Redlemon

So, I upgraded my camera again. I'm a basic point-and-shooter, and I'm not printing anything above a 5x7, although I sometimes crop 2/3rds of the photo to get it down to what I want.

This new camera has a stupid amount of resolution to it; 12 MP. I understand that the sizes of the CCD that actually detect the light aren't getting any bigger in these little cameras. Which leads to my question:

Will I get better accuracy if I choose the lower 6 MP photo setting?

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Zweiblumen

From what I have read about the subject the short answer is that it depends on what method of down sampling your camera uses.
Since 4MP will do 8 x 10 prints nicely you should be safe with setting you camera at 6 MP.
The most accurate answer is to do a real-life test with your camera and the software you use to crop the pictures before printing.
Some cameras will do a digital zoom to achive the lower resolution wich may give less quality than cropping in software.

Hope this is of some help.
Yours
ZB

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doubleaught

The increase in accuracy from having 6MP on the same size sensor as your 12MP camera comes from each pixel being larger. Thus able to absorb more light and also less prone to various distortions.

So the quick answer is no, unfortunately you'll gain no quality from using a lower MP setting. The reason to choose a lower size is to gain a lower filesize if you aren't going to be blowing it up past a certain printed size. Other than his first line I completely agree with Zweiblumen's statements.

Hope this helps.

Redlemon

You have confused me further. It sounds like your first paragraph says that there should be more accuracy and less distortion dropping to 6MP, then paragraph two says "And therefore it doesn't work".

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Baraka_Guru

So, if you stay at 5x7 but crop up to 2/3rds, we can say that your heavily cropped prints are on average equivalent to something around an uncropped 8x10.

Generally, you want to have 300dpi for printing. So printing 8x10, you should aim for a total resolution of 2400x3000, or just over 7 megapixels (7.2mp). That said, I don't know about better or worse accuracy between settings, but shooting at 6 megapixels would allow you to print uncropped 5x7s no problem. It's only when you crop more than, say, 50% of the original image that you might run into trouble. If anything, shooting at 6 megapixels will save you a bunch of storage space and processing/transfer time.

Some say that 12 megapixels is close to traditional 35mm film (some say higher). Few have complained about printing cropped 5x7s (or uncropped 8x10s) from 35mm. Again, it's only with major cropping do you start to run into trouble.

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doubleaught

When you change your MP settings from 12 to 6 the sensor doesn't physically change (yes, I know you knew this.) All benefits mentioned are from having a native 6MP sensor in the same dimensions as your 12MP sensor. It is impossible to gain higher quality by lowering the MP setting on any camera.

Ultimately it boils down to this for you: lower the MP setting on your camera only if you don't plan on printing large prints and would appreciate the lower filesize.

If you'd like I'd be happy to find a good article explaining megapixels vs sensor size. Honestly though, just enjoy your new camera. Next time you buy maybe first ask a photography oriented group what they recommend for what you plan to do with it, but know that if you're using point and shoot most of the time the interface probably matters much more than the technical characteristics!