How important are Mega Pixels?
In this high-tech age of computers and digital images, many people forget the value of a beautifully framed print, it's very difficult to show off the latest baby picture or that fantastic family holiday when you haven't had the pictures printed or the album is somewhere else; this is where a digital picture frame, potentially, can come into play.
Choosing to make prints of digital pictures can result in one of two things. The first, is a sub-standard print (and this is often the case as people choose to use 'fast' print shops or online services that offer the world and produce rubbish) The second, is a crisp, clear picture taken with a digital camera, (it doesn't need to be an SLR, compacts produce some really good pictures). The difference will be in the camera itself and in the printing method.
Good pictures are taken on cameras with higher resolutions, NO, actually that statement is wrong, a good picture can be taken with any camera, the quality of the end result is determined by many factors, the quality of the equipment, the quality of the glass (lens), the in-camera settings and the skill of the photographer. The mega pixel count is important but not imperative; it increases in importance with the need for larger prints.
As a rough guide a camera with 8mp will print excellent quality images up to about 10" x 8", beyond this there aren't enough pixels to cover the surface area without causing the print to appear 'blocky' or 'pixelated'. The pixels basically equate to the dots per inch (DPI) within the digital image, the greater the number, the better the quality of the finished picture. However, it is worth bearing in mind that a camera with a lower quality lens will not produce an image of equal clarity regardless of the pixel count. In addition the factors mentioned above and in my first article in this series, A Symphony of Parts, will also play a great part in the final image; producing a great image is a symphony of many parts.
Like most things digital it is worth remembering the phrase 'GIGO' which simply means 'garbage in - garbage out'. What do I mean by that? Well if you have poor quality images to start with, it won't make a lot of difference what type of digital frame you use or the cost of the printing, the images will always be poor quality. However, if you have a great quality image displayed on a cheaper digital picture frame then you won't do it justice, due to either the frame resolution or strange display size.
If you are only displaying images of low quality from a cheap camera or even your mobile phone then look at the cheaper end of the digital frame market, unless it is the aesthetics that are important in which case buy a good quality digital frame, it certainly won't degrade your images!
Roger Chapman
Chapman Photographics
About this Author
I am a professional photographer specialising in Wedding photography. I am writing a series of articles on creative digital photography that explains it in plain English.
I also run a technical information blog for my customers and anyone else looking for information on digital display products.
Roger Chapman
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