I know it is that everyone thinks the more the better when it comes to your digital camera features. This theory is especially true in the case of mega pixels. I myself have been guilty of sizing up the number of mega pixels from camera to camera in the electronics store, but is this really necessary do we really need more pixels? To answer this, you must first know what you are going to do with the images. Before we address that issue, let's make sure we know what a megapixel is:
A single pixel is the smallest unit of color that a camera's sensor has the ability to capture. The more pixels the sensor can hold results in a sharper image the camera duplicates. The technical term for a unit of "a million pixels" is a megapixel. Many cameras notate the abbreviated megapixel as "MP".
So how exactly do we know how many pixels we need? Knowing the purpose for your photos is the first step. Uses that require a high resolution digital photo will naturally require a camera with a higher number of pixels. Photos for viewing on a computer screen need only a low resolution image making any camera sufficient if this is the only intention for the photos. However, the most common goal of printing or developing pictures requires a high resolution photo for quality results. With this in mind, we will use printing a photo as our example in determining megapixel need.
Next we must determine the largest print size we would like of our photo. Let's presume that we won't be needing poster-sized images of our photos for wallpapering our home, so poster prints will fall into the "seldom or never" category. With extreme sizes eliminated, we have the three most common photo sizes to think about. According to online photo labs, the following minimum resolutions are adequate to create high quality prints:
4 x 6": 640 x 480 pixels (0.3 mega pixels) 5 x 7": 1024 x 768 pixels (0.8 mega pixels) 8 x 10": 1536 x 1024 pixels (1.6 mega pixels)
I have found from my own experience that my 3 megapixel camera is the minimum that I would want for an 8 x 10" print. Any less will start to show pixilation upon close inspection. Through trial and error, I would suggest doubling the above megapixel recommendations when considering a camera. This tutorial has shown that if we only want 4 x 6" prints, then 0.6 megapixels are plenty. Most digital cameras start at 2 mega pixels, which is adequate to generate quality prints up to 5 x 7".
Once you know how many mega pixels are required for your photo needs, you can move on to mastering the other features of your camera and be another step closer to producing the highest quality images possible.
A single pixel is the smallest unit of color that a camera's sensor has the ability to capture. The more pixels the sensor can hold results in a sharper image the camera duplicates. The technical term for a unit of "a million pixels" is a megapixel. Many cameras notate the abbreviated megapixel as "MP".
So how exactly do we know how many pixels we need? Knowing the purpose for your photos is the first step. Uses that require a high resolution digital photo will naturally require a camera with a higher number of pixels. Photos for viewing on a computer screen need only a low resolution image making any camera sufficient if this is the only intention for the photos. However, the most common goal of printing or developing pictures requires a high resolution photo for quality results. With this in mind, we will use printing a photo as our example in determining megapixel need.
Next we must determine the largest print size we would like of our photo. Let's presume that we won't be needing poster-sized images of our photos for wallpapering our home, so poster prints will fall into the "seldom or never" category. With extreme sizes eliminated, we have the three most common photo sizes to think about. According to online photo labs, the following minimum resolutions are adequate to create high quality prints:
4 x 6": 640 x 480 pixels (0.3 mega pixels) 5 x 7": 1024 x 768 pixels (0.8 mega pixels) 8 x 10": 1536 x 1024 pixels (1.6 mega pixels)
I have found from my own experience that my 3 megapixel camera is the minimum that I would want for an 8 x 10" print. Any less will start to show pixilation upon close inspection. Through trial and error, I would suggest doubling the above megapixel recommendations when considering a camera. This tutorial has shown that if we only want 4 x 6" prints, then 0.6 megapixels are plenty. Most digital cameras start at 2 mega pixels, which is adequate to generate quality prints up to 5 x 7".
Once you know how many mega pixels are required for your photo needs, you can move on to mastering the other features of your camera and be another step closer to producing the highest quality images possible.
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