It has long been believed that a camera with a higher resolution will produce more noise in low light. Here, different camera models from Fuji, Canon and Sony are compared side by side to demonstrate that high resolution cameras do not produce more noise than lower resolution models when poor lighting conditions.
When I started traveling in earnest around the turn of the century, I started collecting digital cameras. Unfortunately, backpacking heckles and questionable decision-making along the way meant I broke up nearly all of my first purchases, sometimes by accident. However, I managed to keep a bunch of Canon cameras, going back to the Rebel T3i. Needless to say I increased my camera’s megapixel count up to my current 45 MP Canon EOS R5 The mirrorless that I’m using today, the detail and image quality have improved commensurately. But what about noise performance?
That brings us to this great video by Tony Northrup, in which he addresses what he considers a myth: that cameras with a high megapixel count produce more noise in low light. To test his theory and prove his hypothesis, Northrup took two Sony cameras, two Canon cameras and two Fuji cameras and compared the noise in identical images from each sample. For each brand, one camera has a lower megapixel sensor – around 20 MP – while the other has a higher megapixel count. Northrup says his results demonstrate that cameras with higher megapixel resolutions producing higher levels of noise in low light are a myth. Watch the video and let me know what you think. do you agree?
