Pixels and Resolution

     Just about everyone uses digital cameras these days. One of the main things that determines your final image quality are pixels.
Pixels are individual elements that store the information received by the camera each time you press the shutter. Pixels carry information that determines the color, the strength of the color and how light is displayed. There can be millions of pixels in an image. However, they are not visible individually to the human eye. Instead we see them all together in continuos tones. Or we see them as a picture. The number of pixels determine the image resolution, or how much detail we see in the picture. The more pixels in an image, the higher the resolution.

Image resolution is measured in ppi. (pixels per inch) 300 ppi is the standard resolution for cameras. For computer monitors, the standard resolution is 72ppi for Windows and 96ppi for Mac.

The most important reason to know a little about resolution is that it determines the quality of your image. It also determines how much your picture can be enlarged without losing too much quality. Here are some examples if you are shooting with 300ppi.

A 3 megapixel camera will give a good 5X7 or smaller print

A 6 megepixel camera will give a good 9 1/2X 7 or smaller print

A 10 megapixel camera will give a good 13X8 or smaller print

These are approximate values. Keep them in mind when determining how much you will enlarge your prints. Also think about how large you will usually enlarge your prints before purchasing a camera.

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http://goodpics.info/
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