A friendly reminder that resolution tells you (almost) nothing about camera quality

[Redaktion]

Millions of dots on a camera sensor might seem impressive, but there are other more important metrics to consider. The issue is, those other specifications are a bit trickier to understand.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/A-friendly-reminder-that-resolution-tells-you-almost-nothing-about-camera-quality.1017674.0.html

[Dawnstar]

Good article, thank you.

[Stephen Bennion]

here are 6 main factors at play

Sensor size - the bigger the sensor for the same number of pixels, the shallower the depth of field, higher the dynamic range (the very bright to the very dim, without going complete white nor a noisy shadow) makes it better for low light photography.

Optical/sensor stabilisation - reduces the impact of camera shake.

F stop - (counter intuitively the smaller the number the bigger the whole), smaller the number the better the natural bokeh effect, better low light, better fast action capability.

Lens quality - goes without saying.

Higher pixel count on the sensor, improves the panorama & digital stabilisation ability, to digitally zoom into the image, to counteract physical lens distortion - critical on an ultra wide angle lens.

Computational, more grunt power, and the quicker the photo can be created from its parts when taking a panoramic shot or stacked photos (for low light, increased pixel count) and smoother slow motion video footage).

[panthera8286]

I'd add another one: 2×2 (quad) and 4×4 Bayer filter arrays.
They just can't demosaic as well as 1×1, even in theory.
Things could be somewhat better if 50-ish MP sensors had regular,
and 200 MP sensors had 2×2 arrays at most.
I shoot 50 MP photos with my Galaxy S23 Ultra sometimes in daylight,
and it provides more detail than the 12 MP mode,
but shows some artifacts I could only attribute to demosaicing.
I'd love to compare them to the "2×" camera from the S20 series
(64 MP of 1×1 Bayer, AFAIK) but I don't have one.
I do still have a Nokia 808, though ...

[GeorgeS]

While adding pixels allows more "crop-a-billity" (ability to cut out a small section of the image and use THAT as a printable/displayable image) however beyond a point it is rather useless.

However the RATIO of pixel size to sensor size plays a far more important part in the signal to noise quality of an image. Wherein larger pixels are more sensitive to light and easier to control depth of field (focus) for more artistic images.

Additional in camera image processing (or not!) and speed/quality of processing & transferring to other devices is also important.