Camera megapixels: Why more isn't always better (Smartphones Unlocked)

The Samsung Galaxy S3 takes colorful pictures with its 8-megapixel lens. (Credit: Josh Miller/CNET) Note: This article originally published May 6, 2012 and updated on February 13, 2013. Increasingly, the 8-megapixel smartphones camera standard you thought you knew will ratchet up to 13 megapixels for high-end phones. In many products -- like this past January's Pantech Discover (12.6 megapixels), last October's LG Optimus G for Sprint (13 megapixels), and even last year's HTC Titan II (16 megapixels) -- we're already there. And no, I won't forget to mention last February's Nokia 808 PureView, a 41-megapixel Mobile World Congress 2012 stunner that CNET camera editor Josh Goldman says is worth the hype. Yet even though the technology exists, and some of it is even good, most best-selling flagship phones are, for now anyway, sticking to 8 megapixels -- like the ... [Read more]Related L...