How Do You Plan to Use the Photo?
For photos you plan to only share on the internet or send by e-mail, you can shoot at a lower resolution. If you want to print the photo, you need to shoot at a higher resolution. But, if you aren’t sure exactly how you plan to use it, it’s best to just shoot the images at the highest resolution you have available with your camera. Even if you decide you don’t want to print the photo, you may want to make a print six months or a year down the road, so shooting the majority of your photos at the highest resolution is nearly always the best choice. Another benefit to shooting at the highest possible resolution is you can later crop the photo to a smaller size without losing detail and image quality.
Choosing the Right Camera Resolution
Determining how much camera resolution you ultimately need for a print depends on the size of the print you want to make. The table listed below should help you decide on the proper resolution. Before looking at how resolution amounts relate to photo print sizes, it’s worth keeping in mind that resolution isn’t the only factor in photo quality and print quality. These factors also play a significant role in determining how your digital photos will look on the computer screen and on paper:
Proper lightingLens qualityCamera steadinessAuto-focus on the proper subjectProper shutter speed for moving or stationary subjectClean equipment
The other factor that plays a significant role in image quality, which in turn will determine how large you can make a print, is the camera’s image sensor. As a general rule, a camera with a larger image sensor can create higher quality photos versus a camera with a smaller image sensor, no matter how many megapixels of resolution each camera offers. Knowing what size prints you want to make also can help you when shopping for a digital camera. If you know you want to make large prints all of the time, you need to buy a model that offers a large maximum resolution. On the other hand, if you know you only want to make occasional small prints, you can select a digital camera that offers an average amount of resolution, potentially saving some money.
A Camera Resolution Reference Chart
This table gives you an idea of the amount of resolution you need to make both average-quality and top-quality prints. Shooting at the resolution listed here doesn’t guarantee you can make a top-quality print at the size listed, but the numbers at least give you a starting point for determining print sizes. So, if you want to make a 10- by 13-inch print, the formula to determine the minimum number of megapixels would look like this:
