How Many Megapixels?

Almost everyone with a digital camera wants to know how many megapixels it takes to make a good picture. The answer depends on what you are doing with the image. If you are limiting it to screen purposes a small number of megapixels will suffice, however; if your intent is printing you will require a greater number. Also; the size of the print desired will dictate the number of necessary megapixels. The larger the print, the more you need. So what do you do?

Well; if you are only using your images for screen purposes or small prints a five megapixel camera or a cellular phone is more than adequate. If you enjoy making larger prints there are several ways that you can go about creating them. The first, and most expensive is to constantly update your equipment by purchasing a new camera every couple of years as technology advances. We are able to obtain a forty megapixel camera today for about the price of a small car. The problem is that your old camera has no real trade in value because it is old technology. In other words; to get more megapixels you have to dig deep every couple of years to keep up.

The second choice and the road I have taken is to use interpolation software. I know there are those who would argue with me but it works and it's a fraction of the cost. The software increases the print size by filling in the pixels, sharpening and removing noise. It can take a ten or twelve megapixel image and enlarge it three or four hundred percent without noticeable loss in contrast or resolution.
All of the actual picture sizes on this post are either 20 x 11, 21 x 12 or 18 x 12.

The software that I use and rely on is called Akvis Magnifier. It is totally adjustable to suit your own requirements, plus you can create and save your own programs. It is not something that I use every day but when needed it works great. The company, "Akvis" has been around a long time and all of their software is superb and affordable.

I hope I have shared some information in this post that is helpful and that you might find useful in your printing efforts. I always like comments, whether they are pro or con, so please check the box at the bottom. Thanks for looking in.