Are Megapixels Really That Important in Digital Cameras? The Pros & Cons of High Resolution

Photographer David Flores tackles an evergreen topic in the below video from B&H Photo: how important are megapixels, really? Back in the day when digital cameras were first being popularized, megapixel counts were everything, at least from a marketing standpoint, because it was assumed that a higher resolution camera was the better camera.

That’s not the case anymore but megapixels in cameras are still an important barometer, in some ways, as Flores explains in the video. But there are also some negatives to having a higher resolution camera, particularly when it comes to video and shooting in low light.

“The number of pixels on a camera is no longer a good gauge with which to compare systems,” he says. “If you do a lot of printing, shoot in a studio, or want landscapes with exceptional detail, a high resolution camera is an obvious choice. For those looking for better lowlight performance or improved video, more conservative options are likely the better performers.”

Watch more photography videos on B&H’s YouTube channel, including this one explaining seven ways you are using your camera wrong.

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