What Is a Megapixel Camera?
A megapixel camera is a digital camera that uses megapixel technology, which produces high-resolution still photographs. A megapixel refers to the amount of pixels, or dots, captured in each picture. As of the date of publication in spring 2011, most consumer point-and-shoot digital cameras contain 12 to 16MP or megapixels of resolution, while some professional style digital single lens reflex or DSLR cameras contain over 20MP.
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What Is a Megapixel?
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A megapixel equals approximately one million pixels, meaning images taken by a 12MP digital camera at its highest setting will contain roughly 12 million pixels. A camera's megapixel capacity is figured by multiplying the numbers that make up the resolution specifications of the camera's highest setting. For instance, a digital camera with a 3,456 by 2,304 maximum resolution setting multiplies out to 7,962,264 pixels or, when rounded up, 8MP. This means that when you use the camera's lower settings, lower MPs come into play.
Amount of Megapixels
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With so many options, it can be difficult deciding how many MPs are enough. As a rule, if you plan on producing small prints of your photos or viewing them on a computer, a smaller amount of MPs is sufficient. However, if you are producing larger prints, such as an 8-by-10, more MPs are the way to go. For a standard 4-by-6 inch print, a 1.3MP camera setting will suffice, while a 2MP setting is good enough for printing 5-by-7 inch prints. For a quality 8-by-10 print, you'll need at least a 5MP setting.
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When More Is Better
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Many image editing techniques, such as cropping, stamping and blurring, affect the amount of pixels contained in a digital image. For instance, cropping a digital image just a small amount on all sides will drastically reduce the amount of pixels, which translates to a lower image resolution. This is why it's better to use a camera with higher MP capability, especially if you plan to edit the image. A higher MP camera provides so many pixels that losing some during the editing process will not affect the quality of the image.
When More Is Not Better
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As camera manufacturers continue increasing the amount of MPs on their products, it's important to understand when enough is enough. Added MPs simply means there are more pixels being crammed into a digital image, which guarantees larger files, but not higher quality photos. There's also no guarantee that the added pixels are sharp enough to make a noticeable difference. In fact, some higher-MP images may not print very well at larger sizes because the added pixels are not high-quality pixels. Once the 4MP level is passed, resolution is less important than optical quality features such as ISO and light settings.
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References
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