Megapixels to format ratio.

[TWX]

Well, I think it is obvious from the responses to my question why I re-asked the question. That is to say that working with digital has been like like peeling and onion, there is always one more layer to consider. Hence, when cropping some old 3.2 megpix photos and not getting the image quality I expected; I was at a loss for and explanation.

It appears from the responses, it is safe to say, that one can only approximate the equivalency of digital to film based on pixel density. However, like many things digital, the ability to manipulate data to one's desired outcome is practically endless.

Something I've noticed in moving from an 8.2 megapixel Sanyo point-and-shoot, to a 10 megapixel Canon Rebel XS, to a 24 megapixel Canon 77D, is that a lot more than just the resolution has improved. I have picked up my XS a few times since getting the 77D and I'm just not interested in using it. The thing has less than 4000 shutter actuations but feels sluggish and clunky compared to the 77D, the low-light performance with the same lens is worse for autofocus capability, noise in the resulting image, and dynamic contrast, and the newer camera significantly outperforms the older one for continuous shooting, and that's before the entirely nonexistent video shooting on the older one, and the poor, almost-nonexistent live-view mode.

Something I like a lot about the 24 megapixel sensor is I'm more willing to use a prime lens and just crop to my intended subject. This has been handy for taking pictures of my family or for taking pictures at parties, both because the camera is lighter and easier to handle and because people don't get their backs up when seeing a larger zoom lens. Maybe in some ways this makes me lazier as a photographer, but I'm doing this for fun, not for profit.