Are More Megapixels Better?

CARL LARON, Electronics senior editor

Camera makers typically trumpet camera resolution -- megapixels -- first and foremost, but all experts agree that it is among the least important factors when selecting a digital camera. Even worse, too high a resolution can actually hurt picture quality by introducing noise -- or the effects of overeager noise suppression -- to photos, especially those shot in less than perfect light.

While higher resolutions can let you make poster-sized prints, for 8-inch-by-10-inch prints or smaller, you won't see any difference in picture detail between a seven- or eight-megapixel camera, and one that has 10 megapixels or more. In fact, experts say that even a five-megapixel camera is capable of producing fine small prints. Instead, there are more important considerations -- including lens quality, speed, ease-of-use, build quality and imaging processing -- that deserve attention. In short, shop by camera quality, not megapixels.