When will there be a 5 megapixel SD400?

[ewatson989]

I love the new SD200/SD300 series of canon digital elphs but i'm looking to get a 5 megapixel camera for my next purchase. Does anybody know when Canon plans on coming out with a 5 megapixel version of their new SD series digital elphs?

[Mr. Magoo]

I love the new SD200/SD300 series of canon digital elphs but i'm looking to get a 5 megapixel camera for my next purchase. Does anybody know when Canon plans on coming out with a 5 megapixel version of their new SD series digital elphs?

A 5MP camera produces an image exactly 11.8 % larger than 4MP camera. Is 11.8% going to make or break the shot?
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[ewatson989]

A 5MP camera produces an image exactly 11.8 % larger than 4MP camera. Is 11.8% going to make or break the shot?

Let's see here...

The Canon SD300 says it has a maximum picture resolution of 2272 X 1704. And since image size would naturally measured by it's area we multiply that out to be exactly 3,871,488 pixels.

On the other hand, a common maximum picture resolution for a 5 megapixel camera could be 2592 X 1944 which is 5,038,848 pixels.

That is a difference of 1,076,480 pixels which means a 5 megapixel camera yields about a 30% larger picture than a 4 megapixel one (in this specific case).

And to answer your question, a 30% larger picture is going to make or break my shot because i plan on making large printouts of some of my photos.

Where did 11.8% come from?

[ewatson989]

I see what you did now. You took the square root of 4 million and the square root of 5 million and found the percent difference between the two which is 11.8%. That is wrong for a couple of reasons.

1. Pictures are not perfect squares, usually a 4:3 ratio between width and length (i.e. 2272 X 1704 for 4MP and 2592 X 1944 for 5MP).

2. As i said before picture size should be measured by it's area, not the length of one of it's sides.

[Mr. Magoo]

Well then run the numbers another way. Say you take a portrait shot with no cropping, so that all of the pixels end up on the printed image. Let's assume for the time being that the 4MP camera has just the right amount of pixels for a 5x7. In the long dimension, the 5MP camera has 14.1% more pixels. This means with identical resolution, your 5MP camera can produce a 5.7 x 8 image. Either way you look at it (in gained cropping ability, or in ability to produce a larger print with the same resolution) the gain between 4MP and 5MP is insignificant.
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[ewatson989]

I'm sorry, but do you know me? I didn't get your name. You must know me because you seem to know what is significant and what is insignificant in regards to my needs with digital photography. All I wanted to know was if anyone knew if Canon was coming out with a 5MP version of their SD series digital elphs. But you seemed to see it as an opportunity to throw some (incorrect) statistics at me to look like Mr Know-It-All when in fact you just looked like Mr. Know-Nothing. Anybody can "run the numbers" to make anything look more favorable for their argument. Even in your last example, with a 5.7" X 8" picture when you multiply that out it turns out to be 45.6 square inches which is 30.3% larger than a 5" X 7" (35 square inches). Again, you're comparing the length of one side of the pictures. Yes, A 5MP picture has about 13% longer sides than a 4MP picture. But that turns out to be around 30% more pixels! You're comparing apples to oranges here. I'm also considering getting the new Sony DSC-P200 which has 7.2 megapixels. But wait! According to Magooian Math, that's only about 34% better resolution (80% better when you use real math) than a 4MP camera! Why even bother??? Heck, why don't i just get a 3.2 megapixel since it's resolution is only about 11% less than a 4MP camera?

[gary_hendricks]

I love the new SD200/SD300 series of canon digital elphs but i'm looking to get a 5 megapixel camera for my next purchase. Does anybody know when Canon plans on coming out with a 5 megapixel version of their new SD series digital elphs?

Like what Mr Magoo said, the 5 megapixel won't make much of a difference.

[Soultrain45]

I think Mr. Magoo and Gary_Hendricks are missing the point. The question was WHEN WILL THERE BE A 5 MEGAPIXEL SD400?

The question was not how much better will it be vs. older models.

Next time take an English class and read carefully.

Thank You!

[ewatson989]

I'm getting so caught up in this stupidity that i'm forgetting about my original question.

And by the way Gary, I was checking out your homepage listed on your public profile on this website. I especially like this part...

"If you want large print outs of your gorgeous photographs, then you'll probably want to get 5-megapixel cameras and above."

Here's the website. http://www.basic-digital-photography.com/buying-a-camera.html

Now i know what you're going to say next..."we're only talking about the difference between a 4 and 5 MP camera blah blah blah yada yada yada". But in case you failed to read my second post, i mentioned that i will be making large printouts of my photos.

[Soultrain45]

HA HA! (said with a pirate tone!)

So is anyone gonna answer the stupid question or should we now compare something else....like how much better the case is for the 4 megapixel camera vs. the 5 megapixel camera?

How much additional space do you have with the 4 megapixel case?

(11.8%? 12%? 30%?!)

:)

[Mr. Magoo]

Look - buy what you want. It isn't my money you are spending so I don't care how you spend it or what you spend it on. The fact of the matter is that if the only difference between two cameras is 5MP vs 4MP it won't produce significantly larger images at the same DPI, nor will it give you significantly more cropping power.

Since money doesn't grow on trees in these parts, I'd rather spend the difference on batteries or flash memory. You aren't obligated to make the same choices.
________
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[hinz]

Well looks like Canon has answered that question :D ;)

Or you could even try the SD500 with 7MP

[gary_hendricks]

I love the new SD200/SD300 series of canon digital elphs but i'm looking to get a 5 megapixel camera for my next purchase. Does anybody know when Canon plans on coming out with a 5 megapixel version of their new SD series digital elphs?

You can try the Canon IXUS 500.

[ProblemSolver]

Or the SD400 which has 5MP... But since the 7MP SD500 is out and will be marketed a month earlier (Starts selling in March), I suggest you go for the SD500

[gary_hendricks]

I'm getting so caught up in this stupidity that i'm forgetting about my original question.

And by the way Gary, I was checking out your homepage listed on your public profile on this website. I especially like this part...

"If you want large print outs of your gorgeous photographs, then you'll probably want to get 5-megapixel cameras and above."

Here's the website. http://www.basic-digital-photography.com/buying-a-camera.html

Now i know what you're going to say next..."we're only talking about the difference between a 4 and 5 MP camera blah blah blah yada yada yada". But in case you failed to read my second post, i mentioned that i will be making large printouts of my photos.


Hi ewatson989, sorry for my original post about the 4MP and 5MP thingy.
I honestly missed your point about printing out large photos. I guess in that case, you should get a 5MP. And the Canon SD500 is a good choice I guess. Sorry for the mix-up.

[ewatson989]

No problem Gary. Sorry if i sounded angry. I was getting real fed up with Mr. Magoo's nonsense. I think now i'm going to wait up for the 7MP Canon SD500 that they just announced is coming in March.