On Tue, 22 May 2007 10:25:59 GMT, harrogate3 wrote:

3Mp on a compact at full frame is perfectly good for enlargement to A4
(297x210mm for our friends over the pond,) 5Mp in a compact is as much
as most people need as above that sensor noise (mainly thermal) starts
to become an issue.

Your friends across the pond (not all) may be more familiar with
A4 than metric measurements. They realize that A4 is just
slightly taller and narrower than the standard paper size used for
eons in typewriters and printers, i.e., 8½" x 11", which is just a
bit larger than the common 8"x10" photo paper size. As to the rest,
I completely agree. With a bunch of cameras that have sensors
ranging from 3mp to 8mp, all are capable of providing sufficient
resolution for the great majority of my photos, and the one I use is
usually determined by convenience, often the 4mp Fuji P&S. The 3mp
Canon Powershot is just too limited in features (nothing but full
Auto mode, and poor battery life).


The larger pixels and cell on a DSLR mean that a 2Mp DSLR like the
early Nikons will usually knock spots off any picture taken on a
compact under about 5Mp. Get a 6Mp DSLR and you're laughing.

g (6mp D50!)