Sony 5 Megapixel VS. Nikon Coolpix 8 Megapixel: QUALITY

Well, I love taking photos on digital cameras. I have two, A Sony Cybershot 5 (I think it's really 5.1 not sure) Megapixel camera and a Nikon Coolpix 8 Megapixel camera. Both cameras are capable of capturing video w/ sound.

Of course, the Sony uses a Memory Stick Duo and the Nikon uses SD.

Irrelevant to my question/concern.

So here it is:

Why on Earth is the 5 megapixel camera better than the 8 megapixel? why? I take close up photos with the 5 megapixel camera and I get better quality/sharper looking images than with the Nikon.

I am baffled.

Oh and the Cybershot takes better quality video and sound than the Coolpix.

This is not what I would have expected. Is there any explanation, or is it just the fact that it's a Sony product??

This is just another example of how megapixels don't exactly improve image quality (to an extent)...

Nikon's point and shoot's have been good, Sony as well. Perhaps it's just the model difference, or maybe they were used in different modes, or maybe the Sony camera is in fact the better camera in terms of image quality.

Megapixels are an arguable subject. Some will say that megapixels don't matter, some say they do. The truth is, it's both. They matter and don't. They matter when you want to crop your photo tighter, they matter when you want to print bigger size prints. It isn't the more megapixels a camera has the better it is... It's how the camera is used that determines it's true quality, and/or the photographers quality.

The answer is most likely in the glass used when the cameras were made. I know Sony uses Carl Zeiss lenses in a lot of their cameras, which happen to be good glass.

I have the panasonic with 10X zoom its agreat camera, i have had most every camera on the market, this really impressed me.

It all depends on the camera not if its 8 or a 5

DarkArt said:

The answer is most likely in the glass used when the cameras were made. I know Sony uses Carl Zeiss lenses in a lot of their cameras, which happen to be good glass.

Click to expand...

Yes the Sony has a Carl Ziess lens.

Thanks guys for your responses.