On 29 Sep 2004 14:13:27 -0500, "Howard McCollister"
wrote:


"Dick" LeadWinger wrote in message
.. .
Thanks everyone for the insights. My needs are much more modest.
Lets say all I want are really good 5 X 7 prints. For the baseline,
let's say I take my trusty Canon AE-1 using a Canon FD 50mm 1:1.4 lens
and take some pictures with it using Kodak Gold 200 film. Then I take
the film to Costco or similar for the prints.

Now what digital mp would I need to make similar quality prints? I
could take the media to Costco, or I could print it out on my Canon
i860 printer. I am looking at cameras like the Sony DSC -W1 and P100.
Maybe the Canon S500. I realize they are not SLR's. Do I need to
look further up the mp scale?


I use a Nikon D2H and I routinely get 8x10s printed from Ofoto with
exceptional results. Any digital SLR with 4 MP or better is going to give
you excellent 5x7s.

But it's not just megapixels that are going to give you film-quality
results. The camera has to have a good lens, good AF, and a sensor that
keeps noise from ruining the pictures. You simply are not going to get
film-replacement quality from a small-sensor point-and-shoot such as you
mention above.

HMc

I'm sure a $3,500 camera will take better pictures than a $350 camera,
but I don't really need something that professional. I'm confused by
sensor size. The D2H has a 23.3mm X 15.5mm sensor, whereas the Sony's
mentioned have 28mm sensors which would seem to be larger. Is there
more to sensor size than the obvious?

Dick