Originally Posted by drizek

Yes, it isn't pixel count, it is pixel density. Most phones have about the same sensor size though, so there isn't much difference in comparing count and density. Yes, it is true that a giant sensor with a ton of megapixels slooks better, but high pixel density does lead to a reduction in many aspects of picture quality. Most important is the addition of noise, but the other major issue is the reduction in dynamic range.

Even at this low-ish sensitivity setting the Canon and Nikon have surrendered most, if not all, their resolution advantage. The LX3's output still closely resembles its base ISO quality with a touch more noise and some of the softness that noise reduction tends to bring beginning to creep in. However, the other two cameras are clearly having to resort to extreme measures with much more prominent noise appearing in the Nikon's image and fairly heavy noise reduction smearing the G10's output (and with sharpening artifacts showing an attempt to crisp the image back up). At a consistent output size, the results are likely to look identical but that begs the question - what do those extra megapixels achieve?

It was never going to be pretty but there are some pretty unpleasant results here. The G10's noise reduction has obliterated most of the detail in its image and hammered the contrast too. For fans of watercolors, perhaps? The Nikon has made an even bigger mess of things, peppering its image with white speckling and producing unsightly yellow blotches across other parts of the image.

And, although the LX3's image isn't exactly a paragon of image quality, it's hard not to conclude that it's producing the best results at this point. There's all the noise and noise reduction degradation you'd expect of a compact camera working at this sensitivity setting, but it's balanced the two well and produced a good compromise result, retaining some detail and producing the most accurate color of the three.

Originally Posted by drizek

Yet if we go back to dpreview and read the review of the 15mp Canon G10 compared to the 10mp Panasonic LX3, this is what they have to say.

Originally Posted by drizek

...and it looks far better and far sharper than the 5mp pictures from the N900.

Originally Posted by drizek

I am not saying I want the iPhone camera in the Nokia, I am saying that Nokia should have used hte same size sensor, the same lens, but lowered the megapixel count to improve high iso photography.

Originally Posted by christexaport

Where's Dr. Tran when you need him? He's a world reknowned imaging expert. Ask him about the quality of Nokia Nseries flagship cameras. Check his flckr account for high quality photos from a N95