The Megapixel Myth
Try to buy a digital camera nowadays and you're bombarded with megapixels.
Digital cameras now come in a wide range, starting at 6 (5 if you find an old one) and go all the way up to 12! (Before you jump on me, I'm referring to consumer-class cameras, not pro models, which can, and do, go much higher) So, what size do you need? Obviously, a 6 megapixel (or MP) camera is going to be much less expensive than a 12MP one, but what are you sacrificing? To be honest, if you're a regular, everyday-type photographer, not much.
The Basics A megapixel refers to 1 million pixels.
A pixel (short for "picture element") is, for simplicities sake, a dot than when put together with other dots, make up an image.
The more 'dots' you have, the clearer, sharper, and more colorful the image will be.
With that, you're probably asking yourself why I wrote an article about this.
More is better, right? Not necessarily.
The Final Destination The first thing you need to ask yourself is: what am I going to do with these photos? Am I going to print them? If so, what size? Am I just going to make 4x6 snapshots or do I want to blow them up to poster size to hang on the wall? Am I just going email them or post them on a web page? The reason that this is important is because the amount of megapixels only matters when the photo is printed.
Looking at the photo on a monitor, the resolution is always the same, no matter what monitor you're looking at.
When you print, the amount of megapixels contained in the photo comes into play because it dictates how large of an image you can print.
The less megapixels you have the smaller the image needs to be to not look blocky or fuzzy.
However, at "standard" photograph sizes, you don't need a huge amount of megapixels to print crisp, clear photos.
It breaks down like this: Megapixels Print Size (no larger than) 3 6.
82" x 5.
12" 4 8.
21" x 5.
44" 6 10.
02" x 6.
67" 8 10.
88" x 8.
16" 10 12.
91" x 8.
64" 12 14.
30" x 9.
34" As you can see, a 3 megapixel camera will produce a full 4x6 film-quality print.
Jump up to 8MP and you can produce 8x10s! I don't know about you, but I think I've printed one 8x10 my entire life.
The majority of my photo prints are in the 4x6 to 5x7 range, which even the lowest-end digital camera will have no problem printing.
The other thing to consider is that the more megapixels an image contains, the larger the file becomes.
A digital photo is, at its core, a digital file, just like one you would create in Word.
As you add megapixels, the size of the digital file increases.
The typical file size for an 8MP image is over 8 megabytes! If you're planning on email photos or putting them up on a website, you will have to make the files smaller before sending.
Again, a photo with a dimension of 800x600 on a computer screen looks exactly the same whether it was shot with a 12MP, 8MP, or even a 3MP camera.
The Bottom Line Don't get lured into the megapixel trap and think that you need to have the highest amount available.
Think about what you want to do with your photos and find the sweet spot.
I can almost guarantee that a camera in the 6-to-8 megapixel range will fit your exact needs and give you many great pictures for years to come.
Digital cameras now come in a wide range, starting at 6 (5 if you find an old one) and go all the way up to 12! (Before you jump on me, I'm referring to consumer-class cameras, not pro models, which can, and do, go much higher) So, what size do you need? Obviously, a 6 megapixel (or MP) camera is going to be much less expensive than a 12MP one, but what are you sacrificing? To be honest, if you're a regular, everyday-type photographer, not much.
The Basics A megapixel refers to 1 million pixels.
A pixel (short for "picture element") is, for simplicities sake, a dot than when put together with other dots, make up an image.
The more 'dots' you have, the clearer, sharper, and more colorful the image will be.
With that, you're probably asking yourself why I wrote an article about this.
More is better, right? Not necessarily.
The Final Destination The first thing you need to ask yourself is: what am I going to do with these photos? Am I going to print them? If so, what size? Am I just going to make 4x6 snapshots or do I want to blow them up to poster size to hang on the wall? Am I just going email them or post them on a web page? The reason that this is important is because the amount of megapixels only matters when the photo is printed.
Looking at the photo on a monitor, the resolution is always the same, no matter what monitor you're looking at.
When you print, the amount of megapixels contained in the photo comes into play because it dictates how large of an image you can print.
The less megapixels you have the smaller the image needs to be to not look blocky or fuzzy.
However, at "standard" photograph sizes, you don't need a huge amount of megapixels to print crisp, clear photos.
It breaks down like this: Megapixels Print Size (no larger than) 3 6.
82" x 5.
12" 4 8.
21" x 5.
44" 6 10.
02" x 6.
67" 8 10.
88" x 8.
16" 10 12.
91" x 8.
64" 12 14.
30" x 9.
34" As you can see, a 3 megapixel camera will produce a full 4x6 film-quality print.
Jump up to 8MP and you can produce 8x10s! I don't know about you, but I think I've printed one 8x10 my entire life.
The majority of my photo prints are in the 4x6 to 5x7 range, which even the lowest-end digital camera will have no problem printing.
The other thing to consider is that the more megapixels an image contains, the larger the file becomes.
A digital photo is, at its core, a digital file, just like one you would create in Word.
As you add megapixels, the size of the digital file increases.
The typical file size for an 8MP image is over 8 megabytes! If you're planning on email photos or putting them up on a website, you will have to make the files smaller before sending.
Again, a photo with a dimension of 800x600 on a computer screen looks exactly the same whether it was shot with a 12MP, 8MP, or even a 3MP camera.
The Bottom Line Don't get lured into the megapixel trap and think that you need to have the highest amount available.
Think about what you want to do with your photos and find the sweet spot.
I can almost guarantee that a camera in the 6-to-8 megapixel range will fit your exact needs and give you many great pictures for years to come.
