The number of features that come with a digital camera can be overwhelming and knowing what these features really mean can be a task in itself. From ISO to exposure, how do you know what you need? Here we are going to take the guesswork out of knowing how many mega pixels your photography will require. First let's make sure we know what a megapixel actually is:
Megapixel is a fancy term for "million pixels". A single pixel is the smallest unit of color that a camera's sensor is able to capture. The more pixels the sensor can capture the sharper the image the camera can replicate. When comparing cameras, mega pixels can be abbreviated 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 megapixels) 5 x 7": 1024 x 768 pixels (0.8 megapixels) 8 x 10": 1536 x 1024 pixels (1.6 megapixels)
I know from personal experience that my 3 megapixel camera is as low as I want to go for an 8 x 10" print; any less would start showing pixilation at close examination. Based on this experience, I suggest doubling the above megapixel recommendations when buying a camera. This exercise has taught us that if we only want 4 x 6" prints, then 0.6 megapixels are sufficient. Most digital cameras start at 2 megapixels, which is sufficient to produce quality prints up to 5 x 7".
Once you know the minimum mega pixels 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.
About the Author:
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