i.gizmodo.com— Between all the new digital cameras pooped out before the upcoming PMA show and the crazy cameras buried inside cellphones at MWC, it's a good time to go over why more megapixels isn't necessarily better.
Feb 18, 2009View in Crawl 4
Ken Rockwell is the guy everyone loves to hate. Sure, he spouts his mouth off about stuff he doesn't fully understand -- like recommending CDs over DVDs because he doesn't "trust" them -- but his philosophy of photography is sound. If most gear-obsessed internet nerds spent as much time shooting as they did pouring over specs on the internet, their photography would take giant leaps ahead. Henri Cartier-Bresson, for example, used a small, 35mm Leica to take some of the most interesting photos you'll ever see.
I would never recommend a lens with a 4-5.6 aperture. I wouldnt recommend a lens without a fixed aperture on a zoom lens, and an aperture higher than 2.8 in low light is near worthless. (unless your camera can handle a high ISO, which most low end slrs cant.) If you know what you are going to shoot then prime lenses are probably the way to go (cheaper, sharp), and if you zoom in at all with a cheap zoom lens your aperture gets smaller, once again screwing you indoors. take note, if you have a flash you can eliminate a lot of these indoor problems. still prime is sharp.
bradleylandFeb 20, 2009
Ken Rockwell is the guy everyone loves to hate. Sure, he spouts his mouth off about stuff he doesn't fully understand -- like recommending CDs over DVDs because he doesn't "trust" them -- but his philosophy of photography is sound. If most gear-obsessed internet nerds spent as much time shooting as they did pouring over specs on the internet, their photography would take giant leaps ahead. Henri Cartier-Bresson, for example, used a small, 35mm Leica to take some of the most interesting photos you'll ever see.
bradleylandFeb 20, 2009
Both the 1D MkII and XTi are APS-C bodies though. Compare the XTi and a full-frame sensor body of comparable MP and you'll see a difference.
bradleylandFeb 20, 2009
And if you were printing billboards, you'd be using something like 20 dpi on the high-end, so 12 MP is still more than enough.
austinlightMar 3, 2009
true mostly. but the body should be able to control ISO, which normally is a big problem with low end dslr's.
austinlightMar 3, 2009
I would never recommend a lens with a 4-5.6 aperture. I wouldnt recommend a lens without a fixed aperture on a zoom lens, and an aperture higher than 2.8 in low light is near worthless. (unless your camera can handle a high ISO, which most low end slrs cant.) If you know what you are going to shoot then prime lenses are probably the way to go (cheaper, sharp), and if you zoom in at all with a cheap zoom lens your aperture gets smaller, once again screwing you indoors. take note, if you have a flash you can eliminate a lot of these indoor problems. still prime is sharp.
electricnzMar 10, 2009
I own a D40 because of him.