5.0Megapixel Vs. 3Megapixel when printing photos
 

is there any difference between shots taken with a 5MP setting vs a 3MP setting. Or is it pretty much the same thing?

yes... people say you can get away with nice 8x10's or so, with 3mp... I disagree, as I've printed up countless, and no matter the lighting, they still seem pixeled to me...

5mp looks great though, and can go to around 12x18 or so, without any problem.

I'd like to start using a new 8mp or so.... as I do nature shots, and would love to blow some up to a decent canvas size.

but for those regular 4x8 prints, 3mp should be good enough correct?

For any print work the more megapixels the better.

I managed to get some 3 megapixel photos published in a print magazine but I think they would have had to boost the file size into the stratosphere to get the quality they did.

When we were doing some 6x4's from the same camera for members I was boosting each one up around the 7 meg mark to get a reasonable quality print

I've printed a few 8x10's from my 3MP camera on a $200 Canon printer and had a guy who works in a print shop swear that it was done on a press.

Obvious, not all my shots are like that, but I've had a few now.

I'm sure I'd have more though if I was using a 5MP camera instead.

I'm no camera pro, but I agree with DrewKole. The pics done with a 3mp camera look a little pixelated. They look good, but it just doesn't seem right if you stare at the picture compared to a 5mp.

For 4x6" prints 3MP is probably enough... if you go backwards and match a file's resolution then you only need about 2.1MP at 300dpi.

It's not just about how many pixels you have though, you can have a great 3MP camera and a shitty 8MP camera. :2 cents:

I was taking a look at some of the 8MP cameras that are out now, but they're all fixed focus. :(

You will see the difference, 5megapixel is the best bet.

Nice. Very nice. Thanks for the link!

Exactely, in the printshop they print at 300 dpi. Divide your resulution by 300 and that's the max size you can prin in high quility.

I am holding out.. waiting for the new receptor chip by Kodak to hit digi cams... Should be by xmas..

The trouble to date with digi cams is the receptor or the "EYE" of the digican has been smaller than a 35mm negative..

KODAK has fixed this with their new chip and this technology should boost high end digicams to 8mp.


BIG B

Great 3MP vs shitty 8MP... would you care to elaborate? All the 8MP models are based on Sony's CCD and all of them pack a lot of features so I'm not sure how a 3MP camera will match that.

You don't need a 35mm CCD UNLESS you plan to change lenses. So I'm not sure if this will affect the "little guy" at all ... The 3MP question was definitely a little guy's :winkwink:

Larger image sensor=less noise.

A compact 8MP sensor will always be more noisy than a full frame (35mm) 8MP sensor.