Killer Web Site of the Day: Megapixel Calculator
Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:47AM EDT
See Comments (13)
You've got a 800 x 600 pixel image file. How big can you print it out at the highest quality? And how much space will it take up as a JPEG, a RAW file, or a GIF?
All these questions are answered immediately in the Megapixel Calculator, a must-bookmark resource for anyone who frequently works with digital images.
Just click over to the site, enter your image's width and height, and you'll immediately receive a number of pieces of information: The size of the file under a variety of formats, how many of those files you could fit on a variety of memory cards of standard sizes, how much each second of video at that resolution would consume, and—the best feature on the site, if you ask me—how large you can print out the image at screen, "normal," and high resolution. (In the case of my 0.5-megapixel example, that's a mere 2.7 inches by 2.0 inches at high res, which is what I'd recommend you look at if you're considering printing any photos.)
Killer stuff, and it can be a huge help in letting you decide how to set your digital camera based on what you ultimately want to with the images you shoot. (Want to print 8 x 10-inch photos? You'll need at least 7 megapixels or more for high-res printouts.) Nothing to install, and a brain-dead-simple interface. Click the "megapixel resolution chart" link as well for easy access to this information for many common resolutions.
UPDATE: To all who dispute that you need 7MP to produce an 8x10, this is a (painfully) simple math problem: A standard 7.1MP camera produces images that are 3072 pixels wide and 2304 pixels high. At a standard printing resolution of 300 dots per inch, that makes an image that is 10.2 inches wide and 7.7 inches tall at full resolution. If you try to create an image bigger, the printer will have to interpolate and print out at lower than 300dpi. That may indeed make for a passable print depending on the quality of the printer and the shot, but most viewers will notice the difference. That said, my intention with this post was not to dredge up the megapixel debate but to point users to a source where they can do these kinds of calculations easily. I am not affiliated with the linked website.
Top 5 Posts
More About Digital Cameras
Comments on Killer Web Site of the Day: Megapixel Calculator
Post a Comment
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
-
7 Posted by joelmoore14 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:38PM EDT Report Abuse
kristin_r_snydor, yes, your right, I get so tired of this debate though. I carry around my minolta 5d and people carry around there new little whatever and when I am asked about my resolution, many people assume that there camera takes better pics because the res is higher. The other reviews are absolutely right, don't replace your 5 meg with anything newer. Haven't seen that many people that carry around tiny cameras print 8x10's anyway... thanks for the info, will check out that web sight. Going hiking...
-
8 Posted by m_e_g_b on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:32PM EDT Report Abuse
I worked at a portrait studio for years and we used DSLRs with 6.1 mps. Know how big our largest prints were? 30" x 40". Manufacturers and ad execs are just trying to get people to think they need more megapixels - you don't. Unless you're serious about photography and think you might print photos larger than 8x10, you can stick with 4 or 5 mps. I absolutely agree with the rest of the people on here - I don't know where this propaganda about needing 7.1 mps to print a simple 8x10 came from. Well, actually, it probably came from the corporations who want you to spend that much more money on a "quality" camera with the resolution you "need." Forget it. I'll stick with my Nikon D70s and my 6.1 megapixels.
-
9 Posted by boberts4410 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:10PM EDT Report Abuse
Hey CHRISTOPHER NULL, I think you should either defend yourself here or apologize.
-
10 Posted by tjbusmc1973 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:12PM EDT Report Abuse
300 dpi is more than the human eye can perceive. Any higher detail than that is a waste. Additionally, most professional quality photfinishing labs don't use a printer that has anything to do with 'dpi'. Photoreactive paper run through a chemical processor doesn't have anything to do with a inkjet printer's dpi. I can print a high-quality, suitable for framing, indistinguishable from ISO 200 film, 8x12 print from a 4 MP image, so long as the lens & sensor that captured the image was of good quality.
-
11 Posted by bob_singer on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:11PM EDT Report Abuse
Megapixels mean nothing with crap lens. A 3 megapixel camera with a good Ziess lens beats the heck out of these new 8+ megapixel cameras that only take blurry edged pictures due to the small lens.
-
12 Posted by cnull on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:27PM EDT Report Abuse
boberts4410 - Defend myself against what? Megapixels DO matter, but as many have noted, optics matter as well. It is certainly possible to print a 4-megapixel image at 300dpi and it will look passable, but try printing an image on a high-quality printer at 2400dpi or higher. Compare a 4-megapixel source file vs. a 7-megapixel source file and you'll easily see the difference. If you are printing lower-resolution photos, though, then indeed you won't see much of a difference. Regardless of all of this, I didn't create the megapixel calculator that I linked to. If you don't find it useful, don't use it!
-
13 Posted by acefury86 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:44PM EDT Report Abuse
About dpi. Me thinks you all are getting the dpi of the image mixed up with the dpi of the printer, they are not the same. With Epson Pro inkjet printers the optimal image dpi is 360 regardless of what one sets the printer dpi at. Setting the image at say 2400 dpi will not help, in fact the image will be degraded and take forever to print. The file size of a 8 x 10 at 2400 dpi is 2.5 Gigs. Professional photo labs DO use dpi with laser prints, 254 dpi is the size used for both Laserlab and Fuji Frontier prints.
Sponsored Links
My Tech
Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.
Also on Yahoo! Tech
| Computers | Home Office | Wi-Fi & Networking | Phones & PDAs | Cameras & Camcorders | TV & Home Theater | Portable Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 Posted by suite92005 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:47PM EDT Report Abuse
I wonder where the so called "experts" get their "knowledge"??? I have been using my Canon PowerShot G5 and FujiFilm Fine Pix S5200 for quite a while. I printed many 8"x10" pictures, cropped and not and they are wonderfully clear and professional looking. I pitty this writer for his shabby knowledge in the field of photography. Stop writing rubbish!!!