Good Camera to give to friend?

[iKokomo]

I have a friend that has a really cheap plastic GE camera that says it can do something like "12 megapixels". She gets frustrated with it cause the quality is not so good and it is very slow. I know that a good lower megapixel camera can beat a cheap significantly higher megapixel camera any day.

I was wondering. I just picked up a Panasonic DMC-TZ1 for $5 at a thrift store and it seems like an amazing camera minus the fact it is only 5 megapixels. Even though this camera is much older it seems like a much better camera than what she has right now. Is this a good thing to give to her that is a good upgrade to her current camera? Or should I just sell it on eBay, cause I know I can get more for it there than what I payed for it, and put that towards a newer camera?

Thanks!!

 

[Designer]

Have you compared the images from both cameras? The pixel count is only one measure of image quality, and the lens is a significant part of that. For instance; a plastic lens might not have the quality that a glass lens has, but you need to compare very carefully to determine if one is better than the other.

 

[iKokomo]

Oh I have and I realize that! Her camera currently is a super cheap plastic one with no special features even thought it's 3-4 years newer.

The one I am thinking of giving her has panasonics "leica" lens, and optical stabilization and very high end features (for 2006/7)

 

[Solarflare]

Well, yeah.

Megapixels are the least interesting of all sensor parameters, especially now, since really every sensor has enough Megapixels.

Much more interesting are: Color depth (how precisely are colors recorded, i.e. how many different color values are recognized), Dynamic Range (difference between bright and low light in the same picture), High ISO (how much can the sensor amplify low light conditions before the image drowns in noise).

Especially, more Megapixels doesnt necessarily mean more resolution. High quality, sharp 12 Megapixels are enough to print magazines and 1x1.5m, mansized posters.

Thats why many professionals still happily use 12 Megapixel cameras like the old Nikon D700 or the Canon 5D Mark 1. Sony for example just released a brand new camera with 12 Megapixels.

Especially I would like to point out that you need FOUR TIMES the Megapixels for TWICE the resolution. Thats why a 16 or 18 Megapixel camera is, if printed, extremely hard if not impossible to distinguish from 12 Megapixels. I once was asked to decide which of two images have been shot on a 12 and 24 Megapixel cameras (Nikon D3s and D4x), and I failed. Twice the Megapixels only means 40% more resolution.

Thus, the thing frustrating your friend is not the megapixels, its the quality of the lens and the operating speed of the camera, which is typical for compact cameras, i.e. super slow.

Also, fun fact: Leica also cooks with water. Leica compact camera lenses arent really substantly better than other lenses, especially even Leica cant cheat physics.