Todays Listener Questions: I'm looking for a new camera, how many megapixels do I need?

When youre looking to buy a new camera one of the biggest specifications camera manufacturers focus on is Megapixels. With a range all over the board from 8 to 50 megapixels its hard to know how many you need. Back when photographers were shooting film they would blow up their photos to print on large billboards but a lot of people don't know that film has about the same useable resolution as 5.25megapixels. Today you almost have to go out of your way to find a camera or even a cell phone for that matter with less than 8mp. The megapixel race is dead, its over, its a number that does not matter any more. Now a sensors ISO sensitivity is the metric camera manufactures are paying most attention to, and in 4 or 5 years time it will also become a non issue and people will be able to take totally useable photos in near darkness. So look at those metrics more than megapixels when you go to buy your next camera!