Exclusively Photo VCD/DVD, Buy 3 mpixel or 8 mpixel camera?

[09norcim]

Good day to you all!

I am looking for a digital camera EXCLUSIVELY to capture photos and view them on TV. I have scanned photos and made Photo VCDs using ProShow Gold in both NTSC and PAL to share with overseas friends.

I need your expertise to correct me where my understanding is wrong!

1.
The higher resolution of original digital photo will not produce any sharper image Photo VCD or DVDs due to limitation of VCD/DVD still image resolution.

2.
Therefore 3.2 megapixel digital camera pictures will produce same result Photo VCD/DVD as compared to 8.0 megapixel digital camera pictures.

3.

I have Sony DVP-NS400D this DVD player, I think it can play JPEG images. Will JPEG images (when viewed on Tv) captured with 8.0 mega pixel camera will be sharper than those captured with a 3.0 mega pixel camera?

4.
Are Kodak Photo CDs images sharper than self burned photo VCDs?

5.
Lastly how can I burn JPEG images on DVD/VCD that I can play on my DVD?

Thanks a lot!

[thecoalman]

1.
The higher resolution of original digital photo will not produce any sharper image Photo VCD or DVDs due to limitation of VCD/DVD still image resolution.

True

2.
Therefore 3.2 megapixel digital camera pictures will produce same result Photo VCD/DVD as compared to 8.0 megapixel digital camera pictures.

Depends on the camera, you can't judge a camera my the MP. If you have a really crappy 8MP camera and really good 3MP the 3 MP one is going to provide better results. Also note I've noticed that some manufacturers are listing cameras as 8MP but only are effective to 3MP or so. This is really useless, it's similar to digital zoom, just in reverse. It's just creating a larger image from what amounts to a 3MP source. This can be accomplished using software such as Photoshop which you mentioned.

I have Sony DVP-NS400D this DVD player, I think it can play JPEG images. Will JPEG images (when viewed on Tv) captured with 8.0 mega pixel camera will be sharper than those captured with a 3.0 mega pixel camera?

Again depends on the camera, full frame NTSC provides the equivalent of 720X480 image. The DVD player processes the image to fit withn the NTSC spec. that's aproximately a .35MP image. VCD is 1/4 that.

4.
Are Kodak Photo CDs images sharper than self burned photo VCDs?

No. One thing to note images that are very sharp (particularly edges such as text) will flicker. Generally it's a good idea to apply a slight blur to your image for before using in a slideshow program. Most have this feature built in, your mileage will vary. Most I've experimented with don't apply enough blur to larger images which is one of the reasons Ip repare all my images before importing them into a editor.

5.
Lastly how can I burn JPEG images on DVD/VCD that I can play on my DVD?

Well as you mentioned your DVD player may be able to as a data DVD. To convert to a playable DVD there is a lot of alternatives. Look in the tools sections. Merories on TV is mentioned a lot, there is plenty of other applications and ways of doinfg this.

[09norcim]

Thanks thecoalman!

Do you know how good/sharp will be viewing on TV if I use a decent TV-Out Video Card and play the slide shows on computer & watch them on TV? Does the S/Composite video out video cards have same resolution limits as photo VCD/DVD?

I am going to buy a digital camera in next 1-2 days and very shortly I plan to buy a 37'' LCD HDTV.

And If I can I would like to achieve viewing of digital pictures on TV as good as I can view them on my computer.

Thanks!

[thecoalman]

Does the S/Composite video out video cards have same resolution limits as photo VCD/DVD?

Yes, it's more a limitation of the TV. They can only display what is equavalent to a 720x480 image therefore that's the limitation of the DVD spec.

As for the HDTV that could reproduce a higher resolution image but you would need something that was ouputting a higher resolution image. DVD players uotput a standard NTSC/PAL signal so it's limited to the resolution of the signal. I'm unfamiliar with HDTV so I don't know what's available for creating a higher resolution image...........

[ebenton]

One thing to keep in mind about digital photos and megapixels is whether or not you will do any zooming and cropping on the original photos. Since an 8 MP image will have more pixels in any given area than a 3 MP image, if you want to zoom and crop an 8 MP image, it will look much better than the same zoomed and cropped area of a 3 MP image.

[thecoalman]

Since an 8 MP image will have more pixels in any given area than a 3 MP image, if you want to zoom and crop an 8 MP image, it will look much better than the same zoomed and cropped area of a 3 MP image.

That's providing it's really a 8mp image, as I mentioned above there's manufactures claiming 8mp but it's really just a 3mp that's been resized.It's just as if you have resized it in a image editing app. it's 8mp but it's a soft, blurry 8mp image with no detail.

[ebenton]

Obviously, if you zoom in on a "fake" 8MP image, you will notice it looks like crap. Some of this depends on the camera optics also. I used to own a Canon S30, which was a 3MP camera. I replaced it with a Sony TSC-D1, which was 5 MP. I thought the S30 took better pictures than the Sony. I gave away the Sony and replaced it with a 7MP Canon S70.
My wife was doing some genealogy research and photographed some historical documents with the S70. The pictures were better than scanning. She also took some pictures of cemetary headstones. You can zoom in on the photos and see clear details that you cannot see at regular size, including details on surrounding headstones.
I think if you buy a good brand of 3 MP camera, you will be satisfied with the pictures, unless you want to do some serious zooming and cropping.