The cameras used are the Ricoh RDC-1 (a camera with features still lacking on many other cameras), and the Kodak DC260 and DC290. The maximum resolution for each camera is 768 X 576, 1.6 Megapixel and 2.1 Megapixel respectively. What these numbers basically mean - is on a good color printer, the more pixels, the better the picture. But on a monitor, it's a different story - a pixel is a pixel is a pixel.

If you view a picture from each camera on a hi-res screen set at 1024 X 768, you'll see the entire picture from the Ricoh. It'll cover 3/4 of the height and 3/4 of the width of the screen. You won't see the whole picture from the DC260; it will only display 2/3 of the width and 3/4 of the height of the picture (without software to reduce the image to the screen size). The hi-res screen can only display .57 of the width and .64 of the height or about 1/4 of the picture from the DC290!

Let me draw a diagram for you....

Follow the links below for more detailed information, and pictures demonstrating Camera vs. Screen resolution.

On the printer side, the difference in camera resolution will show up in the enlargements. They will all look pretty good if you print them out 6-up on a page, that makes a picture about 3" x 4". But when you talk about printing a single picture on an 8 1/2" x 11", we're talking about seeing a difference! I won't even try to draw a picture for you here - just follow the links to learn more about Camera resolution and printing various size pictures, there's even some info on scanners!