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One of the most confusing things that new people to photography look at is the number of mega pixels they need in a camera. The truth is most of the cameras out today have anywhere from 3.25 mega pixels to 12 or higher. The reason for the confusion is most people don't really know what a mega pixel is let alone what it is used for. Mega pixels are a group of tiny little dots that when put together form the different areas of color in an image.

Think of it as a tattoo. I know, I lost you right, how can a tattoo and a digital photo be similar and what does that have to do with mega pixels? Bear with me all right. Think how a tattoo is made, all those tiny little pin prick used make a beautiful piece of art once all put together. This is how the mega pixels work inside your camera. Each little dot is another piece to the image you just created by pressing the shutter. The more dots you have the more detail you see the bigger the item gets.

This means if you have a 4 mega pixel camera in the camera the image will look great but anything bigger then 8x10 inches it will appear to be less crisp in color saturation and slightly blurry because there is too big of a space between the dots.

Now, in all honesty if you're not trying to become a professional you don't really need anything more than a 6 mega pixel camera. This camera can get you an image around 16x20 inches, which for a new photographer or a person who just wants a new hobby is a great size. A 6 mega pixel camera can be used for landscapes, still lives, portraits or just to bring with you to document your trip to Chuck E Cheese for your kids 4th birthday.

At this moment I am using an 8.25 mega pixel camera. The biggest print I have made with this camera is a 32x48 inch image. If you're thinking that making a 4 foot image would be really cool to make remember you have to find someplace to put it, and just so you know it is costing me over $200 to frame it. The maximum size that an 8.25 mega pixel camera can make without the image being broken as I explain earlier is a small billboard. So think about it there is a 12 mega pixel camera out there. Really, who needs something that big?

Learn more about this author, Dionne Foley.
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