Originally Posted by Barakka
So the question is, what would be the effect of setting a 10mp camera to take photos at 6mp, do you get the noise level of having a 6mp sensor the same size, or is it just using a section of the 10mp sensor so noise will be just as high as taking at 10mp ?
I wasn't aware there were any compact cameras that could take images at fewer megapixels than their sensors.
Nikon make a top-end DSLR which can shoot in cropped mode at higher fps, which naturally is popular with sports and nature photographers. But if you simply choose a lower size file in your compact camera, then afaik it will be using the whole image sensor, and rescaling the image in the camera to a smaller output size. Using only a portion of the sensor, like a Nikon D2Xs, actually affects the field of view of the photo.