You’re very welcome!
So when you’re comparing cameras from the same year (or close to it) pixel size matters, but not as much when you’re comparing old and new cameras.
Yeah, pretty much. Keep in mind that age is just one factor though. The pixel size, processor, and pixel density also affect image quality.
An expensive camera will generally do better than a cheap one even if they have similar pixel counts and sizes, because the higher end cameras have better image processing. Here’s an excellent article on the topic of camera resolution.
When I upgraded from my cheapie plastic 2011 Canon Rebel T3 (12 MP) to a 2010 Pentax K-5 (16 MP) there was very noticeable increase in image quality at high ISO even though the size of sensor and pixels didn’t change much. In fact, the Pentax’s pixels are slightly smaller, according to Snapsort, yet it runs circles around the T3 in terms of image quality. The Pentax is actually slightly older as well, so it breaks the age rule too. 🙂
When you really boil it down, it’s really a question of the quality of the electronics. Age and pixel size can be against you, and it’s still possible to get better results from an older camera!
My ~$120 smartphone takes better pictures than our $400 Canon point-n-shoot camera did 15 years ago, and the smartphone sensor (and pixels, and lens) are many times smaller!!
Why don’t manufactures keep a large pixel size for crop sensor cameras and just make less megapixels? Are they just trying to make crop sensors look better then they really are?
That’s an excellent question, and I wish I knew the answer. 🙂 Not ALL Full Frames are low MP though, check out the Nikon D800, or the Canon 5DS! And there is actually a (video) camera that is FULL FRAME, but only 2.2 megapixels! (You can imagine how large each individual pixel is!!) It can go up to ISO 4 MILLION to capture super low-light shots.
If you’re interested in all the nitty-gritty details, you won’t find a better technical article than this: https://clarkvision.com/articles/does.pixel.size.matter/index.html and part 2: https://clarkvision.com/articles/does.pixel.size.matter2/