More pixels = better 6x4 printed photo, yay or nay??

Question

On photobox.co.uk it says a 2 megapixel picture would be sufficient for a basic 6x4 photo to be printed by them, so say when I get my new 5mg camera at the weekend would there be a big difference between taking photos at full size or can I downsize to save space on the memory card but still get the same quality on the end product?
Thank

Answer 1

A 2 MP image will produce a 6x4 print with 300 dpi resolution, which is the "Gold Standard" for excellent prints. That's 1800 pixels by 1200 pixels. If you KNOW that you will absolutely not want to crop your images, then shooting at a lower resolution would be quite satisfactory. I would NOT shoot at a higher compression (lower quality) rate, though. This can lead to some real disappointments.

If you want to save space, consider using a 3 MP image (approx 2000x1500 pixels). The full frame will give an excellent 5x7 print and it will give you a little leeway for future cropping to 4x6. This will about double the storage capacity to your card. For instance, on a 256 MB card, you could hold about 95 "best quality" 5 MP images and about 240 "best quality" 3 MP images.

Answer 2

this is a great photograph! when making color effects like this, I believe the colors should be related to the importance of the subject. I feel you should ask yourself "what is the purpose that only RED objects are in color?" Do you want your viewers to concentrate on the red objects such as the hats, and the man's face in the foreground, or do you want them to see the strike as an significant movement? right now, the coloring is showing me that the stuff you want me to notice are any objects that are red. Personally, I would have liked to see the original photograph that is completely in color (you never want to do these effects on your camera, always make alterations in an editing program. That way, you'll always have an original that you can always manipulate with more options). The picture in full color will give off a more "professional photo journalism"-vibe. Also, I would like to suggest you consider making another version of this photo in (entirely) black and white. And don't go overboard with high amounts of contrast

Answer 3

more pixels is always better,

try it out to see if the other settings are any better to you
personally I use a 3 mp for picts, and think they look fine.

Answer 4

down size to save space
unless if you want to crop the pictures