Another example is the group of ballerinas at the top of this page. I used a megapixel camera, which was the best I had at the time. Log in or register to post comments. Latest Trending Photos Videos. Will U. Does Canon Have the Best Color? A Sony Shooter Here Are 10 Interesting Predictions on What the Are Your Prints Too Dark?
High Falls Waterfall. The Crane. Autumn Fog. Sounding Off. The Landing. Back Yard View. Rainbow in the Clouds. Blue Tail. First Frost. Palm On Palm. Camera manufacturers today -- especially consumer camera manufacturers -- have created sensors that keep growing the megapixel count on each chip year after year, meeting consumers' general expectations for a higher number of 'MP' with every subsequent refresh. But what do these numbers really mean? Do you need all of those pixels?
These are some of the many questions discussed in the full post article. Generally speaking, any application of gear knowledge in the world of photography can be applied to two distinct groups: consumer and professional applications.
If we compare the growth of megapixels between consumer and mainstream professional camera models in the last couple years, we'd see a relatively large growth in the consumer point-and-shoot cameras as opposed to professional, full-body DSLRs.
For the price difference, shouldn't it have at least MP? So what's the difference? Hint: it's not because it's missing a pop-up flash. In order to begin to understand what makes a camera 'good' in this context, we need to understand what a pixel is, and why megapixels do matter. Essentially, a pixel is a single measurement of light in three channels a red, green, and blue channel. The pixel holds the information of the intensity level on a scale of , for colors per channel of each channel at a specific moment in time at the time a photo is taken at that pixel's specific location.
If we were to have one giant pixel, it would be a giant square of any number of millions or billions of colors. With millions of pixels megapixels packed tightly together, we start to form an image think pointillism. With more pixels, we can do one of three things. First, we can crop images. The more pixels we have to work with, the more we can cut out certain portions of an image and still have enough pixels to produce an image large enough to view reasonably.
Similarly, we can also create enlargements from images with greater amounts of pixels. The more pixels, the larger we can show on a screen or print on paper an image. Finally, editing digital photographs degrades the image file with every step. However, if not edited to excess, certain changes won't visibly degrade image quality.
Having a greater number of pixels in an image to begin with can allow for more extreme editing in post without necessarily seeing the effects until enlarging the image further. So, megapixels do matter, but only to an extent. There's only so much that one would ever want to or need to enlarge an image. If you never enlarge anything past 20x20, then at some point, more pixels only take up more space on the memory card. A few extra are nice to have so we can make edits and crop in a bit without any visible degradation, but eventually pixels just waste space -- and we're at the cusp of that point in time.
For an extremely high-quality, 8x10 print, you'd only need an image that's x pixels or just over 7MP. At 21MP, you can take a photo of three faces and create a sharp 8x10 of just one cropping in. But if the average user really only ever uses around 10MP, then why are we building more pixels into the same cameras year after year?
Aside from special applications or the landscape or fashion photography industries , we don't need it. The short answer: because everyone expects it. I've only recently seen an honest effort on Fuji's behalf with the release of the X-Pro1, but more on that later to introduce a new aspect and teach consumers by example of other ways to increase image quality.
First things first: how else do we create sharper, cleaner images? How do we apply a 'quality, not quantity' mindset to imaging technology? One way is by having larger pixels. Similar to the ability of your eye to dilate and increase in size to gather more light in a dark room, the larger the pixel, the greater the ability to capture light.
Therefore, larger pixels lead to better low-light performance or better ISO performance. One way to do this would be to decrease the number of pixels on a single sensor.
However, this is counterintuitive, as the industry has just spent the last fifteen years working toward an affordable high-megapixel count so we can have great enlargements. The other way to make larger pixels is to increase the size of the sensor.
Of course, manufacturers are slightly limited, as compact cameras can only hold so large of a chip. Still, these aren't quite the size of a full-frame the common 35mm film size sensor; but they are fast-approaching. Another way to practice the 'quality, not quantity' ethic is to introduce new sensor technologies.
As touched on earlier, the Fuji X-Pro1 features a new sensor technology that helps overall image quality tremendously. Aside from the X-Pro1, every digital camera has something called an AA filter anti-aliasing filter.
This isn't exactly precise, but for the ease of understanding, the AA filter keeps the sensor from getting tricked by straight lines and patterns i. Fuji found a way around that with a new sensor design, allowing for the first camera in its class without an AA filter, which vastly improves image quality.
For the first time, nothing but air comes between a lens and the sensor. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Rafi Letzter , Tech Insider. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know.
Loading Something is loading. Email address. Deal icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Maybe I will go to a place and it will be the only time in my life. I am talking about client requirements. A popular example in the video world might be if you want to shoot for Netflix, because they market their original content being 4k to their own clients, you need to be shooting at least 4k if you want your show to be on Netflix.
That means that even if you have a classic Arri Alexa, you cannot use it to shoot for them. And yes, it's a marketing reason, not a technical one. Overall this is specific to photography and not video.
That need is different from the video and the article overall. The interesting thing if you specifically require video and 4k is that a 20 megapixel camera is already a 6k camera if using it to create time lapses. You still have cropping possible in post at this resolution and the raw files create the final video from. There are always different needs and that's why some need the additional resolution but most, from their own needs, don't. I took the Netflix example on video because it's a popular one.
If you're shooting for movie posters or large in-store print media, or shooting to create large prints to sell That's usually not the case of most shooters. But it does play an important role for those who do. Judging from the discussion above you probably could But may have to market your sales pitch to include something like: " And I will be using a nearly unique camera that none if my competitors have!
I'll say this from the other side. I'm an editor and will say megapixels absolutely matter for the professional photographer. The thing is, what photographers submit to me for assignments might not be the shot I want.
I might want to use one large shot and create multiple images out of it later down the road as well. This matters even more so for stock photography, event photography, etc. I'd say if you are just shooting vacation whatever then no it won't matter, but if you plan to be a working photographer and submit your stuff to magazines, newspapers and such, yes it matters. Home Topics Gear. Posted In:. Premium Photography Tutorials Check out the Fstoppers Store for in-depth tutorials from some of the best instructors in the business.
Log in or register to post comments. Henry Canyons - May 31, [Edited] Agreed.
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