In digital photos, megapixels are talked about and marketed a lot. Brands often use this term to show how good a camera can make pictures. But what does this word mean and how is it connected to the size of print?
Knowing about megapixels is very important for people who take photos, whether beginners or experts. It affects how their pictures look when printed out. This post is going to elaborate on megapixels, print size, and their relation in detail. It will explain why they matter for cameras, how you can find out print size from them and what it means when taking pictures.
What Do Megapixels Mean in Camera?
Mega is a prefix for determining large units of specific things, representing 1 million. The pixels are the small area (dots) that forms a digital image. So, when your camera has 1 megapixel, it can capture 1 million individual pixels. To capture an image containing 12 million pixels, we will need a camera with at least 12 megapixels.
Print size megapixels are the only criterion determining a picture's resolution and print quality. High megapixels allow higher resolution of the image, that's why it captures a larger amount of detail. This technique is mostly beneficial when cutting out an image without losing the main details.
Most day-to-day photography (personal or professional) can be handled well by a camera with 10-20 megapixels. Professionals often need more details, so they need high-quality professional cameras with a higher megapixel print size.
With the constantly improving technologies, digital cameras have also improved their features, most prominently increasing the megapixel count. But in comparison to this, the focus is now more on enhancing other features such as dynamic range, low light performance and sensor technology.
How to Calculate Megapixel Print Size?
When working to print high-quality images or display them clearly on screens, you must know every megapixel to print size calculation detail. Understanding the technicalities of this process can help everyone produce high-quality prints in bigger sizes without disrupting the image details or sharpness. So, here are all the details you must know about calculating print size with a megapixel print size chart.
What's the print size in photography?
In the field of photography, print size means the actual size of a photo when it's printed. This is usually measured in inches. This size is directly related to the image's quality, how many pixels it has, and its print resolution. So, it is usually given in several pixels per inch (PPI).
To find the right print size, you need to consider how big your picture is in pixels and what quality you want on paper. To make good prints, a common resolution for printing is 300 PPI. To find out the size you need to print, divide your picture's pixels by 300.
For example, a picture with 3000 by 4500 pixels will make an output size of 10 x 15 inches maximum at the same quality. Using a lower PPI value of 150 will give you bigger prints but they won't have as much detail. This relationship is very important for photography professionals. When they want high-quality pictures in print form, using the right PPI ensures that sharpness and details are there. This helps keep the image true to its original looks and quality.
Megapixel print size calculator
Now that you know the importance of megapixel to print size, let's start with the megapixel print size calculator. It utilizes a formula, and the whole process can be divided into 3 parts to better understand how it works.
- The first step in this process focuses on determining the pixel dimensions of your camera. For example, if you have a camera with a 12 megapixel print size, it will give a pixel dimension/resolution of 4000 x 3000 pixels in one image.
- The second step is getting print size quality. We usually choose 300 pixels per inch (300 PPI) for professional image printing. However, this PPI value can be decreased by increasing image size or decreasing megapixels to 8MP print size or lower while keeping the printing dimensions the same.
- Now that you have the megapixel print size and the PPI for printing, you will divide the megapixel print size with the PPI for printing an image. If we take an example of a 12-megapixel print size with 300 PPI, we will have 4000 x 3000 / 300, giving 13.3 and 10 inches as the ideal print size of your image.
Here is the formula that you can implement: Vertical pixel count x horizontal pixel count / PPI
Megapixels print size chart
Different megapixel values have different width and height values, so the print size chart also varies. Here is a photo print size chart that can help you determine the right printing size depending on image quality:
Common Misconceptions: More Megapixels = Better Quality
When it comes to megapixel print size, there are lots of misconceptions among people, which include:
- More megapixels in your cameras provide better image quality. However, megapixels are not the only element that improves image quality. In fact, the size of the camera sensor, image processing capabilities, and lens quality also has a significant role in image quality.
- Megapixels do not matter when printing images. In truth, more megapixels allow us to get bigger prints while maintaining image details. (explanations: it is a misconception that megapixels do not impact print size. The truth is that more megapixels allow us to get bigger print sizes while maintaining the best quality and details.)
- Higher megapixels mean better zooming. Megapixels improve image details and digital cropping, but they are not the same as optical zooming, where sensors and lenses matter the most.
- More megapixels can make up for low-light situations. In truth, larger sensors provide better low-light performance.
Bonus: What is a Good Megapixel for a Camera?
The megapixel value for a camera depends on its use case since different use cases require different print/display sizes, and the image quality requirements vary as well.
Digital camera
When we consider a digital camera in a smartphone or daily-use digital camera, resolutions of 12- 16 megapixels are more than enough. However, in a professional space, you will need more megapixels to capture more details and get a better display/print size.
Security camera
For a security camera, 4K resolution is appropriate to cover a bigger picture for surveillance with great quality. If you want even higher resolution with better results than 4K, go for 16 megapixels. This way you get crisp details on bigger displays.
Duo 3 PoE is your best pick if you are looking for a crisp video quality security camera since it provides 16 MP with a 180-degree viewing angle and a seamless view. It comes with all advanced features like motion tracking, alerts and detection, etc.
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FAQs
1. How many megapixels is a print size?
Print size megapixels depend on the desired resolution that you need to print. The standard quality is 300DPI, dividing the total pixel count by 300. For example, we can divide a 12-megapixel camera that captures 4000 x 3000 pixels in one image by 300 to get a print of 13.3 inches x 10 inches.
2. How many pixels is a high-quality print?
When considering megapixel print size, you need to have a resolution of 300 PPI for the best print quality. To calculate the number of pixels required for a high-quality print, we multiply print dimensions by 300 (print quality resolution). For example, an 8x10 inch high-quality print would need 2400 x 3000 pixels, which is approximately 7.2 megapixels. Going lower to 240 PPI will decrease the quality in the same print size and 180PPI further decreases quality in the same size.
Conclusion
If you are getting into digital photography or videography, you must know how megapixels work and impact the print size of images. In this guide, we discussed all the technical details about print size, calculator, and the role of megapixels in photography. With the calculation formula and print size chart, you will find it very helpful to determine the perfect printing size for your image depending on its resolution or print size megapixels.