Camera Labs

Hello everyone,
I would like to say that this is a great place!

I have a question but don't know where to post this so I'll post it in here.
Say I bought a 7.1 mega pixel digital camera, does it improve the image quality if I lower the resolution to 5.0mp?

Nope! On the contrary: it reduces resolution and thus lowers image quality.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I always thought it would bc the sensor takes in less pixels therefore reduces less errors How does it works when I lower the resolution on the camera?

Hi Stan, welcome to the Cameralabs forums!

Thomas is right, when you reduce the resolution, you capture fewer pixels, and therefore less detail.

Where it gets interesting though is if the camera can now exploit these 'unused' pixels to gather more light and increase sensitivity / reduce noise.

This technique, known as pixel binning is explained here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=571

As you'll read though, you'll probably need to drop the resolution down to a much lower level before a camera can start binning effectively.

Ultimately though take some test shots and see what you think.

Gordon

And don't forget: Pixel-binning is only exchanging resolution against some less noise. So you gain some, but you also lose some

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I'll go check it out for myself