CCD Size

[birdeast]

Just doing some comparing with existing and new Olympus digital cameras

SP-310 (7MP) /350 (8MP) - NEW
CCD 1/1.8"

SP-500 (Superzoom) (6MP) - NEW
CCD 1/2.5"

Stylus 600 (6MP) - NEW
CCD 1/2.5"

C-7070 (7MP)
CCD 1/1.8"

How important is CCD size? Is the Nikon CCD better than the Canon, Olympus (or vice versa)??
If several cameras all have the same CCD size, is it true that the model with the fewer megapixels should give the best 'quality' photo?

Bottomline how important is the CCD in shopping for a camera

[compa]

How important is CCD size? Is the Nikon CCD better than the Canon, Olympus (or vice versa)??
If several cameras all have the same CCD size, is it true that the model with the fewer megapixels should give the best 'quality' photo?

Bottomline how important is the CCD in shopping for a camera

CCD size is almost as important as the physical size and weight of the camera or the size/brightness of the display - or the versatility of the camera settings - or the cost of the camera - or the type of memory card used - or battery life - or flash power - or ________ (you fill in the blank).

The CCD is but one of a dozen or more points to look at ... and it is a very technical one at that. Worry about the other features first, they are just as important and with so many possible variables you will never find the perfect camera anyway.

I have no idea what the CCD size is on any of my digital cameras from a Nikon CP5000 to an Olympus UZ700 to a Canon 20D. But I do know that each of them has been a very good camera and given great photos!

[Adey Baker]

Only a few companies make CCDs so when you see several new cameras from different makers arriving on the market at the same time with a similar-spec CCD you can be pretty sure they're all using the same one.

The quality of the lens and the camera's processing will have a significant effect on the final image.

With a high class lens, in theory, more pixels will mean, if not higher quality, then at least a chance to produce larger prints - however there's a downside in the fact that each individual pixel may be smaller and thus receive less light and the signal then needs to be 'boosted' more which leads to more 'noise' in the image. This is more noticeable in higher ISO levels.

To combat the noise issue many cameras will have a noise-reduction programme built-in which, basically, blurs the image slightly. Most cameras also have some form of edge-sharpening built in, as well, which, when applied to the blurred image struggles to find the 'edge' which gives the much-quoted 'water-colour' painting effect to some parts of the image - look particulary at out-of-focus areas and large areas of small detail such as leaves on a tree and a field of grass etc.

[RAH]

One of the major reasons people use DSLRs instead of cheaper "point and shoots" or electronic viewfinder (EVF) digital cameras is because DSLRs have less noise at higher ISO settings. And the major reason for this is because they have larger CCDs. Some of the more expensive ones ($3000 and up) even have CCDs as large as a 35mm camera (i.e. no lens factor).

However, within the point and shoot and EVF range of cameras, I think that you should try to read reviews of the cameras instead of looking at the size of the CCD (if you can even obtain this info). As Adey said, they all use only a few types anyway. There's a reason why just about ALL cameras of this type have poor noise characteristics over 4MP with over 200 ISO settings. Seems to me that it's the other characteristics of the camera (lens, size, etc) that you sould think about. As far as cameras that use noise reduction by blurring, I think I'd rather do that after the fact in an image program. At least then I can control it.

[Adey Baker]

As far as cameras that use noise reduction by blurring, I think I'd rather do that after the fact in an image program. At least then I can control it.


Very much so! Trouble is a lot of these cameras are aimed at the snapshot market as well as enthusiasts and they want an image ready for printing without too much computer work!

The images below show the effect of lost detail due to 'over-enthusiastic' camera noise reduction/sharpening.

The first is (greatly reduced in size!) the full frame SHQ-JPEG shot of Mont Blanc taken by my wife on an Olympus C5060 camera which is basically a 5Mp fore-runner of the C7070. The second shot is an 'actual pixels' crop from the foreground 'saved for web' at 70%.

If this had been taken on a 35mm film camera with the equivalent lens under the same sunny conditions there would have been recognisable detail throughout the picture