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These days we see some absolute behemoth full-frame camera sensors packing 50, 60 and now close to 70MP (megapixels). While these specs are certainly attractive, and do contribute towards the overall quality of your images, they’re only as good as the lens you pair them with.
Megapixel counts can create a false perception, with many photographers – especially newcomers – falling into the trap of thinking the higher the number, the better quality their images will be.
To an extent, this is correct. After all, a top-tier full-frame model – such as the Sony A7R VI with its 67MP sensor – will enable you to crop in closely in post-production without losing definition or degrading image colors. Given you use the same high-quality lens, you'll get much more leeway than if pairing it with an older DSLR with, say, a 24MP sensor.
However, if you stick a poorly made lens onto that same Sony full-frame beast then it’s a different story – and you won’t even need to crop the image tightly to see the difference.
What you need to keep in mind is that lenses are what determine the sharpness, clarity and even the color rendering, as well as suppressing aberrations and distortion.
So if your lens doesn’t handle these tasks well, then a high-resolution sensor will only highlight the flaws of your poor-quality lens. On the other hand, a great lens can make even a modest sensor perform better.
Then there's the physical size of the camera sensor to consider, which, arguably, is more important than pixel count too. Cramming too many megapixels onto a physically small sensor can result in smaller individual pixels, which may yield noisier, less detailed photos in low-light conditions.
While this issue is best exemplified by smartphones, some APS-C cameras, like the Canon EOS R7 and Fujifilm X-T5, have been criticized for it.
All this isn’t to say that you should completely ignore MP counts and only buy the most expensive lenses. Not at all. In fact, cheaper third-party manufacturers like Tamron, Sigma and now Viltrox produce lenses that give premium native glass like Sony G Master and Nikkor S lenses a close run for their money.
But the point I am making is that you shouldn’t splurge on a camera body because of its attractive sensor, only to then cheap out on the lens you’re going to pair it with.
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Here’s our expert pick of the best cheap lenses for your camera. And if you're all about the pixels, these are the highest resolution cameras you can buy right now.
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