subject: What Do Those Megapixels Mean For Your Digital Camera? [print this page] If you have gone shopping for digital cameras, video camera and camcorders one term that you would have heard the most would be- megapixels. If you have wondered what these megapixels really do and why they are such a frequently used sales-term read on since we try to go a little deeper into the concept and on the way debunk few misconceptions as well.
What are megapixels?
To understand what megapixels are let us first understand what pixels are. Pixels technically are the smallest part of a given picture. They are the smallest blocks which in unison represent a complete photograph. Obviously larger the number of megapixels, closer the image is to real life. However this holds true only when the recording medium, which even in case of the best digital cameras is limited by its sizes, is big enough to hold that much details. A simple ground rule is that you need higher megapixels count for large prints and clearer photos. For regular use, anything above 2 mp is decent.
So a question that arises now is whether a digital camera, video camera or a camcorder with higher mega pixels a better choice? The answer may be yes or no depending on other factors present in conjunction with megapixels.
In short, megapixels add clarity to any picture but the fact remains that you need other factors to back it up. This is why a purchase made solely on the basis of megapixels count is a risky proposition. You need to factor in other functions too.
The only time and that too on a leveled comparison field (cases when all other specs are as good), buying a video camera or camcorders with more megapixels makes more sense when you want to take large print outs or show movies on a larger screen. More megapixels in this case give more information while scaling up the size and this avoids pixilation, a stage where pixels are visible.
Coming back to the main question here, megapixels are an important factor to consider when one wants to scale up the image sizes or plans to project video on large screen however it is not a factor to base a buying decision in isolation. Megapixels along with various other factors make for a comprehensive review and thus a smarter purchase.
