Mega pixels and resolutions, is the most confusing one for most people, and "Mega Pixels" of a camera is the most over hyped by the digital camera makers!

With the advancement of digital cameras, the mega pixels (MP) count took off like a rocket especially in the compact point and shoot types; these range from 5 to 10 MP or more. Most consumers and novice digital photographers think falsely that it is the amount of mega pixels that truly count. Not necessarily so! It is the resolution that is more important and the type and size of the digital sensor chip that actually records the image through the optics (lens). I am not going to get into technical details too much, (Canon explains this very clearly on their site, click on Canon to read the article). It is sufficient to say that you cannot compare a small snapshot type camera, for example a Nikon Coolpix P5000 10.0 mega pixels to a Nikon D70 digital SLR 6.2 mega pixels, even though the P5000 has 65% more mega pixels even if both are using 300 pixel per inch resolution, because they have different sized sensors.

I have owned and tested many compact digital cameras over the years; from Panasonic, Canon, Kodak, Sony to Nikon. Most of the compact digital cameras have only 72 to 180 pixels per inch (ppi) resolution. Only a few, such as Nikon have 300 ppi. If all the factors are the same: lens quality, image sensor size and mega pixels, then if camera A) uses 72 ppi, camera B) uses 150 ppi, camera C) uses 180 ppi and camera D) uses 300 ppi, camera D will have the better photographic image. Of course, not all the cameras have the same lens or image sensors or algorithmic's that process the image inside the chip. With DSLRs this is slightly different. Here you will have 300 ppi, and now the optics and the sensor design effects the quality more. But the real question still remains, "Just how many mega pixels does one need?"

This truly depends on just one thing, the size of your final out put for print media. if you never make any prints, just view your photos on the computer screen or up load to the net to share, you truly do not need much, even a 2 to 3 MB camera would do! You could still make a fairly decent 6x4" print, if you wanted some prints. Some would argue that even 5x7" or an 8x10" print can be made. Certainly a print can be made, but the print quality would be poor, in my eyes. You will understand why I am saying this much better.

From my experience 6 MP is a sufficient point for a compact camera. You truly do need much more in a digital point and shoot type, but do not over look the resolution in which the camera records the images, and the size of the sensor. Try to get one that is at least at 180 ppi, preferable at 300 ppi and the largest sensor in the category. Look up information on the web, one of the best places is Digital Camera Review, just click on the name, the link will take you there. What most people do not realize is the sensor size has technical limitations. While it is possible to squeeze more pixels into the same size, the more you squeeze to get more pixels in, the pixels will lose some quality to hold information. Therefore, you may get more pixel but less in quality. With 6 MP compact you can print an excellent 5x7" size print (300 ppi). Above this, will degrade a bit if the sensor is very tiny and only records at 72 ppi, even if it it records at 300 ppi, it will not be comparable to a 6 MP DSLR type. I would not want to print anything larger than a 8x10", but everybody is different. Of course you can print much larger prints but the quality will suffer more and more as the size increases. The choice ultimately is yours.

On DSLRs, 6.2 MP is the minimum. These days, DSLRs are now in the 8 to 12 MB range and as noted Canon makes one which is 21 MP. The 21 MP is getting into the medium format territory which is a totally different concept in photographic and usage requirement. Perhaps if you are going to do a lot of catwalk photography in the fashion industry it may benefit you or if you do a lot of landscape type of work, but if you need speed you are better off in the 10-12 MP range. However, the 21MP Canon will set you back about $9000+ just for the body alone, and apart from that, there are no real true benefits from all those pixels, unless you print very large prints. Again you will understand this better under print size. DSLRs have a larger sensor, and the larger the sensor size is, the better. DSLR's have more sophisticated image processors than compacts do, not to mention better optics, and that is why I stated earlier that a D70 with only 6.2 MP will take much better and sharper images than a compact P5000 which has 10 MP, thus my point about mega pixels, more is not necessarily any better!

Return to Digital Camera Help