How many mega pixels do I need?

One of the most confusing things in choosing a digital camera is deciding how many mega-pixels you should look. The answer depends on what you plan, for the ready-made images.

First you need to understand what a pixel. In terms of digital prints, a pixel simply means a dot of color, from which the picture. A mega pixel is equal to one million pixels. The more megapixels a camera has, the greater the wealth of information records.

The easiest way to decide what to look for to know what size prints you print probably from the camera. A is a mega-pixel camera is for those who do not plan on printing photos, but only post them well over the Internet. A small print, say, 4 x 6 is, by this camera to be acceptable print.

A 2-megapixel camera allows you to produce good quality prints up to 5 x 7 prints and fair quality 8 x 10. When you reach 4 mega-pixels you can print, excellent print quality 8 x 10 and acceptable 11 x 17 prints and a 5-megapixel camera allows you to print high-quality prints from 11 x 17.

Most families see a camera in the 3.2 mega-pixel range to be the best choice. The quality of both 5 x & and 8 X 10 prints is very good, but the files on your computer are not so big, you do not need to worry about insufficient space.

Any camera over a 5 mega-pixels is unnecessary, but see for all professionals in photography, and even then only those who have the need to print a poster-size, that many mega-pixels worth the money. Most freelance photographers find 4 or 5 megapixels for excellent quality prints may be sufficient.

The choice is yours. See what you plan to do with your photos and then decide. In most cases, spend the money for increased optical zoom and lower mega pixels is the best choice.