Digital Camera Basics: Resolution, Pixels and Image Size
The most important thing to learn in basic mirrorless and DSLR photography under digital camera basics is the sensor size, or in techno talk, “resolution.” This is just a fancy term for how detailed an image you can get from the sensor. Sensors come in an assortment of sizes. This size will influence the quality of your images, so depending on what the main purpose of your photographs will be, you’ll want a sensor that can deliver.
Of all the digital camera basics to learn, Resolution is what causes everyone the most confusion. This is where the MEGAPIXELS come in. Megapixels tell you how big the sensor is. You’ve seen cameras with 10 megapixels, 24 megapixels, 40 megapixels and some, now a Sony mirrorless camera, claims 61 megapixels! Basically, the bigger the number of megapixels, the higher the resolution, and the more your photograph can be magnified (printed) without seeing any degradation.
For example, if you are only going to use your digital camera to take photos to share with friends and family over the Internet or on the Web, you won’t require a huge sensor with lots of megapixels. To view great quality pictures on a monitor, your resolution only needs to be about 72 pixels per inch (ppi), so you’ll need fewer megapixels.
But if you want to blow your photos up to 11 X 16 to frame and hang on your walls, you’ll need a bigger sensor for more resolution (more megapixels).
Digital cameras come in a variety of resolutions depending on your budget and the type of photography you want to do. When you want to learn basic DSLR photography, learning about your camera resolution is critical to a great image, especially when you want to enlarge or print the images. Luckily my Nikon D800 had 36 megapixels which enabled me to shoot super large images. Here’s is a high resolution photo mural I did for the bathroom (!) of a local restaurant in Winnipeg!
Easy as pie, right? Right! It’s just basic DSLR photography!