How good is 1.3 megapixels?

Answer 1

To answer this, you have to know what the megapixel count means. The "megapixel" count is actually the number of receptors on the sensor, in millions. 1.3 megapixels means 1.3 million light receptors on the sensor. The number of total megapixels is the number of pixels it has horizontally, times the number it has vertically.

Now, each receptor you have, counts for 1 pixel in the image which comes off the camera. (It so happens that the camera actually has to make up some of these values; the reason why is beyond the scope of a short answer. This means that "megapixel" counts are lies, but that's okay; all camera manufacturers lie equally about this, so it won't affect the calculations here.)

The size of a picture you will get from a 1.3 megapixel camera will depend on your aspect ratio. A point-and-shoot camera will typically have a 4:3 aspect ratio; so to get the width and height in pixels you use:

( 1300000 / (3.0 / 4.0)) ** .5 = 1316

( 1300000 / (4.0 / 3.0)) ** .5 = 987 pixels

So you have a 1316x987 picture. Or, if your camera uses the 3:2 aspect ratio (common on digital SLRs, but seen elsewhere), you'll have just about a 1396x930 picture. How big will this print out?

* At 100dpi: this will be a fairly poor-quality print. You'll either have a 13-inch or 14-inch print from this, depending on your aspect ratio (above). * At 200dpi: this will be acceptable quality if you're not looking too hard. This will give you a 6 or 7 inch print. * At 300dpi: you'll get about a four-and-a-half-inch print from either.

As far as file sizes go, this is entirely dependent on how much JPEG compression you use (assuming that you're saving in JPEG, which you should), and even (on some cameras) the kind of scene you are photographing. According to one online calculator, you should see file sizes from around 256kb (at 90% quality) to around 512kb (at 100% quality). An uncompressed 24-bit bitmap would be about 3.9mb.

Answer 2

Well, that depends on what you are using the images for. If the images are going online to share like on facebook, 1.3 megapixels might be enough to not cause distortion if you do not enlarge the images. For printing, say 8x10 or bigger, this will cause pixelation to be present in your photograph. I suggest paying a bit more and getting a camera with at least 8 megapixels for clarity.

Answer 3

1.3 Mega pixel (MP) means that if you take a pick with your camera, your pick consists 1.3 million pixels.

Answer 4

No.