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#1
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
Hello, I can see where you are coming from ... but I haven't a clue on this
one! I tend to say that high pixel is better in low light conditions ... and the zoom is of better use in the better lighting! Just be sure that you AVOID digital zoom ... OK! Jon "Andy" wrote in message ... Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). This weekend i was at the Sunderland Airshow, i have a Fuji Finepix 2800Zoom (2.0MP, 6X Optical), i got reasonable pictures, and looking at the picture on the PC monitor (and no zooming in/out of picture) the plane looks to be about 7cm on screen. Now, what i am trying to find out is, forgetting picture QUALITY, would i have got similar results with a camera with only a 3X optical zoom, but having 4 or 5MP ? (i.e. without any zooming of the picture on screen, would the plane still look to be 7cm ?. Hope someone knows what i'm going on about ! Cheers Andy |
#2
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
Yeah, thanks for the info. I do tend to stay well clear of digital zoom,
because I, probably like many others fell into the trap of using it only to find out it's horrible !! Cheers Andy "chesham" wrote in message ... Hello, I can see where you are coming from ... but I haven't a clue on this one! I tend to say that high pixel is better in low light conditions ... and the zoom is of better use in the better lighting! Just be sure that you AVOID digital zoom ... OK! Jon "Andy" wrote in message ... Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). This weekend i was at the Sunderland Airshow, i have a Fuji Finepix 2800Zoom (2.0MP, 6X Optical), i got reasonable pictures, and looking at the picture on the PC monitor (and no zooming in/out of picture) the plane looks to be about 7cm on screen. Now, what i am trying to find out is, forgetting picture QUALITY, would i have got similar results with a camera with only a 3X optical zoom, but having 4 or 5MP ? (i.e. without any zooming of the picture on screen, would the plane still look to be 7cm ?. Hope someone knows what i'm going on about ! Cheers Andy |
#3
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
"Andy" wrote in message
... Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). Absolutely not. For starters, magnifaction ratings can mean two different things, and in either case, it's a relative reading. In the case of zoom lenses, or lenses with adjustable magnification, which is what we're dealing with here, it's simply a comparison between the highest and lowest magnification factor. A higher rating (6X) means you have a wider range between the lens's wide-angle and close-up settings. The other measurement is used for fixed-magnification devices like binoculars, telescopes, microscopes, etc. and refers to excatly how much an object is magnified, which is probably what you're thinking of, but that doesn't apply to cameras of any sort, because the final output can affect the size of an object in the picture as well. Second, megapixels is only half the story when it comes to sensors; the actual size of the sensor affects things as well. A certain lens's magnification depends first of all on the size of the target area. I'm a little rusty on the math, so if I'm off, someone correct me (nicely), but as I recall... magnification can be calculated by focal length divided by the diagonal of the target frame. A 35mm film frame has a diagonal of around 55mm, so a standard 50mm lens gives you very close to 1X (or 1:1) magnification. A 100mm lens would be 2X, 200mm would be 4X, and so on. When you get into digital sensors, they're typically smaller than 35mm film, so the magnification for a specific lens length increases. Say your sensor is 33mm diagonally; a 100mm lens would then be about 3X magnification and show a smaller area than the same lens on a 35mm camera. For a given size of sensor, magnification will always be the same for a given lens regardless of megapixels, but the actual size of the image in pixels will vary. As a direct comparison, my Kodak 3.2MP camera output images of 2080x1544; my Canon 6.3MP camera outputs at 3072x2048. For the sake of argument, say the sensor is the same size, and the lens the same length, on both cameras: both will then take the exact same image, area-wise (same magnification). The Kodak camera, however, breaks it into fewer pieces, so each piece is going to be larger than with the Canon. If you resized the Kodak image to match the pixel size of the Canon, you'd find the picture a fair bit noiser, with rougher edges to objects, because those 3.2 million bits of picture must be expanded by an uneven factor. This weekend i was at the Sunderland Airshow, i have a Fuji Finepix 2800Zoom (2.0MP, 6X Optical), i got reasonable pictures, and looking at the picture on the PC monitor (and no zooming in/out of picture) the plane looks to be about 7cm on screen. Now, what i am trying to find out is, forgetting picture QUALITY, would i have got similar results with a camera with only a 3X optical zoom, but having 4 or 5MP ? (i.e. without any zooming of the picture on screen, would the plane still look to be 7cm ?. Again, in this usage, zoom factor refers only to the range of the lens from shortest to longest focal length. Using the numbers above, a lens that zooms from 50mm to 200mm would be a "4X optical zoom", regardless of the actual magnification numbers: magnification will be four times greater at the tightest angle than at the widest angle. Higher megapixels will let you get away with a shorter lens for the same quality pictures, but exactly how it affects your example above depends on the actual magnification involved, which will depend on the relative sizes of the two cameras' sensors, and the precise zoom setting you're using. |
#4
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
Andy wrote:
Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). By 6x zoom, I'm betting you mean "a lens with twice the maximum focal length" No, the number you'd get is 1.25 Mp -ie, one quarter. The resolution IS doubled but the pixel count is SQUARED. This assumes your targets of choice are songbirds at a feeder across the parking lot, and you can't get closer, so whatever camera you use, the results must be cropped. So if you just can't move closer, a LONG telephoto (say 4x longer) will save a thunder of money: make your 5 Mp act like an 80 Mp !! Of course now you need a tripod, and the flash is hopeless. Trade-offs, trade-offs. Ol' Bab |
#5
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
"Andy" wrote in :
Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). That depends on what you are planning to photo. If it is something that fills the frame and where you want to be able to make larger prints - no. If it is song birds that fills just a small bit of the actual frame, you can actually get away with 1.5 Mpixels at 6x zoom. But - in the latter case - 20x zoom would be better. /Roland |
#6
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
Andy wrote:
Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). This weekend i was at the Sunderland Airshow, i have a Fuji Finepix 2800Zoom (2.0MP, 6X Optical), i got reasonable pictures, and looking at the picture on the PC monitor (and no zooming in/out of picture) the plane looks to be about 7cm on screen. Now, what i am trying to find out is, forgetting picture QUALITY, would i have got similar results with a camera with only a 3X optical zoom, but having 4 or 5MP ? (i.e. without any zooming of the picture on screen, would the plane still look to be 7cm ?. Hope someone knows what i'm going on about ! Cheers Andy As, Ol' Bab pointed out, no. In addition with the 5MP camera you also have the option of using it at 3X or less and getting the full 5MP and the option of cropping it at your leisure if you like or using the full 5MP -- Joseph E. Meehan 26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math |
#7
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
your ignorance has been pardonned
take everything above with a pinch of salt Si "Andy" wrote in message ... Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). This weekend i was at the Sunderland Airshow, i have a Fuji Finepix 2800Zoom (2.0MP, 6X Optical), i got reasonable pictures, and looking at the picture on the PC monitor (and no zooming in/out of picture) the plane looks to be about 7cm on screen. Now, what i am trying to find out is, forgetting picture QUALITY, would i have got similar results with a camera with only a 3X optical zoom, but having 4 or 5MP ? (i.e. without any zooming of the picture on screen, would the plane still look to be 7cm ?. Hope someone knows what i'm going on about ! Cheers Andy |
#8
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 17:13:38 +0100, "Andy"
wrote: Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). Andy, Ol' Bab already wrote it, and Joseph reinforced it. Your thought is correct for max zoom shots including 2 x digital zoom for the 3 x optical zoom camera. However, the mathematics are wrong. You'd need 10 Megapixels to arrive at the same 2.5 Megapixel photo. However, at shorter zoom settings the two cameras would be different. The one with the more pixels would deliver photos with more genuine pixels. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#9
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
Thanks for all the info (wish i'd never asked !!)
Cheers Andy "Hans-Georg Michna" wrote in message ... On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 17:13:38 +0100, "Andy" wrote: Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). Andy, Ol' Bab already wrote it, and Joseph reinforced it. Your thought is correct for max zoom shots including 2 x digital zoom for the 3 x optical zoom camera. However, the mathematics are wrong. You'd need 10 Megapixels to arrive at the same 2.5 Megapixel photo. However, at shorter zoom settings the two cameras would be different. The one with the more pixels would deliver photos with more genuine pixels. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#10
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high optical vs. large megapixel ?
Only if the only reason you have the camera is to shoot objects at
inaccessible distances. I personally would rather have the 5MP camera. I still shoot most of my pictures with a 'normal' focal length, and want as many pixels in my image as possible, regardless of the focal length I am using. Andy wrote: Pardon my ignorance, but am i right in thinking that a camera with a 3 X Optical Zoom having 5MPixels, is about the same as a camera having a 6 X Optical Zoom with 2.5MPixels (i know you don't often get 2.5MP, but just theoretically). This weekend i was at the Sunderland Airshow, i have a Fuji Finepix 2800Zoom (2.0MP, 6X Optical), i got reasonable pictures, and looking at the picture on the PC monitor (and no zooming in/out of picture) the plane looks to be about 7cm on screen. Now, what i am trying to find out is, forgetting picture QUALITY, would i have got similar results with a camera with only a 3X optical zoom, but having 4 or 5MP ? (i.e. without any zooming of the picture on screen, would the plane still look to be 7cm ?. Hope someone knows what i'm going on about ! Cheers Andy -- Don Stauffer in Minnesota webpage- http://www.usfamily.net/web/stauffer |
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