Digital camera question: Image size -vs- Image quality

[JJWalker]

I've got a 5mp camera that allows me to set the image size down from 2560x1920 to 2048x1536 to 1280x960 etc. etc. etc., the question I have is, with a smaller image do you still keep the same 5mp quality or does it degrade that as well? If I wanted to save them as smaller images should I have just bought a 3or4mp camera instead?

 

[gopunk]

less pixels... if you multiply the numbers together, that's how many pixels there will be. 5mp will probably take a long time for your camera to save... just experiment to see what the largest size is with a speed that you can tolerate. if you're taking stills, then go for the largest... but if you're looking for quick snapshots when hanging out with friends, you probably want something midranged, so that it's faster in between shots. from saving standpoint, you can always save a larger image as a smaller one with a photo editing program, but you can't go the other way, so you want to err on the side of being too large.

 

[Kalvin00]

Yeah...probably save pics as 3 or 4 mp and then you can resize them later if you want.

 

[RossMAN]

If you don't plan on PRINTING pics then you should have purchased a 3MP digicam instead.