Nokia Pure View 808 with 41 MP vs Canon DSLR – Do megapixels matter ?

Nokia recently unveiled the Pure View 808, a mobile phone with a 41 megapixel camera! If you’re on Facebook you’ve probably also seen the gazillion posts about this phone and the obligatory oohs and aahs for it. If you’re thinking of ditching your 10-odd megapixel camera for this phone, think again! Digital cameras with about 15 megapixels or so can take very good looking photos, just like the Nokia Pure view 808. Hard to believe? Read on.

Nokia Pure View 808 :

So, on paper the Nokia Pure view 808 has far more megapixels than a DSLR camera which costs an arm and a leg. So why would you get the DSLR camera? The answer, because it takes far better photos than a 41 megapixel camera phone. After a certain point, megapixels cease to matter. The 808 uses a different technology that basically packs a large amount of pixels in regular 5 or 8 megapixel shots. Sure, you can take upto 38 megapixel shots, but they’re only going to be useful if you want to print a billboard large enough to be seen from a few kilometers away, not your average use isn’t it? The Nokia 808 Pure View crunches a lot of pixels into a single “superpixel” to replicate the actual clarity and richness a DSLR of the same megapixel count. For a reference, let it be known that the extremely clear HDTV’s have about 2″effective” megapixels.

Basically, if you’re a photographer, a solid DSLR camera will be the best choice no matter how many megapixel camera a phone might have. A high megapixel count from a phone camera can produce a large image, but not a precise and good looking image. An actual camera will produce much more beautiful photographs.

For photos to actually look good, the device must have a large and high capacity lens and sensor. Only with them one can expect clear images with rich and vibrant colors. Photos taken in less than well-lit environments also turn out to be good only if the camera lens and sensor are of high quality.

So there you have it, sure the Nokia 808 Pure View might click better photos than most of the phones out there but it’s definitely not a replacement for a good camera. Also, in general don’t be fooled by “more is always better” in the case of megapixels in a camera. Shop smart!