Should Apple have increased the mega pixels on the camera?

No, absolutely not. More megapixels makes pictures look worse at this sensor size, and more resolution does nothing to improve them.

I took 20mp images, downscaled them to 8mp then upscaled them back up to 20mp. For situations where you aren't cropping, is the difference so drastic that people would rather give up image quality for more mp?

I won't say which is which (though you can easily tell but it's not as big of a difference as you'd think) -

http://i.imgur.com/Dzq9gWt.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4flWgCC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/lcTmQ23.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ARUrBQj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/aWjWoeN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0KUpicA.jpg

So my question is, why do YOU want more mp?

 

They should have gone to a 4/3rds mirrorless system with multi-mount detachable lens.

And no, I don't think a megapixel increase would help anything but a sale pitch.

 

Yes, and they should have added a mount for SLR lenses.

Or I could just buy a real camera...

 

LOL

This

 

Unless phones have big sensors like the ones in DSLRs or mirror-less cameras, more megapixel just means nothing. More megapixel with small sensor can actually produce worse image (more noise). Plus, how often do you print pictures taken with your phone? For monitor viewing, even a 2MP picture will work.

 

Apple should train people on the importance of specs other than pixel count. They've started to mention pixel size and are sort of mentioning lens size (ever try to explain what 2.2 means?), but it's not enough.

 

Perfect!

Thank you for that! I needed to explain it to someone and you had it worded perfectly

 

Don't care about megapixels. Care more about camera quality the whatever the tech is that allows a shaky hand to take a good pic.

 

The answer is no. On a sensor chip this small adding more pixels actually begins to degrade the image. Unless and until that technical limitation is eliminated or Apple finds a way to put a bigger sensor in it 8 is the sweet spot. If you need higher resolution get a dedicated camera. I recommend the 16mpx Fuji X-E2.

 

I think more definitely would have been nice considering the price of the phone. Maybe 12 and then add an even better sensor and give the 6 OIS.

 

So, you want noisier pictures so that the box can say 12 megapixels?

Makes no sense.

 

Yeah, because 12 megapixel pics are awesome for Facebook...

 

Want to play the specs game? Buy an Android.

Apple has tried to educate people about the camera sensor in keynotes, but it's hard to educate the masses and make it stick. More megapixels has to be better, right?

 

This thread, and Tim Cook's interview with Charlie Rose got me thinking. Apple said there are a ton of products they're working on. Some will see the light of day, some won't. Last year I thought the idea of an "iwatch" was laughable, but it got a favorable response at the keynote, and here we are, the Apple Watch is a real thing. Tim mentioned looking at the TV industry, one of Apple's worst kept secrets. We all know they're gonna try to revolutionize television.

But it got me thinking, would Apple ever dip their toes in the digital camera game? As a photographer I get excited just picturing it. A low cost entry level point and shoot, and a high level DSLR. With some sort of IOS of course. And that great thin, durable, aluminum/glass design.

We've seen how sharp they can make cell phone cameras. I could only imagine what they'd do with an actual camera. A boy can dream.

 

A better sensor with 12 megapixels wouldn't be noisy. 12 isn't even a huge amount. If I wanted to blow up or crop a picture more megapixels will really help.

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You are so pissy. People that think megapixels are everything are mistaken but people like you who believe everything apple says and thinks megapixels are apparently worthless are also mistaken. Take your delusion and attitude and shove it buddy.

More megapixels would result in you being able to blow up in a image or crop it and retain more detail yes. I also mentioned a better sensor.

 

Yes, they should have increased on the front camera.

 

Another vote for noisier pictures for the sake of marketing.

 

That's a good point. I forgot about the front camera being terrible. They really should have improved it.

 

I've had a few of my iPhone pictures used in print publications...

 

Wow you are so unbelievably conceited. You are so sure you're right on this yet you couldn't be more wrong.

Do you have any idea how terrible the front camera is? Do you think alot of that isn't to do with the extremely low megapixel count, at 1.2 megapixels? The sensor plays a roll, but megapixels are important also.

 

lol

 

Oh, right. He said the front cam. My mistake. Comment retracted. Yes, higher resolution on the front facing camera would have been good.

 

They shouldn't waste their time with this. There is a massive uphill task of competing with Canon, Nikon, Leica etc and not because of the camera but the glass. Also, I don't think the DSLR market would be all that attractive to Apple as they seem to be obsessed with thinness and weight. These are not things that DSLR photographers typically focus on as they don't wish to compromise on image quality over anything. That's my belief anyway.

 

That's great. Congrats. However, I think you'll agree that is NOT the purpose of a telephone camera...