Understanding pixel and Mega pixels this first step in buying a digital camera. When looking to buy a digital camera you will need to make a decision about 'Mega pixels'. This term is plastered all over every camera ad and is the least understood element in buying a digital camera. There is a lot of confusing information about Mega pixels in digital camera buyers ads. Here is what you really need to know. There are different quality pixels depending on what price range a camera falls into. Quality of pixels is more important than quantity of pixels.
That being said lets talk about what a pixel is, and how they work. Digital pictures are made up of lots of little dots called pixels. If the pixel quality in the image sensor of the cameras are the same, the more pixels, the sharper the picture. Camera manufacturers advertise the number of pixels using the term, Mega pixels. One million pixels = 1 Mega pixel, Two million pixels = 2 Mega pixels and so on. Most stores carry cameras ranging from 1 - 11 Mega pixels. So you may think the best thing is to buy the camera with the most Mega pixels for your budget.
Now that is the obvious way and probably not a bad approach. But keep in mind some of your better brand cameras have higher quality image sensors and therefore they produce sharper photographs using fewer Mega pixels. You may not need a lot of Mega pixels to really enjoy your camera and get great looking pictures. Not to mention that the rest of the camera is of a higher quality of construction also. This is especially evident if you stay with established name brands like Canon and Nikon.
If I were just curious, it would be very hard to say to someone, “I want to come to your house and have you talk to me and tell me the story of your life.” I mean people are going to say, “You’re crazy.” Plus they’re going to keep mighty guarded. But the camera is a kind of license. A lot of people, they want to be paid that much attention and that’s a reasonable kind of attention to be paid.
—Diane Arbus (1923–1971)
Professional Photographers use these for good reason. Dependability, durability, and image quality. So if you are torn between a 6 or 8 Mega pixel Canon Digital Camera and a lesser brand 10 or 11 Mega pixel digital camera, I suggest you stay with the Canon. Your pictures will be just as good and your camera will be far more dependable.
So how many Mega pixels are enough? If you're planning on viewing your images on a computer screen (for example, in emails ,on websites, or in online photo albums) you won't notice a difference between a 2 Mega pixel digital image and one that has 4 or 5 Mega pixels. Your typical computer monitor can't display all the detail that a 4 or 5 Mega pixel picture contains. The images are too big and they need to be published at a lower resolution for the web, example a resolution of only 72 is best for the web while a resolution of 300 is better for printing. If you want to print enlargements. Images taken with higher Mega pixel digital cameras (4, 5 and 6 for example) contain more information.
These images can be printed in larger sizes before they start looking bad ( they start showing digital noise, as the pixels appear to be breaking up). If you're a casual user who wants to email some pictures to friends and family and print some 4x6 inch prints a 2 Mega pixel camera will be fine. If you want professional quality images and have a real need for the sharpest prints available you'll want to go for as many Mega pixels as the budget allows. As you move up the Mega pixel chain you will get more than just more pixels. The cameras will have more features and the ability to use manual controls. You will also have the advantage of having interchangeable lenses, which will greatly improve your ability to shoot more creative photographs.
What then is the difference between film and theatre? Or should one not rather ask: what are the differences? Let us be content with the reply that the screen has two dimensions and the stage three, that the screen presents photographs and the stage living actors. All the subtler differences stem from these. The camera can show us all sorts of things—from close-ups of insects to panoramas of prairies—which the stage cannot even suggest, and it can move from one to another with much more dexterity than any conceivable stage. The stage, on the other hand, can be revealed in the unsurpassable beauty of three-dimensional shapes, and the stage actor establishes between himself and his audience a contact real as electricity.
—Eric Bentley (b. 1916)
You'll also be able to print much bigger enlargements of your favorite photos. There's more to a good digital camera than Mega pixels. Good lenses, image sensors will play an important part in your image quality. So be sure to stay with established brands like, Canon, Olympus, Fuji, Nikon, and Kodak, for example, when buying a digital camera. One more tip. So when should you care about higher Mega pixel cameras?.