I have a 4mp digi cam and the pics from those are big enough as it is. I never take it at the max resolution either cuz I always end up resizing anyways.
Is it practical to spend the extra money to get a 10mp point-and-shoot ? Of course if you're buying an SLR and you're pro/semi-pro, I understand why you would want the 10mp but other then that, is it useful? With your 4MP, there's no need to upgrade unless it's a really cheap camera, with a crappy sensor. If it's a Cannon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus, etc., you should be fine.
With 4MP you can print incredible 8x10 photos and very nice 11x14's with no problems. The average Joe won't usually use prints larger than that due to their high cost and won't been submitting photos for print in a magazine. (which print in 72 up to 300dpi)
What Dr_Sam mentioned is if you take a 5MP photo and crop 30% of the image, the image will become smaller. If you resize/resample the image back to 5MP demensions, it won't look as nice because there are less pixels in this image. This is not a problem for 4x6 and 5x7 prints, but will cause "Soft" or "grainy" 8.x10s.
Also, don't be fooled. The "Pro" cameras like the Nikon D70 & D100, or the Cannon 10D & 20, and even the Mark II are ONLY 6-8MP. So don't think that dSLR's have zillions of pixels cause they just don't. If you always plan to compose your pictures perfectly, you don't need 10 MP. If you want to allow for cropping, which means enlarging only a portion of your image, the more pixels the better.
Imagine taking a scenic view and then noticing that the middle 20% of the photo would make an even better picture. Suppose you take a picture of a whole group of people and Aunt Clara really, really looks great in the picture, but everyone else looks lousy. If you have the pixels to work with, you can still make a decent print of Aunt Clara that she would be happy to have.
If you buy a 10 MP camera and don't want to TAKE large photos, you can always set the camera to a lower file size. You can never go the other direction, though. Unless the cost is a major issue, buy the 10 MP camera. You will never be sorry that you did, but you might one day be sorry that you didn't. Theres such thing as a 10MP camera??? Here Here! I agree with Dr Sam. A very well made point.
In addition. Newer/more expensive cameras aren't just about the MP. The sensor in that new camera will be a vast improvement over anything preciously, more often than not, improving your overall picture quality in certain areas.
Oh and Pit Bull - There are such things as 39MP cameras! just to be able to brag about it. Don't see the point unless u r a professional photographer for specific shots ...etc.
Costs more and takes more memory on ur cards, so what's the point i agree to dr sam ..
i know 10mp sounds useless but trust me on your next family reunion you'll be the star when its time to take the photos..unless someone has a canon eos-1ds mkII 16mp or a hasselblad h2d 39mp A larger print looks alot better at 10 megapixels than it does at 4 megapixels. | 