The Truth About Pixels - Part I: Digital Cameras

Most digital cameras today boast of greater resolution and picture quality. What does that mean to the amateur or occasional photographer? You hear of cameras with 3 megapixals up to 6 or 7 megapixals. What is that? The book that comes with the camera explains all the buttons, bells and whistles, but does not explain megapixels. Most people do not like to work with numbers much, but it is necessary to understand pixels. So here's my attempt to explain pixels. I'll try not to involve too many numbers.

To understand pixels, one must first remember the good old days when you took pictures on film and let the development labs worry about pixels. But, they didn't really have to, because the exposed negative just captured the image that was reflected through the lens. It was all there and the only thing that affected quality was the size of the negative. The bigger the negative was, the larger the picture that could be produced. When the world went digital, the pixel was invented. So what is a pixel? If you divided a picture in hundreds of horizontal and vertical lines, you would actually have a large number of little squares that when put together, created the picture. Each square is a pixel. So, when a digital camera says it has 1-megapixel capabilities, it means that the total number of horizontal and vertical squares produced when a picture is taken equals 1 megapixel (1,000,000 pixels).

A 3 megapixel camera produces a picture that has 3 million pixels in its makeup. If all the pictures were the same size in each camera, it would be easy to understand why a camera that produces more pixels would be a better quality camera. Here is where the camera makers are not forthcoming with information. What they don't tell you is that as far as I can tell, every digital camera produces pictures that have 72 pixels per inch per picture both horizontal and vertical. The only difference is that a 3 megapixel camera produces a larger picture than a 1 megapixel camera and a 5 megapixel camera produces an even larger picture yet. The reason I say "as far as I can tell" is that I have not tried all cameras or studied the information on all cameras. There may be some out there different, but they probably are not in the amateur photographer's price range.

Conclusion: For video uses only, your camera purchase decision should be based on features other than the number of pixels.

Wayne Rockwell is a professional videographer at Legacy Pictures to Video and specializes in Video Montage creation and Photo Retouching.

---

Birthday Party Photo Tips ? How to Make Yours Truly Stand Out

How many of the birthday party pictures you've seen are... Read More

Digital Camera Memory Cards

A digital camera accessory you should purchase is a spare... Read More

Using a Camcorder to Record Family Events Quickly and Easily

Let's start there (but not spend too much time on... Read More

How to Buy Wholesale Disposable Cameras

Wholesale disposable cameras are disposable cameras bought in quantity. Bulk... Read More

A Guide to Disposable Digital Cameras

Disposable Cameras (also called single-use cameras) first came on the... Read More

Digital Camera Metering

Looking at the most intricate details of the digital camera... Read More

The Well-Dressed Photographer - Summer

Outdoor photographers shoot year round. That includes the hot summer.... Read More

Digicam File Formats

Looking at the digital camera, a person can visualize it... Read More

How To Reduce Red Eye The Easy Way With Any Pro Or Point & Shot Camera

There is one simple technique any body can do to... Read More

Photography - Things to Consider Before Buying a Camera

Before you are able to take the kind of photos... Read More

Kodak CX7300 Digital Camera

Quality digital cameras are becoming affordable for just about everyone... Read More

Tips for Taking Better Vacation Photos

Photos are a great way to share your travel experiences... Read More

Pinhole Photography: Right Back to Basics

Why Pinhole Photography?It's fun. It's creative. It's educative about the... Read More

Optimize Your Photos for the Web

It doesn't matter if your emailing photos of your grandson... Read More

Tips for Purchasing a Digital Camera Lens

Your lens is an essential element to good photographs. It's... Read More

Start a Photography Business from Home

Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills... Read More

The Advantages of Underwater Camera Housing

You will need an underwater camera housing to keep your... Read More

Move Up to the World of the Digital SLR Camera

A digital SLR camera or a single lens reflex (SLR)... Read More

The Arizona Desert Museum

The vast beauty and richness of the desert can be... Read More

Start Up a Nude Photography Business

There are major obstacles to overcome to get into nude... Read More

Better Photos with Your Digital Camera

Everyone has a digital camera today and we all take... Read More

Canadas Digital Cameras, Digital Camcorders and Cheap Memory Cards Canada

Digital SLR Camera or Digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is... Read More

Infrared Photography and Big City Crime

One of the major problems of the larger cities of... Read More

Why 1.5 Megapixels is Enough

Dots Per Inch is a useful measure of relative resolution.... Read More

Taking Panoramic Landscapes - The Easy Solution

I love panoramas. There's something very appealing about their shape.... Read More

Getting The Right Digital Camera For You

There are really great advantages in digital photography:You can shoot... Read More

The Primer on Digital Camera Printers

Once you have clicked photos through your digital camera, then... Read More

Market Your Photography Business

Setting up your own photography business it easy, you don't... Read More

Imperfect Photos And How You Can Fix Them

So your picture came out less then perfect. Blemishes or... Read More

Where Do Great Ideas Come From?

At a Photo Club meeting I attended recently, the President... Read More

Digital Camera Auto Exposure and Auto Focus

The digital camera being a fantastic and technologically advanced device... Read More

Is your Digital Camera Compatible With Your Computer?

So you recently bought a digital camera or perhaps your... Read More

Help! My Old Colour Photo has Turned Pink ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

Almost all of us will have seen this particular photographic... Read More