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Buying A Digital Camera
So you've begun your research for buying a digital camera. Congratulations. Here are some quick tips on understanding the megapixel rating used by camera manufacturers. A higher or lower rating will have an impact on the resolution of your images as they appear in print or online and will also impact the price you pay.
Simply put, a pixel is a dot. Grouped with other dots, they make up an image. A megapixel is one million of these dots. A two megapixel sensor will capture an image made up of two million dots. As you can imagine, the more dots you have in your image, the clearer your image will be.
Because the number of dots, or megapixels, in each image affects your quality, you should carefully evaluate how you intend to use your final images.
- Quick snapshots to share in email or on web pages - a camera with one megapixel or less is probably enough for your needs - Web images are usually low resolution. This speeds up the time it takes an e-mail program or Web browser to load the data. One thing to consider, you cannot increase the resolution of low-resolution images. If you want low resolution and high resolution results, choose a different megapixel rating.
- Printing pictures, whether with your printer or at a photo processor, requires a greater number of megapixels. The total megapixel count of your images will impact how big you can print them with good quality (which also depends on the type of printer, paper, and ink you use). Here are some basic guidelines for printing images ranging from 1 to 6 megapixels:
- 1 megapixel = 4" x 6"
- 2 megapixels = 5" x 7"
- 3 megapixels = 8" x 10"
- 4 megapixels = 11" x 14"
- 5 megapixels = 12" x 16"
- 6 megapixels = 16" x 20
- Print applications such as brochures, catalogs, or leaflets, require high resolution images. If you intend to regularly use your camera for print, such as for a home-based business, view the camera as an investment and purchase a camera with a high number of megapixels. This allows you the greatest flexibility in meeting online and offline needs.