Digital Camera pixel size questions

[Spidey]

Just a question about picture size. I used to have an older HP camera, I think 5 mega pixel. I usually just saved the files maximum size, etc. I print most of my pictures as well, so i wanted good quality. The file size of them weren't to bad, around 2 MB. They uploaded to printing websites alright.

Around Christmas I jumped onto the Canon deal through Staples. The 6x zoom /8 MP one. Really happy with the camera. I really haven't had time to play with it, but have been taking pics and vids. Set the camera for maximum size, which filled up the card pretty fast. The file sizes are huge and uploads to the same printing sites are terrible, basically because of the data transfer.

question is, if I'm just printing these out, what size should I have them at. I know 8MP the dimensions of the picture are bigger (what are they poster size) But at that higher resolution, will I see a difference when I print them out 4 x 6, or will they look the same say if I just save the at 5MP

[billccwu]

I would say the difference between picture quality on 4x6 will be minimal if you use 6MP or 8MP for printing, though I am no expert.

[ells]

For typical 4x6 print media anything over 2MP is not going to be visible. Try it if you don't believe it. It will only cost 19 cents. I would even suggest 1.5MP as the limit but I might be labelled a heretic. :cheesygri

[Spidey]

For typical 4x6 print media anything over 2MP is not going to be visible. Try it if you don't believe it. It will only cost 19 cents. I would even suggest 1.5MP as the limit but I might be labelled a heretic. :cheesygri

So basically 8MP is overkill.

Then why such the excitement over huge MP. Or am I missing something

[Aske001]

In theory the extra megapixels could help if you:

a) Blow the print up to a huge size poster

b) Zoom in to a small part of the photo and crop away the rest for the final print

In practice other things like the lens optical resolution and camera shake will limit your true resolution. Under ideal circumstances the zoom lens in a compact camera only has an optical resolution of about 5 megapixels.

[Composter]

I would like to add that not all 5mp cameras take the same quality pic. Depends on the complementary metal oxide semiconductor of the camera. I had a 1.9mp no name brand bought at a market in the UK for $30 while on vacation that took better pics than my 6mp samsung.

[willy]

So basically 8MP is overkill.

Then why such the excitement over huge MP. Or am I missing something
Judging by MP alone is not quite useful ... the size of the image sensor is also a major factor. Both have to be increased in order to minimize/maintain the noise level.

By increasing the MP but keeping the size of the image sensor unchanged can keep the cost/price low for the camera companies. This is why a lot of 7-8mp cameras do not perform as good as their 6mp models, especially at high ISO. MP is a 'easy-sell' ... A lot of customers think 8mp is better than 6mp coz 8 > 6 ...

[ryan_lau100]

there is a lot of stuff to consider when it comes to the MP race...

its not the amt of pixels but more the quality of the pixel and the sensor. trying to throw in so many pixels in such a small sensor is sometimes even more detrimental than having less pixels due to increased noise. my rule is if you have a point and shoot on an average small sensor 5MP is enough because typically anything more imo is overkill. when it comes to SLR or any other camera that comes with a larger sensor that can utilize those pixels more effectively it makes more sense to have more pixels.

to answer your question about size of your files usually print quality is 300dpi. if you have software that will resize that for you it should be fine. ive even scaled down to 100dpi and for snapshots i find it ok esp on 4x6. i would say try printing off the same pic in a couple different resolutions and see how low you can get your file size while having acceptable quality in the print.

[CameraBill]

leave the resolution alone and increase the compression

[Spidey]

Really the MP wasnt the sell for me, the 6x zoom is. My duaghters I used to sue only had 3 zoom and for me just wasnt enough.

I think Ill put it down to 5MP and go from there, just to save space. I think I only fit 250 pics or so on a 1GB card, when at 5MP it was close to 1000 (or maybe that was the 2GB card)

Thanks for the hints everyone

[KorruptioN]

Really the MP wasnt the sell for me, the 6x zoom is. My duaghters I used to sue only had 3 zoom and for me just wasnt enough.

A lot of consumers will buy a superzoom camera because the focal-length ratio is higher... I see this working in the camera retail business. 18X? It must be better than a 4X camera, right? More often than not, these consumers won't really make use of anything at the super-long end of the zoom range. Offer a wider lens (28mm lenses are starting to show up now, finally), because people will probably use their camera at the wide-angle setting most of the time. Not singling you out, just saying. If you've got a real reason to use the long-end of your zoom, then all the power to you.

[Spidey]

A lot of consumers will buy a superzoom camera because the focal-length ratio is higher... I see this working in the camera retail business. 18X? It must be better than a 4X camera, right? More often than not, these consumers won't really make use of anything at the super-long end of the zoom range. Offer a wider lens (28mm lenses are starting to show up now, finally), because people will probably use their camera at the wide-angle setting most of the time. Not singling you out, just saying. If you've got a real reason to use the long-end of your zoom, then all the power to you.

Ive used to for far away shots when you are sitting to far away. Say kids christmas concerts, etc. And on vacation to, sometime you just cant get close to certian shots.