Learn Digital Photography .. How Many Megapixels Do We Need?
Are you having megapixel envy each time you walk by the camera section of your favorite electronics store? So do I. But, do we really need more and more pixels? The answer depends on what we intend to do with the images. First, a quick definition of megapixel:
Megapixel is a technical term for "million pixels", where a single pixel is the smallest unit of color that a camera's sensor is able to capture. The more pixels in the sensor, the sharper the image a camera can reproduce. Note that some camera specifications abbreviate megapixel as "MP".
So how exactly do we know how many pixels we need from our camera? The first step is to have in mind what your intent is for your images. This is important when the purpose for the images require a high resolution digital photo. Photos for only the computer screen need only a low resolution image, making any camera adequate if that is your only need from your photos. High resolution photos are most frequently needed for printing or developing pictures. Using this example, lets use the goal of printing photos to address our question about megapixels.
Now we need to decide on the largest print size we would like of our photo. Although pictures can be printed into poster-size images, the expense comes bigger also. Since most of us will not be using this size, we will consider poster prints a rarity. Since we have eliminated posters, next we find the three most common photo sizes to choose from. Online photo labs have specified that the following minimum resolutions are enough to generate high quality prints:
4 x 6": 640 x 480 pixels (0.3 megapixels) 5 x 7": 1024 x 768 pixels (0.8 megapixels) 8 x 10": 1536 x 1024 pixels (1.6 megapixels)
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 megapixels, which is adequate to generate quality prints up to 5 x 7".
Once you know the minimum megapixels required for your image needs, you can move forward to other aspects of your camera in order to be prepared to capture whatever moment comes your way.
