Lately in the digital photography world, there has been a lot of discussion, rumors and theories that are being changed, edited and tested to the extreme. The biggest debate at the moment seems to be that of the megapixel and how it effects the results of your photographic image.
In theory, the greater amount of megapixels the camera takes, the better the results. However, many photographers are putting that theory to the test, and dispelling a major myth. In The Megapixel Myth, photographer Ken Rockwell tested several different camera’s with differing megapixels, claiming that he has gotten the same results from all.
However, he is not the only one putting the debate to the test. New York Times tech writer, David Pogue did exactly the same thing, testing three different cameras and enlarging them to poster size setting out to prove something. He proved there was no difference.
However, the outcry in the photography community is loud and clear. In theory, that is not the way it should work. People need scientific proof, and being provided with visual proof makes others question what these two photographers have done differently.
If this is the case, then why do manufacturers of digital camera’s place such high prices on the camera’s that offer more megapixels? If in truth, this myth has been dispelled, then why would there still be such a large difference in cost for a new digital camera that has perhaps 8 megapixels, rather than that of a 3 megapixel camera.
The whole debate has left me exhausted, and searching out more information. I want to understand how it is possible to get the same results from camera’s with such radically different megapixels. Stay with me as I look further into this and help either prove that the myth is truly a myth, or if in fact there stands true a difference in megapixel resolution.