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MP & Cropping

.meteor
05/20/06 3:51 PM GMT
Howdy folks,

I was hoping some of you may be able to offer some advice. I currently use a 3.2MP camera and am looking to upgrade to a 6MP. I do heaps of image cropping because I do a lot of macro pics for my website. My question is this: If I have the exact same frame/image taken at both MP, then will the 6MP image when viewed a bit larger on screen look less grainy/pixelated than the 3.2MP?

For example, some things may only consume 10%-20% of the frame at maximum zoom so they become a bit grainy when 'cropped-up'. Will this be less noticable with the 6MP because there are more pixels? Does that make sense? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jeff (.meteor)
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"Better a fantastic image of something plain, than a bad image of something great!"

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&KEIFER
05/20/06 3:59 PM GMT
I think there are more factors in play .. quality of lens, CCD, camera software algorithms

have you tried noise reduction software .. like .. Noise Ninja, Neat Image, KODAK Gem .. or .. photoshop's built-in Noise Reduction filter

why don't you describe your workflow .. what post-process you use .. if any
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::MiLo_Anderson
05/20/06 6:41 PM GMT
generally yes. More pixels more room to crop. For example, say you are trying to get a picture to post on this site, so you want 1600x1200. that 1600x1200 in the original shot is alot smaller section of the picture if it is comeing from a 6 mp camera so you can crop alot smaller without having to enlarge. Instead you are just cutting off the extra pixels that you don't want. You could however run into a 6 mp camera that has a crappier lens or other part then your 3mp so the quality of picture isn't nessaraly better just because of the pixels. If that makes any sense.
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&Crusader
05/20/06 6:49 PM GMT
If I understand this correctly then the short answer would be "yes". If you take an image at 2816 x2112 you can easily crop the rest of that image away leaving only an 800x600 area without losing any of the crispness. You wouldn't have to "enlarge" that cropped part to fit a larger dimension (800x600) as you would have if you used a 3MP camera.
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.meteor
05/21/06 12:25 AM GMT
Thanks. I wasn't completely sure but I believe it's making sense now. My current camera is an Olympus C-740 UZ and I'm thinking of upgrading to the new Olympus SP-500 UZ which is the new generation of my old camera. Thanks again.
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"Better a fantastic image of something plain, than a bad image of something great!"
.meteor
05/21/06 12:35 AM GMT

Actually, here's an example with posts to this site. Both these images were taken at an original 3200x2400 at the same quality. 'Pelican Series I' is the original 3200x2400 while 'Polar Bears III' was slightly cropped. To me the image quality is apparent with the Pelican being extremely crisp. So if the Polar Bear photo was taken with the 6MP instead, would it not be a bit more crisp?

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"Better a fantastic image of something plain, than a bad image of something great!"
+mayne
05/21/06 5:51 AM GMT
You cannot compare these two photos. The pelican was more than likely fairly still while the bears are quite active. The apparent blurring in the bear photo would appear the same with a 6 MP camera. A faster shutter speed might have improved the image substantially. You have plenty of resolution for posting to Caedes:-) Try using a tripod as well.
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Darryl

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