What is a Megapixel?
A megapixel is a number that represents the approximate area resolution of an image. Camera companies will report the highest megapixels (or MP for short) number possible as one of the selling points for a camera. It mostly worked.
Are Megapixels a Major Factor in Photo Quality?
Contrary to popular belief, megapixels are a minor factor in determining the quality of a photo – the camera sensor, the lens and (especially) the skill of the photographer are by far more important factors. As a result, megapixels for cameras are overhyped.
Exasperating the overhype, there are some phone and compact cameras with high MP counts that do not produce. Sometimes, the sensor and lens cannot keep up and will produce a pixilated image. A lower resolution setting would be required to shoot a high quality image with the same camera. Furthermore, higher MP pictures take longer to process. If you need to shoot quickly (such as a sports event), a lower MP setting is a must.
An example of megapixel overhype is the Nokia Lumia 1020. The phone possessed a 41 MP camera, which is higher than expensive professional DSLR cameras like the Canon 1Dx and Nikon D4!
The problem was that the Lumia 1020 took mediocre pictures at the highest resolution and processed them very slowly. However, with lower resolutions, the phone took advantage of the better censor and lens, and produced photos that surpassed the Galaxy S4, iPhone 5s and HTC One in quality. Not surprising, the next phone in the series, the Lumia 1520, cut the maximum resolution to a more reasonable 20 MP.
An example of megapixel overhype is the Nokia Lumia 1020. The phone possessed a 41 MP camera, which is higher than expensive professional DSLR cameras like the Canon 1Dx and Nikon D4!
The problem was that the Lumia 1020 took mediocre pictures at the highest resolution and processed them very slowly. However, with lower resolutions, the phone took advantage of the better censor and lens, and produced photos that surpassed the Galaxy S4, iPhone 5s and HTC One in quality. Not surprising, the next phone in the series, the Lumia 1520, cut the maximum resolution to a more reasonable 20 MP.
When do Megapixels Matter?
Megapixels do matter when it comes to editing or printing large images.
For editing, the reasoning is straightforward. A larger resolution image allows better precision with editing and cuts that can improve the final image.
For printing, an excellent quality print comes at 300 pixels per inch (ppi), or 90,000 pixels per square inch. With that in mind, there is an equation that determine how many pixels you need from a camera in order to get an excellent quality print.
For printing, an excellent quality print comes at 300 pixels per inch (ppi), or 90,000 pixels per square inch. With that in mind, there is an equation that determine how many pixels you need from a camera in order to get an excellent quality print.
Now, let's try a few examples with the equation.
And apologies for throwing mathematics into the post.
And apologies for throwing mathematics into the post.
Example A: Store Prints / Online Poster
This person only buys a camera to print typical 6" by 4" photos that can be picked up at a store. The digital versions of these photos are also small enough to upload on websites with ease at an excellent resolution.Using the equation mentioned above:
All modern cameras have at least 8 MP in resolution. Most camera sensor can handle a 3 MP image with ease. For anyone looking to print typical photos or to share them with people (which is the majority of people who use phone cameras and compact cameras), megapixels are not important.
Example B: Newspaper Cover
A photographer wants to print a picture the size of a newspaper page, which is 11" wide, and 17" to use as potential front cover for a featured story.
Using the equation again.
To take that kind of a picture, one would need a camera that is packing at least 16.9 MP (or rounding up, 17 MP) This is when megapixels matter, as a 14 MP camera cannot match the print quality at this size as an 18 MP camera would.
Provided the censor of the 18 MP camera censor can produce a quality image at max resolution.
Provided the censor of the 18 MP camera censor can produce a quality image at max resolution.
Example C: An Enormous Wall Decoration
A person wants to print an enormous 20" x 30" photo on a wall to fill in blank space on a wall in a home.
We need to use the equation again.
To print an enormous photo at an excellent quality one requires an insanely expensive medium format studio camera, or stitch together several photographs together like a panorama in a photo editor first to keep the quality high.
The person should just use twenty-five 4" x 6" photos or four 11" x 17" photos to decorate the wall. It's just cheaper.
The person should just use twenty-five 4" x 6" photos or four 11" x 17" photos to decorate the wall. It's just cheaper.
Conclusion
Again, megapixels measure the resolution of an image and how large it can become, not the quality of an image.For any person using a camera phone or compact phone to put pictures online or print basic 4x6 pictures, megapixels should not be a major consideration when deciding to purchase a camera.
However, for a person looking to print larger images, or for those who edit images, megapixels are an important consideration.
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