confused about camera resolution

Even though sensor technology has gotten better in 10 years, your old camera has two things your newer and cheaper cameras don't have: a bigger sensor and a brighter lens. So even though the new cameras have more resolution, they also require more noise suppression because of the less light those cameras capture. What you're seeing is the artifacts caused by the noise suppression. Bear in mind too that when introduced, the A2 was an $1100 camera. It likely had a much better optical quality lens than what is found in a current $250 camera.

So basically there is no free lunch. By moving to a more compact camera, you lost some performance. The only way to get it back is to use a camera with a bigger sensor and brighter and better quality lens. There are compact cameras that have those things, but they cost more.

Hi clearasmud,

As PistonCupChampion mentions in his response, the number of pixels is only one part of the equiation. A bigger part of image quality is the sensor size. A larger sensor will give you a better quality image.

Here is some information from Wikipedia you may find useful:

Digital camera
Image sensor format

You may find that a bridge camera ('bridge' between DSLR and compact) would better ssuit your needs.

PaulS.

Set the camera to the highest resolution you can select. This yeilds the sharpest images and stop the pixelation. For a 10 MP, the image file size should be around 10 MB. That's a big file but it has all you'll need to enlarge and crop.

The number of megapixels is only one of many factors entering into the clarity of photographs. The size of the sensor and the quality of the lens are at least as important, at least above a certain megapixel threshold. For most people's needs (like printing up to 8"x10"), eight megapixels is above that threshold.

The size of the sensor relates to the camera's ability to collect light. The larger the sensor, the more light it collects. The more light it collects, the less likely you will see more noise, perceived as "graininess," in the resulting photo. This may be what you are confusing with pixillation or a lack of resolution.

The tiny lenses in compact cameras may also be a factor. Better lenses make for better pictures. My old Nikon D50 six megapixel DSLR takes better, clearer pictures, even when printed in 8x10 format, than any of these newfangled high-megapixel compacts I have yet seen.

You can read about it: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm.

Ken Rockwell also gives recommendations on a number of Nikon and Canon cameras. Equipment is extensively tested and reviewed at imaging-resource.com, another excellent site.

This reminds me of the South Park episode, "Simpson's Did It."

Dan's Data "Enough already with the megapixels"

The short version is the same as others have posted here. The physics of a small lens cannot resolve to that level of detail. And, the physics of the small sensor with teeny light receptors inherently produces a snow storm of noise.

Drake Christensen