In general, a 12 megapixel and 6 megapixal camera are the same.
The Single-Lens Reflex, or SLR, is a type of digital camera in which the photographer sees exactly what the lens sees when looking through the viewfinder, which--along with the ability to change lenses--makes it more versatile than compact cameras. When shopping for digital cameras, including SLRs, the number of megapixels is a common selling point. However, this is not necessarily the case, unless large prints are being made.
Definitions
A pixel is a little dot that makes up a very small piece of a picture. When enough of them are combined, they form the complete picture. The term "megapixel" is a measure of the total pixel count, or the resolution, of a screen, a picture or an image sensor. It is calculated by multiplying the number of vertical pixels by the number of horizontal pixels. For example, a 3 megapixel camera has 2,048 horizontal and 1,536 vertical pixels. Multiplying these, we get 3,145,728 pixels, which is usually rounded down to 3 megapixels, or MP.
Image Quality
Camera advertisements frequently boast that a higher megapixel camera will produce better images. Unfortunately, while this is true to an extent, it is greatly misleading. Higher pixel counts result in higher resolution; however, the difference is small. A 14 MP camera only has 2,452 more pixels horizontally than a 3 MP camera. Because of this, resolution has less influence on overall image quality than how the image is captured.
Print Size
One of the few times where resolution does make a difference is when printing at large sizes. That said, it still matters very little because the bigger an image is printed, the farther away the viewer is likely to be. It is only under magnification that quality differences are noticeable. Even with a resolution as low as 100 pixels per inch, or PPI, even large images can be printed from lower-megapixel cameras without noticeable drops in quality.
Is More Better?
Generally, more megapixels does not make a camera better. Nearly all SLRs have at least 10 megapixels, which is more than enough. It is more important to look at the other features, such as shutter speed, shooting modes, image stabilization and ease-of-use. Higher-megapixel cameras do not always have these features, but are typically more expensive. The higher cost is mostly due to advertising hype and less to do with actual image quality.
Tags: does make, image quality, megapixel camera, vertical pixels
