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How to improve the low(poor) quality image to high quality image?

How can pixel density (MP/cm^2) , effective pixels MP and sensor size affect the image quality ?

  • Hello i know that sensor size affects the image quality (as bigger as better) . Also i know that effective pixels affect the image size but i was confused when my friend (an old photogragher) told me that pixel density has adverse effect on the image quality which means that when the sensor size is the same as in Nikon D40 (3.72cm^2, 6MP) and Nikon D90 (3.72cm^2, 12MP) , the pixel density in D40 (6/3.72) is less than in D90 (12/3.72) and that means image quality for D40 is better than D90 .Also i was told that older cameras such as Nikon D70 has better quality than newer like D300 even it has less pixels MP. Also i was told that pixels have no mean of magnification ability and the most important for image quality is the density (as low as better for a given sensor size ) ,Im not sure about that and if it is true then what is the reason of high new pixels cameras ?.It is just selling factor ?.I need some details ,thanks.

  • Answer:

    Pixel density is but one part of the image quality equation. The more important part is the actual size of the individual pixels. So although your friend perhaps didn't explain his point as well as possible he is correct. Fewer pixels in the same size sensor equals larger individual pixels. A larger pixel is more responsive to photons (light, not to be confused with ISO settings) and a larger pixel can hold more information. Proof of this can be found in the new full-frame (24mm x 36mm) sensor Leica M9 which only has 18mp. Have you noticed that Canon has also acknowledged this with the G11 which only has 10mp and is the replacement for the 14.7mp G10? The end of the megapixel wars may be at hand. For several years manufacturers have stuffed more and more pixels into tiny sensors and marketing has led people to believe that "more is better". The G11 and M9 may be pointing the way to sanity.

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Just to toss in another point: I think I read that on a sensor, the CCD elements are not necessarily ROWS and COLUMNS anymore. They can be arranged in hexagonal arrangements like in a honeycomb, and also being made tinier, instead of a 2X2 to give 4 elements, in the same space you could have smaller hexagons in a honeycomb arrangement of 7 elements. The RAW software converts the honeycomb into the XY format. for display on XY output devices like computer screens. So I could see that a lot of interpolation of pixels, or re-assigning of Hexagonal positions into XY positions could make the image look "unnatural" or "lower quality" even when CCD element number goes up. or the "recalculated" pixel number goes up. Maybe the problem is that the Hexagonal revolution is not yet on the output devices yet, because they are still XY based.

Well you have to understand how it works. Photons fall unto the sensor through the lens and this generates an electric charge [after going through a bayern filter]. This electronic charge is what gives a value and hence makes in the end a picture up. Now if the photosites are very small then the photons have to hit smaller buckets so that means that the sensor becomes less sensitive in effect. Compact sensors are so tiny that they are good day shooters, sunlight and no clouds please shooters beyond that the ISO just rages up. And with ISO comes noise because of the amplication and cross talk. A DSLR has a bigger sensor meaning bigger photosites, a bigger bucket. So it has to do less work to capture the light. Meaning it can sustain lower ISO's for longer. Meaning a better quality picture! SO yes pixel density matters.. and that is also why how bigger the sensor how better the news. As noticed before nowadays we are at the end of the megapixel wars, there are limits to how small you can make a photosite. If you make it to small you sacrifice quality! Indeed the G11 is safely back in the 10MP range instead of the dangerous 15MP range the G10 was poking into. At a certain moment more pixels doesn't gives more quality.

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