Megapixels on a Camera

[enjay]

So, my new phone says it has a 8mp camera, yet all my photos are 3264x1840 which I make just under 6mp. Am I missing something here, or have I been diddled?

[Steve21]

Image resolution 3264x2448(8M), 3264x2176(3:2), 3264x1840(16:9)

 

Lot depends on picture aspect. (only decrease not even out) Also recording is normally less.

 

Steve

[enjay]

Thanks Steve. The 16:9 thing makes more sense than what the support person at HTC told me - they said that you always lose some pixels because the lens is round but photos are rectangular...

[Steve21]

Thanks Steve. The 16:9 thing makes more sense than what the support person at HTC told me - they said that you always lose some pixels because the lens is round but photos are rectangular...

 

Aye you do lose "some" as such, if you think of trying to fill a circle with squares they overlap edge. But main reason is the aspect.

 

Couldn't explain much as was on phone replying, but yeah when you do aspects, the camera can only "reduce" a size. 16:9 can't scale upwards, above the 3264. If that makes sense Even though it's silly!

 

Steve

[SimpleSi]

Well my HTC Desire (spec says 5MP) takes pictures at 2592 x 1952 which is 5.6 MP [edit]Sorry - got it wrong - 5059584 pixels[/edit] so I think your are being diddled or the default setting isn't the highest res.

 

Of course, in the real world (where your not trying to do a BladeRunnerEsque enhancement) it doesn't matter

 

regards

 

Simon

Edited May 24, 2011 by SimpleSi

[Steve21]

Well my HTC Desire (spec says 5MP) takes pictures at 2592 x 1952 which is 5.6 MP so I think your are being diddled or the default setting isn't the highest res.

 

That's not widescreen though. HTC desire in widescreen does 2592 x 1552 same issue as OPs

 

Steve

[enjay]

Well my HTC Desire (spec says 5MP) takes pictures at 2592 x 1952 which is 5.6 MP

 

No it isn't - 2592x1952=5059584=4.8mp

 

But like you say, the ~6mp my camera actually takes at is enough for 99.9% of my uses, only if trying to zoom in a silly amount would it become a problem.

[DarrenC]

You also have to remember that its not just how many pixels the device captures that makes up the quality of the image, you have to consider things like the lens quality, capture type, as well as all the standard photographic bits like lighting etc...

 

You can get better quality images from a cheap lower pixel dedicated camera than most cameras on phones (although not as handy I admit).

[SYNACK]

Have to agree with DarrenC here, the quality is much more to do with the size of the CCD and the size of the lense. Most of thest phone cameras have lenses and CCDs so small that the effective resolution is only about 2-3 megapixels in good light anyway, the rest is mosty just noise created by poorly focused or absorbed light. Its why the mars rovers had something like 1 or 2 megapixel cameras with three different 2" CCDs (one for each colour).

 

In relation to the OPs post, a few pixels here or there is not going to matter with the size limitations of the lense and CCD anyway.

Edited May 29, 2011 by SYNACK