Do Megapixels Matter?
Musings on Photography – Gear
The term photography comes from the Greek words phos (φῶς) meaning “light” and graphê (γραφή) meaning “drawing or writing”. Together, the words literally translate to “drawing with light”.
My first DSLR was a Nikon D90. While shopping for a camera (I was sure about the brand, but not the model) I wasn’t introduced to the D80 at the time, which was released in 2006 and was considered outdated in terms of functions and megapixels.
I learned a lot and made some nice images with that D90, including the first sports image that went in my portfolio.
Digital sensor technology advanced rapidly from the early 2000s to early teens, as both manufacturers and end users chased after ever-increasing megapixels as well as low-light performance. My camera fascination has always been focused on film cameras, and I let the camera makers work on higher specs while I sought to hone aspects of my craft like lighting skills and conceptual acumen.
I’ve often said that any DSLR from a major brand from 2005 or later is probably adequate for most purposes. But I never put that notion to the test, pitting an “outdated” camera against my current go-to camera.
Recently, I picked up a D80 for under $70 in great condition. Released in 2006, it has 10.2 megapixels and five autofocus points. It’s also got a sensor type known as CCD, which is prized among some photographers for its “filmic” look, but which also limits its performance in low light.
With Melvin in my studio, I seized the opportunity to pit the D80 from 2006 against the Z8 from 2023. With my lights set up, I grabbed a few candid shots while Melvin took a call, and some posed ones in a chair. I used the same flash and camera settings, and even paired the D80 with a 1990s vintage lens.
Looking at the resulting pictures on my screen and uploaded here only underscores the mantra I found myself repeating that day to Melvin: “It’s not the scalpel, it’s the surgeon.”
See if you can tell the difference between the 10.2 megapixel camera from 2006 and the 45.7 megapixel camera from 2023. All images are straight out of the camera(s) with no Photoshopping except color adjustment to match better
(Answers revealed under the following gallery).
Answer: Starting from top left, the images in the gallery alternate between the Z8 from 2023 and the D80 from 2006.
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