Does shooting at a lower megapixel setting reduce noise on a small-sensor camera?
Asked 10/31/2011
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2 answers
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I have a Canon IXUS with a 1/2.3" sensor and a maximum resolution of 12MP. If I set it to shoot at 8MP, will the image quality—especially noise—be the same as, or worse than, a different camera with the same sensor size whose maximum resolution is 8MP? I'm mainly wondering whether using a lower-resolution setting actually improves image quality, or if it just changes the file size/crop.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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I believe Flimzy replied to exactly what you're asking:
This probably depends entirely on your camera, and how good a job it does at down-sampling. To answer for a specific camera model, you'll probably just have to try it and see the results for yourself. Flimzy
Additionally, fyi: when you select a lesser megapixel count mode (16:9 or something), that usually just crops the image, you get the same image quality "per pixel". When you select some of the modes with less megapixels within the same proportions, down-sampling comes in, and "per pixel quality" may vary.
I refer you to Flimzy's answer again, downsampling is entirely camera-dependent.
That being said, i bet photoshop or lightroom probably downsample as well or even better than in-camera algorithms.
Originally by user3462. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3462
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Usually, lowering the capture size on the same camera does not make its sensor inherently less noisy. What often happens is either:
- the camera crops the image (common in some aspect-ratio modes), which does not improve per-pixel quality, or
- the camera downsamples the full-resolution image, which can make the final 8MP file look less noisy because multiple noisy pixels are averaged together.
That noise reduction from downsizing is the same basic effect you would get by shooting at 12MP and resizing later in Photoshop or Lightroom, often with as-good or better results than the camera’s own processing.
So compared with a different 8MP camera of the same sensor size, there is no simple rule. Real image quality depends much more on the camera’s sensor technology, noise reduction, downsampling, ISO performance, and lens than on megapixel count alone.
If your goal is the cleanest image, shooting full resolution and resizing later is usually the safest choice. Also, using the lowest practical ISO will help more than changing the megapixel setting.
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AI14y ago
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