Photography.com.my

A pixel refers to a single point in a raster graphics image. This smallest unit of picture comes with unique address. Basically, one megapixel refers to 1 million pixels. The pixels are normally positioned in 2-dimensional grid. The dots and squares represent the pixels.In short, the pixels are formed to make up an image. A colour is formed between three to four elements of intensities such as magenta, yellow and black or blue, green and red.

In digital imaging, the number of megapixels decides resolution of an image. Therefore, image with higher megapixels has more resolution. Megapixel is used to measure resolution in cameras because these gadgets can create pictures with over 10 million megapixels. Thus, it is easier to evaluate the resolution in a photograph.

Megapixel is important as it helps you to determine the camera resolution when shooting a photograph. For example, if the photos are only used on the net, then lower resolution setting is more than enough for these photographs. However, if you plan to print out these photographs, a higher resolution is needed for a good quality print picture. Different camera resolution is needed for different print size.

While resolution is important to take good quality photographs, one should not overlook other factors such as lens quality, image stabilizers, lighting, shutter and aperture. Bear in mind that all these factors will affect the quality of the photographs.

It is a known fact that the more megapixels in a camera, the better the pictures you can produce. However, according to David Pogue, a technology columnist for The New York Times, this is only a megapixel myth. He concluded that people who spend thousands to search for cameras with higher resolution is just a waste of money.

Camera companies and stores knew about the myth but continued to exploit the consumers to encourage them to splurge on cameras with higher resolution. Advertisements that claimed an 8-megapixel model can produce better pictures compared to a 6-megapixel model is not necessarily true.

Since pixel is a tiny coloured dot that make up a picture, of course it sounds rational that more megapixels with more resolution can produce sharper picture. As discussed above, other factors such as lighting, aperture and shutter must be considered when shooting photographs. Pogue clarified that all these factors are more important than megapixels and resolution.

He revealed the disadvantages of cameras with higher megapixels. First of all, it is relatively more expensive. And what you may not know is that the cameras packed with pixels produce more heat and speckles might appear in low-light shots.

When Pogue published the article, frustrated readers vent their anger and refused to believe the so-called megapixel myth. He then explained that megapixels might be important in some situation. For example, more megapixels is useful when you want to crop the photograph. This is because once you have crop the unwanted bits of a picture, there are still enough pixels to print out a nice photograph.

But nevertheless, Pogue commented that getting the right composition when taking a picture is more important but having extra megapixels might be handy if you decide to crop the photograph later on.

To sum it up, megapixels is crucial for those who produce photographs meant for wall-size retail displays. He concluded that non-professional photographers need around five to six megapixels only to produce a good poster-size print picture. So why splurge on cameras with more megapixels when you can produce equally good print photographs by purchasing a camera with lower megapixels but relatively cheaper?