Are you thinking of buying a new digital camera? Are you confused by all
the choices in camera resolution? Is the megapixel rating the most
important factor you should consider in buying a digital camera? How
many megapixels are enough? Is there such a thing as too many
megapixels? How do megapixels and digital camera resolution compare to
film camera resolution?
To put it simply, resolution is the
amount of detail that your digital camera records of an image. A digital
image is made up of pixels. For digital cameras, the number of pixels
is measured just like your computer monitor. As digital camera
resolutions have gotten higher, w will e now multiply the horizontal and
vertical values for one total value, which is usually rounded out to
the megapixel count. Some of the first digital cameras had resolution of
480 x 640 pixels. This is the same number of pixels in the computer
monitor standard VGA. Multiplying 480 x 640 would end up with a
resolution of about .3 megapixels. This was touted by the digital camera
industry as photo-quality, but it is far from it. Most web cams support
this resolution.
Next up in computer monitor resolution is SVGA or 600 x 800. This works out to about .5 megapixels. Still not there.
Currently,
one of the most popular computer monitor settings is 1024x768. This is
still less than one megapixel, it is also the resolution that we first
saw consumer digital cameras at. This is also a common resolution for
video projectors. The one megapixel digital cameras have a resolution of
1280 by 960. If you were to make a 4 x 6 print from an image this size,
it might compare in quality to that of an old 110 camera, or APS
camera.
When we reach the two megapixel mark, or resolution of
1600 x 1200, you can get a fairly nice print. This gives you a print
size of 4 x 6 at not quite 300 dpi. However, when you make a
photographic print much larger than 4 x 6, you'll be able to see the
individual pixels or notice the lack of detail.
In a digital
photographic print, 300 dots per inch is considered the standard for
small prints. Some photographic printers print at less than 250 dpi.
Some a little bit more than 300 dpi. While there is little bit of leeway
here, digital prints at 300 dpi will appear to have the same detail
that a print made from a 35mm negative would if it were printed
traditionally. This is especially important for smaller print sizes that
will be viewed close-up. As we go to larger print sizes, the distance
the print will be viewed from is also likely to increase. From a farther
distance the eye cannot see the detail, and so the print still looks
good.
A 3 megapixel camera will have a resolution of about 2048 x
1536. It is still far below that of good 35mm negative. It is not till
we reach a little bit over five megapixels that digital starts to
compare to 35mm in detail. A 5.3 megapixel camera has a resolution of
about 3008 x 1960.
A good six megapixel camera can surpass 35mm
quality in detail. This works out to just about 300 dpi in an 8 x 10
print. Since 35mm has been accepted level of quality for so long, this
is the resolution I recommend people start looking at for a digital
camera. The six megapixel camera will provide the same level of quality
(maybe a little bit better) that your old 35mm camera gave you. A 6.3
megapixel camera has a resolution of about 3088 x 2056.
What
about seven and eight megapixel cameras? An eight megapixel camera
approaches the quality of the professional medium format camera. It is
interesting to point out that many of the seven megapixel cameras came
out after the eight megapixel cameras were introduced. It has been
suggested, the reason for this is because the first generation of eight
megapixel point-and-shoot cameras had a problem with noise. This was
caused the small sensors used in digital point-and-shoot cameras. This
problem is largely overcome now, and did not apply to the larger digital
single lens reflexes. While an eight megapixel camera will provide a
little bit extra information in case you want to crop up in a, since few
people ever make a print larger than 8 x 10, much of this extra
information is wasted. I do not recommend that the average person
purchase a digital camera resolution higher than eight megapixels.
Digital
cameras with resolutions of 10 to 13 megapixels are well in the quality
range of good 120mm professional cameras. They create huge file sizes
that require significant computer resources to work with. A 13 megapixel
camera will only get approximately 55 images on a 1 GB memory card in
RAW format. This makes saving and archiving images more expensive and
time-consuming. There are professional digital camera systems with
resolutions of 20,40, and even a hundred megapixels. Only a professional
would have need of images with this high a resolution.
To
summarize, I suggest that almost anybody will be happy with a camera
with a six megapixel resolution. If you're really on a budget you can go
down as low as five megapixels and still have detailed pictures at the
sizes you're most likely to have prints made. If you're an advanced
shooter or hobbyist you'll enjoy the extra room that an eight megapixel
camera will give you. If you're a professional, you need a camera
resolution appropriate to the job at hand.
To put it simply,
resolution is the amount of detail that your digital camera records of
an image. A digital image is made up of pixels. For digital cameras, the
number of pixels is measured just like your computer monitor. As
digital camera resolutions have gotten higher, w will e now multiply the
horizontal and vertical values for one total value, which is usually
rounded out to the megapixel count. Some of the first digital cameras
had resolution of 480 x 640 pixels. This is the same number of pixels in
the computer monitor standard VGA. Multiplying 480 x 640 would end up
with a resolution of about .3 megapixels. This was touted by the digital
camera industry as photo-quality, but it is far from it. Most web cams
support this resolution.
Next up in computer monitor resolution is SVGA or 600 x 800. This works out to about .5 megapixels. Still not there.
Currently,
one of the most popular computer monitor settings is 1024x768. This is
still less than one megapixel, it is also the resolution that we first
saw consumer digital cameras at. This is also a common resolution for
video projectors. The one megapixel digital cameras have a resolution of
1280 by 960. If you were to make a 4 x 6 print from an image this size,
it might compare in quality to that of an old 110 camera, or APS
camera.
When we reach the two megapixel mark, or resolution of
1600 x 1200, you can get a fairly nice print. This gives you a print
size of 4 x 6 at not quite 300 dpi. However, when you make a
photographic print much larger than 4 x 6, you'll be able to see the
individual pixels or notice the lack of detail.
In a digital
photographic print, 300 dots per inch is considered the standard for
small prints. Some photographic printers print at less than 250 dpi.
Some a little bit more than 300 dpi. While there is little bit of leeway
here, digital prints at 300 dpi will appear to have the same detail
that a print made from a 35mm negative would if it were printed
traditionally. This is especially important for smaller print sizes that
will be viewed close-up. As we go to larger print sizes, the distance
the print will be viewed from is also likely to increase. From a farther
distance the eye cannot see the detail, and so the print still looks
good.
A 3 megapixel camera will have a resolution of about 2048 x
1536. It is still far below that of good 35mm negative. It is not till
we reach a little bit over five megapixels that digital starts to
compare to 35mm in detail. A 5.3 megapixel camera has a resolution of
about 3008 x 1960.
A good six megapixel camera can surpass 35mm
quality in detail. This works out to just about 300 dpi in an 8 x 10
print. Since 35mm has been accepted level of quality for so long, this
is the resolution I recommend people start looking at for a digital
camera. The six megapixel camera will provide the same level of quality
(maybe a little bit better) that your old 35mm camera gave you. A 6.3
megapixel camera has a resolution of about 3088 x 2056.
What
about seven and eight megapixel cameras? An eight megapixel camera
approaches the quality of the professional medium format camera. It is
interesting to point out that many of the seven megapixel cameras came
out after the eight megapixel cameras were introduced. It has been
suggested, the reason for this is because the first generation of eight
megapixel point-and-shoot cameras had a problem with noise. This was
caused the small sensors used in digital point-and-shoot cameras. This
problem is largely overcome now, and did not apply to the larger digital
single lens reflexes. While an eight megapixel camera will provide a
little bit extra information in case you want to crop up in a, since few
people ever make a print larger than 8 x 10, much of this extra
information is wasted. I do not recommend that the average person
purchase a digital camera resolution higher than eight megapixels.
Digital
cameras with resolutions of 10 to 13 megapixels are well in the quality
range of good 120mm professional cameras. They create huge file sizes
that require significant computer resources to work with. A 13 megapixel
camera will only get approximately 55 images on a 1 GB memory card in
RAW format. This makes saving and archiving images more expensive and
time-consuming. There are professional digital camera systems with
resolutions of 20,40, and even a hundred megapixels. Only a professional
would have need of images with this high a resolution.
To
summarize, I suggest that almost anybody will be happy with a camera
with a six megapixel resolution. If you're really on a budget you can go
down as low as five megapixels and still have detailed pictures at the
sizes you're most likely to have prints made. If you're an advanced
shooter or hobbyist you'll enjoy the extra room that an eight megapixel
camera will give you. If you're a professional, you need a camera
resolution appropriate to the job at hand.
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