Return to Digital Photography Articles How many megapixels do
you need? In buying a digital camera, the first question one
will run into is "how many megapixels" do I need? As this is the
most visible advertised feature in digital cameras these days,
it's important to understand what you truly need. How large do
you want to print your photos? When it comes down to it,
deciding on the resolution for your digital camera is as simple
as determining what you would like to do with the printing. If
all you want to do is capture basic snapshots that are intended
to print as a 4" x 6" (4x6) photo, then it is possible to get
away with even a 1.0 - 2.2 Megapixel (MP) camera, depending on
the final output quality desired. However, most of us like to be
prepared for the fact that someday we may capture a photo that
deserves "blowing up" / enlarging or even cropping. This is
where high-resolution digital cameras come to shine. |Print
Size||Minimum Resolution |4 x 6 inch||1.0 MP||2.2 MP +| |5 x 7
inch||1.4 MP||3.2 MP +| |8