Is a 6 megapixel camera good enough to produce photos about 3m in height?

Question

If not, how many megapixels should I go for?

Answer 1

If you want to print photos close to 10 feet high, 6mp isn't going to give you a clear pic.

6mp is about 3000x2000 pixels.
3 meters is about 117 inches.
3000 divided by 17 = 25.6 pixels per inch.

Printers need 200 - 300 ppi for clear prints. You would be short by a factor of 10.

Your big print would be very fuzzy.

I think prints that big need to be made with pro film cameras. No digital has enough megapixels (yet).

Contact the facility that would print something that big, and ask what input they require.

Good Luck

Answer 2

It depends on the quality of the image sensor in the camera. I've read that a high-quality, digital SLR camera that only captures five megapixels can usually take superior images compared to cheaper, consumer point-and-shoot cameras with significantly higher resolution. 3 meters is quite large, however, so no matter what camera you use, you're likely to see some pixelation, but it all depends on how much this bothers you. Standing a few feet away or more, you may not notice. Bottomline: The quantity of megapixels is less important than the quality. This sums it up nicely:

"The chip on the left is a 2/3" CCD that's used on cameras like the Canon PowerShot Pro1, Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200, and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F828 (to name just a few). Many cameras use even smaller 1/1.8" CCDs, some of which are 8 Megapixel. In general, the more pixels there are on a sensor, the higher the pixel density. The higher the pixel density, the noisier images will be, especially at higher ISOs (quite often purple fringing is worse, as well)."

From DC Resource

Answer 3

It all comes down to the viewing distance. If it's to wallpaper your room, the image might be unacceptably soft. If it's done poorly (a lot of large prints on canvas are), looking at it can even make you feel dizzy or give you a headache. If it's for a bill board that's viewed from 30 meters away however, no problem!
I have a 10 megapixel Nikon D200 and I love it, but even that would be a terrible tool for the job. If you absolutely, positively require huge prints, get a medium or large format film camera.

Answer 4

6 meg does a 13 inch x 19 inch (Super B3) print very well and can do a very respectfull 16 inch by 24 inch. IF you shoow RAW you might be able to squuze a 20 inch by 30 inch (but might be a hair soft). I would recommend for a 20x30 an 8 meg camera, 24x36 a ten meg camera, 30x40 or 36x48 (3m x 4m) a 12 meg.

Thats not to say you can print bigger from and 6, 8, 10 meg camera they just start to get soft and pixeleated if when you start to stech the limits

Answer 5

go with a really high megapixel like ten or 12 because 3 meters will need a high res. Unless you dont care if it is a bit blurry.

Answer 6

It all depends on what ur doing. If ur going to take pics and just use for emails than you can go with a 3 or 4megapixel. But if ur going to print them out on a printer or make photos 8x10 or larger go with a seven or eight.