zoom vs. megapixel

[mykidspal]

Wondering which is more important--zoom or megapixel. Looking at Nikon 5400 (4x optical/4x digital zoom) with 5.1 megapixel. OR: Canon S1 Is,
(10x optical/3.2 digital zoom) with 3.2 megapixel.

Any ideas?

THANKS!!

[Thon]

Originally Posted by mykidspal

Wondering which is more important--zoom or megapixel. Looking at Nikon 5400 (4x optical/4x digital zoom) with 5.1 megapixel. OR: Canon S1 Is,
(10x optical/3.2 digital zoom) with 3.2 megapixel.

Any ideas?

THANKS!!

Both are important in different ways.

Megapixels are what we need to print. Larger MP count means the ability to print larger sizes. And also allows for cropping.

There are 2 types of zooms; optical and digital. Do not be misled by the digital zoom, this is done by enlarging a new picture from the center of the picture digitally, giving the effect of zoom, but you lose the fine details. Optical zoom is done by shifting the lens elements to magnify the subject. Another difference is that optical zoom can also change the depth of field when used with different apertures, giving different effects like blurry backgrounds in portraits.

However, there are some restrictions to the lens design due to the sensor size (physical size). It's easier to design a smaller lens with higher zoom power using a smaller sensor (I believe the maximum is either 5MP on the 12X Panasonic FZ20 or 4MP on the Olympus C770UZ). If you have a larger sensor and big zoom, like the 8MP 10X Nikon 8800, you will get a larger camera.

Hope that explains the difference, in some ways.

[mykidspal]

Thanks for your response. I'm really indecisive regarding going for
more zoom or getting a higher megapixel. I would be mostly using the pictures for scrapbooking and showing to folks. Don't really plan on printing any larger than 8 x 10 and that very seldom.

[Newbie]

3mp will give you photo quality prints at up to 5x7 and will look excellent at 8x10. 5mp will do the same, except that the 8x10 pictures will look even more excellent, but still below photo quality.

Digital zoom is like cropping... Having more megapixels can allow u to crop a bit which would be similar to adding more zoom, but it takes A LOT of megapixels to get some real "zooming" power with cropping. So if you want zoom, then go for optical zoom.

[John_Reed]

Originally Posted by mykidspal

Wondering which is more important--zoom or megapixel. Looking at Nikon 5400 (4x optical/4x digital zoom) with 5.1 megapixel. OR: Canon S1 Is,
(10x optical/3.2 digital zoom) with 3.2 megapixel.

Any ideas?

THANKS!!

Here's the comparison: Push the Canon S1 to full zoom (10X, 380mm equivalent, no digital zoom) and capture a shot of a distant subject. You get an image 2048 X 1536 pixels, the 3MP available from the camera. Now, push the 5400 to full zoom (4X, 116mm equivalent, no digital zoom) and capture a shot of the same subject, from the same distance. The 2048-wide image from the Canon, because of the lesser zoom of the 5400, gets reduced by the ratio of maximum zooms: 2048X116/380=625. Then multiply this number by the ratio of the sensor sizes: 625X2592/2048=791. If you work it out in both dimensions, the same frame the S1 captured in 2048X1536 pixels, the 5400 captured in 791X593 pixels, for a crop of ~470K pixels. Now you might select the 5400 anyway because of its greater wideangle capability, but for long zoom, the S1 beats it in a walk! Moreover, that small digital crop you'd wind up with from the 5400 image would be just as shake-sensitive as would any long zoom, and the S1 has an image stabilizer to correct that.

[Thon]

Originally Posted by mykidspal

Thanks for your response. I'm really indecisive regarding going for
more zoom or getting a higher megapixel. I would be mostly using the pictures for scrapbooking and showing to folks. Don't really plan on printing any larger than 8 x 10 and that very seldom.

Get one of the 3-5MP ultrazooms (in fact 3-4MP is plenty for 8X10) and you are fine.

Try these cameras:

1. Olympus C770/765UZ
2. Nikon 4800
3. Kodak 6490/7590
4. Panasonic FZ3/FZ15/FZ20
5. Canon S1 IS
6. Konica Minolta Z1/Z2/Z3

These are all fairly compact cameras (except the Panasonic FZ15 and FZ20) within the 3-5MP range. All it depends now is your personal preference in terms of body shape and size as well as your budget.

[mykidspal]

MEGA thanks everyone for your responses!!! Hubby and I will have to
go over all your helpful info and "zoom" in on a camera.

You are all GR-R-R-REAT!!!