Megapixel (Mp) – how important is it for good photos?
Mp is a good example of a term that has been dominating in digital camera adverts the last years. Each photo is made of a lot of (millions) pixels. The more pixels the more details the photo contains.
Note that the pixels in a digital compact camera are much smaller compared to the pixels in a digital SLR. This is due to the much smaller sensor in the compacts. This smaller pixels result in more noise. Therefore you should not be too concerned about the number pixels alone. Number of Mp says something about the amount of information the camera sensor is able to collect. The number of pixels is almost only of interest in the case you are planning to print your photos. If you only intend to show your pictures on screen on a computer or LCD-TV all of today’s available digitals cameras will do. So, how many megapixels do you need? Actually most of the cameras on the market today have a more than enough Mp. Nowadays it is difficult to get a new camera with less than 8-10 Mp and that will do for most photographers. You should pay more attention at the quality of the optics. The glass the lens is made of is a more important concern than the number of Mp when you decide on your camera.
Another very important factor is how the camera software handles and processes the signal. Some manufacturers are better on doing this with the result of sharper and more vivid color pictures. Fujifilm are known for making cameras with little digital noise. Photos for print or screen? If you primarily are going to view the photos on a computer screen or LCD TV, a 2-3 Mp camera will do. If you have a new HD television which have the best possible resolution today this TV will have a resolution of 1920×1080 corresponding to approximately 2,1 Mp Since I started shooting digitally actually most of my pictures are seen either on the computer or the LCD (TV) as slideshows. Only a very few (the ones I am most happy with) is printed and framed. If you are going to print on an inkjet printer at home or a print shop, an 8 Mp camera will print photos at max 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm) with high quality (300ppi). With an inkjet printer you will get good quality (200 ppi) prints at a size of 12 x 16" (30 x 40 cm) – A3 size, with the same 8 Mp file.
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