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How Many Megapixels Do I Need?

When you see websites selling 20 Megapixel web cams for use with Cheap Laptops, or smartphones that have 12 Megapixel cameras inside them, you have to ask, how many megapixels is enough for the average person to take good pictures?

With most technical terms that have to do with computers, such as RAM, Megabytes, and Megapixels, bigger numbers are usually better. Unfortunately, consumers are often left not knowing just how high of a number they need. With digital cameras, this holds true for Megapixels and how to avoid spending too much money for more quality than you could possible ever need. In this case, how many Megapixels you need is determined by the following question:

"Exactly what are you going to do with the digital pictures you take?"

Answer the question in bold above and then you can use the chart below to decide how many Megapixels your digital camera should have.

For most consumers and non-professionals, getting a camera of up to 3 Megapixels at most will serve you well without costing too much. Of course, if you are just going to email them to family and friends, or display them on your website, then up to 1 Megapixel is perfectly fine.

That should be good news for most Internet users, since digital cameras with up to 1 Megapixel of resolution are inexpensive and very easy to use. You just point and click.

What Is Resolution When It Comes To Digital Cameras?

Resolution is the measure of image sharpness and clarity based upon the number of pixels that compose an image. A megapixel is one million pixels, and the more pixels that a camera uses to construct an image results in that image being that much more clearer and sharper.

So, the resolution of a digital camera, measured in megapixels with higher numbers meaning more resolution, determines the quality of the pictures it takes.

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