Crazy eights: 8-megapixel cameras compared

	Canon PowerShot Pro1 This 8-megapixel megazoom model has some annoying drawbacks, but its top-notch pictures will please many advanced and enthusiast shooters. Full review
	Konica Minolta Dimage A2 Generally efficient design, top-tier performance, and features galore make the A2 a top choice for resolution-hungry enthusiasts. Full review
	Nikon Coolpix 8700 It shoots good photos, but mediocre performance and a serious design flaw may keep enthusiasts from snapping up this 8-megapixel camera. Full review
	Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom In the hands of a patient and experienced enthusiast, this camera can produce excellent photos. Full review
	Sony Cyber Shot DSC-F828 Despite a few unfortunate flaws, the DSC-F828 has a lot to offer enthusiasts who don't shoot a lot of RAW images. Full review

Whenever I think about these cameras, the Sesame Street flashbacks start. "Eight, eight, eight. Let's sing a song about eight. How many is eight?" But it always ends, "Who needs as many as eight?" If the answer doesn't immediately pop into your head, join the club: I could list more reasons against buying an 8-megapixel camera than in favour of getting one.

By the numbers, 8 megapixels is the first resolution plateau at which you can print a full 8x10 at 300dpi without having to interpolate pixels for the 8-inch side. (At 300dpi, the 3,264 x 2,468 dimensions work out to 10.9x8.2 inches; in contrast, a typical 6-megapixel image's dimensions of 3,072 x 2,000 produces only 10.2x6.7 inches.) Technically, that's good enough for a half-page, magazine-quality image. So the resolution increase is good news for entry-level professional photographers and enthusiasts with medium-format printers such as the Epson Stylus Photo 2200 and the Canon i9950.

However, despite the enthusiasm of camera nuts willing to pay about AU$1,500 for their photographic toys, the 6-megapixel sensor of a similarly priced digital SLR will yield photos that you can retouch to your heart's content yet still print as large as 11x14. And dSLRs have many advantages over the all-in-one designs of the current crop of 8-megapixel models, not the least of which are interchangeable lenses and good optical viewfinders. Furthermore, with a mainstream market enamored of 4x6-inch prints, 8 megapixels would redefine overkill for a snapshot camera, should the prices drop low enough. And even when larger photos replace 4x6s in the hearts of consumers -- as they inevitably will -- I'd bet most snapshooters wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 6 and 8 megapixels.

So, clearly, these cameras should appeal to relatively specialised groups within the entire photographic market. Resolution junkies -- you know who you are -- top the list. Megazoom fans follow, and not just because all of these cameras have 5x or greater zoom lenses. The higher resolution allows you to crop in closely yet retain enough pixels to produce a good print. For example, on my trip to Alaska, I nabbed a photo of a bear looking right at me, with a 6-megapixel dSLR and a 300mm lens. After a substantial crop, it made a fine 8x10, but had it been an 8-megapixel image, I could have gotten the exact framing I wanted without having to inflate the image: more bear, less beach. For the same reason, people who shoot a lot of macro photos make the list of potential buyers as well. Beyond that, however, we're hard-pressed to come up with any really compelling applications for most photographers. (Can you? Tell us your opinion below)

Given the ambiguity of the technology's application, it's unsurprising that the actual products seem a bit ambivalently executed. The Konica Minolta Dimage A2, best succeeds, but it still falls short in some ways that may irk shooters. Since they all use the same Sony sensor (but not Sony's RGBE color filter array), most of the key differentiators between models lie in the lens quality, shooting performance, electronic viewfinder operation, and controls layout. Here's some info to help you get a handle on each model's strengths and weaknesses.

	Canon PowerShot Pro 1	Konica Minolta Dimage A2	Nikon Coolpix 8700	Olympus Camedia C-8080 Wide Zoom	Sony Cyber Shot DSC-F828
Zoom and macro specs
Maximum aperture	F2.4 (W), F3.5 (T)	F2.8 (W), F3.5 (T)	F2.8 (W), F4.2 (T)	F2.4 (W), F3.5 (T)	F2.0 (W), F2.8 (T)
Focal lengths (35mm equivalent)	28mm - 200mm	28mm - 200mm	35mm - 280mm	28mm - 140mm	28mm - 200mm
Minimum macro focus distance (inches)	1.2	5.1	1.2	2.0	0.8
Select performance results
Typical shutter lag (seconds)	1.1	0.4	0.7	0.6	0.3
JPEG shot-to-shot time (seconds)	2.0	1.0	2.5	2.0	1.7
RAW shot-to-shot time (seconds)	3.0	1.0	8.3	15.1	12.8

• Related stories

• Alerts

Be the first to comment on this article!

• Just In

• Most Popular

Reader Services

Popular Topics

Essentials