2mp vs 5mp for a 4R photo?

[asturias105]

hi guys, i've just bought a simple digicam and discovered this site. It's wonderful to read this forum, though a lot of stuff being discussed here is out of my knowledge. (i've zero photography experience)

Just have a question in mind.. hope u guys can enlighten me.

Will there be any difference in a 4R print between a 2mp and 5mp resolution?

Thanks for ur time!

 

[Venom81]

Welcome to Club Snap. :bsmilie:
What camera did you get? :dunno:
5mp will be much sharper than 2mp in 4R prints. :bsmilie:

 

[asturias105]

i've got a nikon 3700..i know that it doesn't have many features, but i wud like to use it to learn first before goin into buyin more expensive cams.

hmm, my fren was doing a comparison the ohter day, showin me that there was no diff in a 3.2mp and 5mp on a computer. (she showed me the 2 pages of picture n i didn't spot difference) thats y i'm postingf this qn her to clear my doubts :bsmilie:

 

[tkkoh]

On a computer screen, you will not see much differences, unless you blow the pixs up significantly.

For printing on a 4R, 3.2 MP is good enough. I used to have an Oly C720 (a 3.2 MP) - it gives good and sharp 4R prints. But I guess you have to go to a good developing shop...

On your question - 4R print between 2MP and 5MP - I would think that there are differences in the sharpness.

 

[nad]

it is not only about the megapixel but also about the lens and ccd quality of the digicam.

so you buy a el-cheapo benq 5mp digicam, it will still be thrash by a good quality "top 5 brand" 2mp digicam in terms of print quality.

 

[ortega]

Basically, a 5mp pix has more detail than a 2MP pix.
Since the 4R print does not use that much detail, you don't really need the 5MP
But if your shot is not really sharp (camera shake) or has noise (high ISO setting)
the 5MP pix will print better that the 2MP pix, this is because the noise or defects
are smaller and if you use the computer to resize the picture, the defect might become too small to notice. Also shooting at 5MP you still have enough data to crop
and give you a psudo zoom.

Cheers

 

[dbcs]

I do not think it will be very little or no differences if you take the picture straight from the camera (no cropping).

I understand that most labs print at a resolution of about 200dpi. Since 4R is 6" x 4", it translates to an image size of 1200 x 800 = 0.96 MP

Even if the print is at 300dpi, the required image size is 1800 x 1200 = 2.16MP which is close.

Having said all this, there are great differences between 2MP cameras. A drastic example would be to compare a Nikon D1 to the Sony PDA w/ 2MP Camera - and whether there is interpolation etc.

The best thing to do is to make the prints at a lab and to see if the result is acceptable to you. You could also take a 5MP picture and downsize it to 2MP and compare with the original. So that when the time comes for you to make prints, you will not be disappointed with the results.

 

[khairi]

diff is only in details...but since it's 4R...do you need a 10MP? of course not...so a 2MP is sufficient and a 5MP will give more detail coverage...

but if you want to print it big...then that's where slight or large differences could be seen. So for a 4R, where only general people view the photos and not photographers, no need the headache...a 1.3MP also can...

I once print my 4Rs with a 2.1 MP cam...really...no issue.

 

[StreetShooter]

Just printed out my Japan photos (4R size). The 2MP Sony u-50 photos looked just as good as my 6MP 10D photos.

 

[asturias105]

Thanks guys! u people are really helpful! well, i was thinking if i should lower the resolution to 2mp during an overseas vacation, instead of using 3.2mp. since there's only a small compromise in the details, i guess i'll do it.. it'll allow me to take more pics.. lol

enjoy ur days, peeps!

 

[ortega]

Buy a bigger memory card

 

[Big Kahuna]

In term of picture quality.....in 4R...a 2mp and 5mp should not be diff if it's taken from the same camera....both have more than enought pixels to fill the resolution :think:

 

[tunster]

Believe it or not, during the Photo Marathon hosted by Canon. The photos were shot in 2MP resolution and for the exhibition, they printed ALL photos at A3 size and I can't really tell the images were in 2MP.....

 

[Pablo]

Buy a bigger memory card

I agree,

Of the photo's you take, there may be one that REALY stands out to you.
It would be a shame that it was not taken at the best resolution if you wanted
a bigger print of it.
Buy or borrow the biggest card you can :thumbsup: