0000, Jacqui Caren wrote:
> Jason Tang wrote:
> >On Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 03:02:15PM +0000, Jacqui Caren wrote:
> >
> >>A camera labs review is on "thereg" and looks good. The camera is ~9Mp,
> >>no anti shake but it does ISO1600 which is better for action shots
> >>and the resolution means I can create Tshirts from it :-)
> >
> >D50 is a 6MP camera and shoots raw files which you can comfortably blow 
> >images up to A2.
> 
> So 9Mp is overkill?

There's more than just megapixels at play here. THink of the CPU megahertz
ratings.. For a long time, people bought chips based on the MHz, without
realising that 1 Hz on a 486 did not equal 1 Hz on a K6, P5, or whatever.

There are issues about lens clarity and CCD/CMOS noise to be aware of.
Eg. An old digicam I had (3.3 MP) had a lens that was sufficiently blurry that
there was no real difference between its highest resolution, or the next size
down.
Some digital cameras have more noise than others. Generally the dSLRs with
their larger sensors will have less noise, esp. at higher ISO-equivelency
levels.


So, yes, 9MP is overkill. It's more important to have a camera with recent
technology improvements, and some good glass on the front. However, a 9MP
CCD means that it *is* recent technology.. and I think the Fuji 9500 has a
decent lens too according to the reviews. You're not going to get the same
level of quality/control as with a full-size dSLR, but if you don't need those
things, then it's probably not worth paying extra for it.

tjc

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