I think most of the people may have figured out that higher MP is not so important these days, a good lens system is critical for good photos. Dont's forget some good camcorder only got 0.6-0.7 MP CMOS or CCD sensor but still get very good video and photos. For personal use purpose, a camera with more than 2M pixels will be good on most of the situation if only the lens can provide good image. Funny N. Au Group Electronics, http://www.AuElectronics.com ________________________________ From: apptech To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 10:11:27 PM Subject: Re: [OT]Canon A590IS on-sell at Dell >> Dell now has Cannon A590IS on sale for US$108.00 including a free >> two days shipping. >> http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Digital_Point_Shoot/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1494439 >> >> Funny N. >> Au Group Electronics, http://www.AuElectronics.com > > The A590 IS has 8 MegaPixels. How many megapixels are required to > legibly photograph an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of paper with 12 pt text ? 6 MP is fine for that. Or less. MP are not the main issue and a good 6 MP camera will easily outperform a bad one of higher MP. Sanity check. 6 MP camera with 2000 x 3000 image. 8.5 x 12.75 image (just fit width and let length adapt to suit). 2000 pixels / 8.5" =~ 235 dpi Good enough for you? ie, not up to a modern laser inkjet or laser printer but very useable. I just uploaded this http://public.fotki.com/RussellMc/atw/aotw/textsample6mppict1566v1.html Hand held, sunshine, lying on front deck (the paper, not me) - not optimised in any way. Rotated and saved at JPG 85 compression so maybe the tiniest amount of quality loss over original - and half or less the file size. I'd estimate the text as ~8 point. Click link at bottom of screen for full size image. Entirely readable. The current rush to more and more MP in similar size sensors is approximately insane. The Nikon D700 is a good example of trying not to do it, and the Sony A900 is the best example so far of what happens when you do. Fine in bright light, perhaps. The half a face photo on the .../atw/ ... site above shows what a good 6MP camera can do. Russell -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist