megapixels in a digital camera?

Question

I want to get a digital camera what would be the best megapixals for a good picture?

Answer 1

the higher the better i think the best on the market has 10.2megapixels

its the nikon d200
available from www.crutchfield.com

Answer 2

Five megapixels is the maximum amount you will reasonably notice any difference with a standard size shot. Truthfully, I would get good shots (alot better than I ever got with film) a few years ago when I was only using a 3 megapixel camera. Today, I use a 10 megapixel and the photos are about the same, until I start blowing them up. The 3 megapixels look like crap after I blow them up just a little bit. But the 10 megapixels still look phenomenal after I have really blown them up quite a bit. Note that any form of digital zoom merely blows the picture up to make it look magnified. If you are going to use digital zoom, you need alot of megapixels. Optical zoom, doesn't have this problem.

Answer 3

I think a lot of people already said the obvious things...

3,4 or 5 Meg are ideal for daily use - even a 2 meg is OK.

But you need to consider more importantly:

a) What are you going to print them on if anything? No point paying out for high quailty camera if you have poor quality printer / paper.

b) Are you going to do any manipulation of the images before priniting- i.e. blowing them up or zooming in and just printing a certain area? If yes then the higher meg the better

c) Not just the megapixels but consider the zoom on the camera - generally digital zoom means nothing don't bother with it - but the higher optical zoom the better. Also consider the memory capability and battery life.

Answer 4

At least 5. HP makes an 8 megapixel for about $308. I saw a camera that takes 10 megapixels, it's clearer than real life, and my photographer has a 24 megapixel!. Average these days is 5 or 6. I've taken great picts in the old days with a 2 megapixel. Depends on how big you want to blow it up.

Answer 5

This question came up when film cameras were big! The larger the format (neg size) the better the resolution. However; at some point, you are just wasting your money. Same applies here. 4-7 megapixels should be more than enough for the average person, unless you plan printing wall murals. Stick with name brands like Nikon, Canon, Kodak, Sony, Olympus. Digital Cameras are like PCs, next year they are cheaper and better!

Answer 6

As others have said, there are a lot of considerations besides megapixels in choosing a camera. I recommend the site dpreview.com, which has really helpful reviews of many cameras.

As far as megapixels are concerned, high megapixels are mainly useful if you are making large prints, or if you are cropping your images. I like to have enough megapixels so that I can crop to a detail if I want to -- this is like having a longer telephoto. See the chart at rightreading.com, sited below, for information about how many megapixels you will need to print at various sizes.

Answer 7

it depends like if you want to be able to do blow ups of your pictures or just keep them at the size you take them..if you want to do 8 x 10 you probably would need a 5 megapixel camera but if not, you can go with a smaller megapixel You dont need a 10 megapixal camera unless you are planning on doing huge blow ups

Look at www.pricegrabber.com they have consumer reviews and professional reviews and specs..I picked out my digital camera by looking there

Answer 8

The difference that megapixels make are in the size of the biggest pictures you want.

Anything from 3 megapixels will print good 6 x 4 prints.

4 or 5 megapixels will give you a good A4 print.

6 to 8 megapixels will give you a good A3 print.

Answer 9

basically it's the number of pixels (in thousands) in an image, so the more the better. For a digital camera that's equivalent to the better 35mm film cameras I'd go for something with at least 5-6 megapixels. If you're really interested in zooming into them, or want something mroe than wedding and holiday snaps, then go higher (and pay more)

Answer 10

If you are to view on the monitor screen, it hardly matters, but if you are to have prints, then it depends on size of print. If you are going to have the usual 6"x4" prints, save money on pixels, as there is no advantage to bigger resolutions than 2m. 5 mega-pixels will give a resolution appropriate to A4 size prints.

Better to go for a camera that you can get on with, and has the facilities that you will use, so give some thought to what you want the camera to be able to do. If you don't know, then do some homework to find out what they are capable of, and make up your mind what would suit you.

If I may make a suggestion, I have a Sony Cybershot; they make quite a few in the range. I fell in love with mine in the shop, and I still love it two years later. I showed it to a chap at work, and he went straight out and bought one!

Answer 11

if it's for ordinary pictures between 3 or 4 megapixals would do and wouldn't cost an arm or a leg to buy one. anything in the 10 megapixels region in my opinion is really for the professional photographers. who want absolute top quality images above anything else. and are prepared to pay megabucks for it.