There’s a variety of different ways we can compare cameras to work out which is better for any given scenario, from sensor size to optical zoom, or stabilization to its FPS. For readers of our website I’m sure you know more about camera terminology than the average person. However, for the general punter – think of an elderly person looking to buy a camera to photograph their grandchildren, resolution – or how large you’ll be able to print and view your images, has been the best metric to help explain why a particular camera is good, without getting too into the weeds.
Resolution is measured in megapixels – a term I’m sure you’re all familiar with, and each ‘megapixel’ is one million pixels. Back in the early 2000’s when digital cameras were in their infancy this was a big deal. At least 6MP is needed to print at A4, though realistically 12MP or higher is best. This was important when the digital cameras of the time were very low in resolution, however with most cameras on the market today featuring over 20MP, I’d argue it’s not the biggest feature we should be worried about anymore. Even smartphones like the Apple iPhone 16 Pro has 48MP and Samsung’s Galaxy S25 claims to be 200MP!
