ComputerForum.com ComputerForum.com  
Go Back   Computer Forum > Digital Imaging > Digital Cameras, Webcams and Scanners

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 12-13-2006, 07:00 AM   #1 (permalink)
Silver Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: crappy so. california
Age: 28
Posts: 179
Default What is the amount of area for each cameras' megapixel rating?

When I'm told that this or that camera has 6.1 MP or 7.1MP, what is the amount of area that the MP resolution rating is for? Is it for the size of the screen of the camera? or is the MP resolution rating only for 1 square inch of picture area?
remember is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 12-13-2006, 07:02 AM   #2 (permalink)
Super Moderator
 
DCIScouts's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Age: 26
Posts: 5,105
Default

Wikipedia does a much better job than I could ever do... (or have the effort for...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megapixel#Megapixel
__________________
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
-Martin Luther King Jr.

The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up there's no law against wacking them around a little.
-Joe Martin


FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358
Posting and you - CF Edition

Cheers CF
DCIScouts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2006, 07:39 AM   #3 (permalink)
Super Moderator
 
The_Other_One's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Lexington, NC
Age: 23
Posts: 12,368
Default

Or a comparison, a 5MP image is just under 8x10" printed at 300dpi(basically high resolution/photo quality)
__________________
Desktop * Athlon X2 4200 | 2G RAM | 160G HD | 7600GT
Laptop1 * C2D T5550 | 3G RAM | 120G HD | Intel x3100
Laptop2 * C2D T5250 | 2G RAM | 160G HD | Intel x3100

The_Other_One is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2006, 08:11 AM   #4 (permalink)
VIP Member
 
computerhakk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: THOJhakk county
Posts: 3,635
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by remember View Post
When I'm told that this or that camera has 6.1 MP or 7.1MP, what is the amount of area that the MP resolution rating is for? Is it for the size of the screen of the camera? or is the MP resolution rating only for 1 square inch of picture area?
MP accounts for the resolution of the prints. So basically, the bigger it is, the bigger you can make your prints. More pixels will accumulate on a picture horizontally and vertically to make the picture. So the more pixels, the bigger the picture can be.

If two camera's are both good camera's and taken at a certain resolution both camera's can take, you probably wont be able to tell the difference if one was a 3mp and one was a 7mp. It has nothing to do with the screen size of the camera, that's something else; such as in inches (2" lcd screen vs 3" lcd screen).
__________________
"Remember, wrong advice may be worse than no advice at all."
::COMPUTERHAKK:::
computerhakk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2006, 04:53 AM   #5 (permalink)
Silver Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: crappy so. california
Age: 28
Posts: 179
Default

To DCIScouts:
Thanks for the wikipedia reference. It was very complicated, so I just bought my camera today with a 1 month return policy. So hopefully I'll finish reading that before I change my mind on this camera. Its a Kodak C875 (5x optical zoom and 8.0MP) for $200. The only other slim/compact I could find was 10.0MP with 6x zoom but it was $500. Hopefully I made the best "tech-time dependent" buy I could. It seems good, except the LCD screen is very grainy, but produces good pics once uploaded on to a monitor.

To The Other One:
What you say doesnt make sense. If 5MP produced 300dpi for a 8 x 10 photo= thats 80inches times 300dpi, which is only 24,000. So this whole thing doesnt make a lot of sense to me. I think that 8MP is actually way more than I need, because I couldnt even send someone more than 4 photos due to the size of the res. Now Ive got to figure out how to reduce the res on this pictures.

To computerhakk:
I understand what you say, but this is the same confusing subject I still cant understand with TV projectors. My cameras LCD screen is 2.5", and when you see the graininess, you'll know there is Not 8MP on that screen size. But what screen size will this camera produce 8MP's on?
If I keep enlarging the picture being produced from a TV projector that is HD 1080p x 1920 res, eventually its not going to be HD. So when these resolution "values" are given, I still dont know what the surface area size was when these resolution values were determined.
remember is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 12-14-2006, 05:00 AM   #6 (permalink)
Diamond Member
 
Motoxrdude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Nor Cal
Age: 18
Posts: 6,227
Default

Well, MP=megapixel=1000 pixels. 1mp=100x100, 500x200, etc. It just depends what aspect ratio your camera takes pictures at.
__________________
RIP Mom 9/17/55-02/22/08.

McCain/Palin 08'
Motoxrdude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2006, 05:20 AM   #7 (permalink)
Super Moderator
 
DCIScouts's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Age: 26
Posts: 5,105
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Motoxrdude View Post
Well, MP=megapixel=1000 pixels. 1mp=100x100, 500x200, etc. It just depends what aspect ratio your camera takes pictures at.
Umm..., you're math is way off. MP = 1,000,000 pixels; which also would be 1,000x1,000 or 5,000x200

As for that camera, that's a pretty good choice for the money... There are a few Nikon models that would also be a good choice, but that Kodak is really quite good for a base starter camera.

Also, if you need some more info now or in the future, here's a little guide. Not completely exhaustive, but definitely should get you thinking along the right track:
http://www.computerforum.com/43610-d...era-101-a.html
__________________
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
-Martin Luther King Jr.

The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up there's no law against wacking them around a little.
-Joe Martin


FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358
Posting and you - CF Edition

Cheers CF
DCIScouts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2006, 05:33 AM   #8 (permalink)
Diamond Member
 
Motoxrdude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Nor Cal
Age: 18
Posts: 6,227
Default

Lmao, my bad, that is what I meant however.
I just got two wisdom teath removed, im all drugged up, lol.
__________________
RIP Mom 9/17/55-02/22/08.

McCain/Palin 08'
Motoxrdude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2006, 01:28 AM   #9 (permalink)
Silver Member
 
Aero's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Douglas, Wyoming(yes it is actually real)
Age: 18
Posts: 118
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by remember View Post
To The Other One:
What you say doesnt make sense. If 5MP produced 300dpi for a 8 x 10 photo= thats 80inches times 300dpi, which is only 24,000. So this whole thing doesnt make a lot of sense to me.
No...300dpi is 300 dots per inch or pixels per inch...8x10 is a size of printed photo 8inches by 10inches...so u dont multiply thats only with megapixels(how many overall pixels are in the picture)...hopefully that clears that up a little
__________________
Halo 3 Medals: 14x Extermination, 2x Killionaire, 205x Killing Spree, 22x Killing Frenzy, 8x Sniper Spree, 739x Double Kill, 178x Triple Kill, 78x Overkill, 38x Killtacular, 22x Killtrocity, 10x Killimanjaro, 4x Killtastrophe, 3x Killapocalypse, 2468x Beat Down, 112x Killjoy, 47x Bulltrue. See more @ Bungie.net profile Aero1110
Aero is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2006, 03:30 AM   #10 (permalink)
VIP Member
 
computerhakk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: THOJhakk county
Posts: 3,635
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by remember View Post
To DCIScouts:
Thanks for the wikipedia reference. It was very complicated, so I just bought my camera today with a 1 month return policy. So hopefully I'll finish reading that before I change my mind on this camera. Its a Kodak C875 (5x optical zoom and 8.0MP) for $200. The only other slim/compact I could find was 10.0MP with 6x zoom but it was $500. Hopefully I made the best "tech-time dependent" buy I could. It seems good, except the LCD screen is very grainy, but produces good pics once uploaded on to a monitor.

To The Other One:
What you say doesnt make sense. If 5MP produced 300dpi for a 8 x 10 photo= thats 80inches times 300dpi, which is only 24,000. So this whole thing doesnt make a lot of sense to me. I think that 8MP is actually way more than I need, because I couldnt even send someone more than 4 photos due to the size of the res. Now Ive got to figure out how to reduce the res on this pictures.

To computerhakk:
I understand what you say, but this is the same confusing subject I still cant understand with TV projectors. My cameras LCD screen is 2.5", and when you see the graininess, you'll know there is Not 8MP on that screen size. But what screen size will this camera produce 8MP's on?
If I keep enlarging the picture being produced from a TV projector that is HD 1080p x 1920 res, eventually its not going to be HD. So when these resolution "values" are given, I still dont know what the surface area size was when these resolution values were determined.
Reason it's not showing good it supported resolution it takes is because of the camera itself. As good as some of those 300-500$ 5, 6, 7 megapixel camera's are, they are still considered low-end. If you are looking for great quality images, you will have to invest in SLR camera's rather than compact, small, SLR-like camera's. You never want to keep enlarging a picture. You should try to take it bigger, than down-size it. Enlarging it will obvious cause it to lose quality.
__________________
"Remember, wrong advice may be worse than no advice at all."
::COMPUTERHAKK:::
computerhakk is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:46 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
SEO by vBSEO 3.2.0 ©2008, Crawlability, Inc.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Computer Forum and Web Design Forum