Expert: John Oliverio - 1/21/2006

Question
Hi, novice in the market for a new digital camera and was just wondering if its better to have more megapixels or less? do they improve picture quality?
thanks...jeff


Answer
Jeff,

Well, generally speaking...  more is better.  But that doesn't mean you need a lot.  The number of pixels has little to do with picture quality itself.  But they do impact how large you can print.  The more pixels, the larger you can print.  True quality is determined first by the lens, and then by how good the CCD is and how good the image processor (AD converter) is.  So, you could have tons of pixels, but if you've got a poor quality lens and processor all you'll end up with is a picture that is big, but poor quality anyway.  

To insure you get a good camera, stick with traditional camera makers and the more reputable electronics makers.  Names like Canon, Nikon, Sony and Panasonic for example.

John