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:
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 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.
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