What is a megapixel?

Pixels Digital cameras capture images as pixel elements, known as pixels. Simply put, a megapixel is equal to one million pixels.

Digital images are made up of thousands of these tiny, tile-like picture elements. The more pixels, the higher the image resolution.

Resolution relates primarily to print size and the amount of detail an image has when viewed on a computer monitor at 100%.

Elements of picture quality

The number of megapixels is only one aspect relating to the quality of a camera, or the actual quality of a photo it is capable of producing. Factors such as camera sensor and the optical quality of a lens play equally important roles.

Besides the sensor and lens, other elements determine the quality of photos and prints. They include:

Good lighting of a subject
Proper focus
Image clarity (lack of blur due to camera shake or incorrect shutter speed)
Shooting at the highest resolution and quality camera setting

Photo was taken with a 1.4 megapixel camera. The resolution is more than adequate for printing a 4x6" print. Click to enlarge.

Photo was taken with a 1.4 megapixel camera. The resolution is suitable for a 4x6" print. Click to enlarge.

If you buy a digital camera with too few megapixels for your printing and editing needs, resulting prints will become degraded. A photo made into a large sized print from a camera with a low megapixel count will look fuzzy, or pixelated. So will a digital image that is cropped too much.

Viewing images at 100%

A mistake many people make it judging the quality of an image when viewing it at 100% on a computer monitor. The image will not appear tack sharp. However, when reduced in size for displaying online or printing, a quality image will look just fine.

Determining the number of megapixels

Deciding the number of megapixels you need does not have to be confusing. Don’t let a salesperson push you to buy a digital camera simply because of its high megapixel count. Besides, buying a camera with an average megapixel count can save you money.

Before purchasing, keep the following in mind:

the maximum print size you plan to make
if you do a significant amount of cropping when editing

Minimum megapixels for quality prints:*

Max Print Size	Minimum MP	Resolution
4 x 6″	2 megapixels	1600 x 1200
5 x 7″	3 megapixels	2048 x 1536
8 x1 0″	5 megapixels	2560 x 1920
11 x 14″	6 megapixels	2816 x 2112
16 x 20″	8+ megapixels	3264 x 2468

* Unless you buy a used digital camera, it’s near impossible to find one today with a megapixel count of under five or six megapixels.

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Article tags

Pixels, Print size

On 11 May 2009 at 3:03 pm Elizabeth Sloan said:

I am new at using a computer, and only bought it for the purpose of printing pictures to put on Tshirts. However the cd which came with my camera is suppose to fit any standard pc cd rom drive. It does not. It slides out and the door opens back up. Therefore preventing me from down loading. can you please help?

On 11 May 2009 at 4:24 pm Gail Bjork said:

If other CDs work in your CD slot, then you can assume it’s not a hardware issue.

Is the CD software it compatible with your Operating System? If not, go to the manufactures website and see if you can download a compatible version of the software there. If that doesn’t work, call the camera manufacturer tech support and ask what they recommend. If you’d like to give us more specifics (camera brand, computer brand, OS) we may be able to provide more help. However, please make inquiries of this type in our Q&A Forum. Hope it all works out!

On 15 May 2009 at 10:37 am Discontent with Digital Cameras | LEHSYS said:

[...] interest in the camera products, but honestly I can’t see why anyone needs anything over 10 MP. If you get a proper zoom lens, you don’t need the [...]

On 20 June 2009 at 2:58 am Adnan said:

so which factor should we consider in buying a digital camera for home use. first thing written above that no. of megapixel should be considered but not only this. then what are the another things.

On 20 June 2009 at 6:50 am Gail Bjork said:

Adam, Take a look at the features section in our Buying Guide. It lists minimum features and desirable features for both compact and digital single lens reflex cameras. You’ll find our Choosing a digital camera chart helpful too. We feature cameras and informative user reviews in our Amazon Shop.

On 18 August 2009 at 8:08 am Julie said:

My question is that I am a beginner in taking pictures but want a camera that when I zoom in doesn’t get grainy. Ex: if I take a picture of mountains and want to zoom in on a certain part of that mountains I will zoom in and take but when I get it home and put onto computer to print it’s grainy. I want to zoom into something and take the picture and it come out perfect on computer as if I was still there. They say that the higher the pixel is not necessary is this true? I have looked online at ones that have 15.1 MP, 12.9MP and 13.1MP. Any advise as to which one knowing that I am a beginner in photography?

On 18 August 2009 at 9:39 am Gail Bjork said:

Elizabeth, without seeing sample images, my guess is that you may be using a digital zoom. That will cause images to degrade. Does your camera have both optical and digital zoom? If so, you should primarily use your optical zoom. One of the first things I do when getting a new camera, is shut off the digital zoom setting. If you’re in the market for a new camera, you may also want to consider getting one with a longer focal length so you can get in closer to the subject or a distant scene.

On 11 October 2009 at 9:46 pm What do CMOS and CCD mean? | Information on Communication Devices said:

[...] is the relationship between megapixels and an image [...]

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