8.0mp vs. new 10.1mp

mikeivan wrote in post #2353404
Hmm, the noise chart looks to me like the 400D has less noise at all ISO than the 350D. Perhaps I am reading it incorrectly.
http://www.dpreview.co​m …s/canoneos400d/​page17.asp

I read the same way as you did. And that was a surprise for me initially, because other less rigorous sites had stated that 400D had more noise per pixel at ISO 800 or 1600 than 350D.

pieq314 wrote in post #2353531
It is not enlarged after the photo is taken. 400D has more pixels, so for the same subject area, it is larger on the screen.

I know, but the point is that our eyes have an intrinsic resolution (as you'll see in the first section of the article I sent). And even if the exact same image is presented to us at two different sizes, we will not be able to discern as much detail in the smaller image.

They could perform this test one of two ways. On the internet, they were forced to perform it using the same ppi resolution, which of necessity will make the 350D image physically smaller. And precisely because of that, the test is biased against the 350D (if our eyes are to be the judge).

The other way they could do this test would be to print them both at the same physical size. This would require using different dpi print resolution -- but if they choose a small print size in which the difference is (for instance) 400 dpi vs 500 dpi, then the difference in printing would be negligible -- they could then scan those prints to present on their website.

So I again contend that the difference between the two is slight and can be accounted for by the fact that there is a size difference between the two.

mikeivan wrote in post #2353404
Hmm, the noise chart looks to me like the 400D has less noise at all ISO than the 350D. Perhaps I am reading it incorrectly.
http://www.dpreview.co​m …s/canoneos400d/​page17.asp

I looked at the high ISO one on page 27. Still, both are better than the Sony and the Nikon, but to my eye at ISO 800 and 1600 the 350D has more chrominance noise and the 400D has more luminance noise.

Yes, I guess so. I would conclude that you would only need a lens with sufficient quality to eliminate lens issues being visible to your average person standing 3 to 4 feet away, and thats not necessarily a requirement to get an L-lens.

Of course your going to get people standing closer looking more closely and accounting for that factor is part of the photographer addressing the issue of taking the photo and where its going to be seen afterwards.

In general though, i think for the most part, you'll eliminate more visual issues in a picture by using a good quality lens than you will by having a 10Mp camera over an 8Mp one.