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What is your minimum acceptable megapixel count ?

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Kodakrevisited

Kodakrevisited

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How many MP is your minimum requiremant ? for me its 5mp as I am able to produce images I really like with that count, added to that, cameras in that catagory are super cheap, I might even find 4mp OK too but I dont own one
 
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With how i currently shoot and use my image files...24 when choosing what camera to pick up...that might change if 8k monitors make a strong foot hold some day

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My opinions are my own and not those of DPR or its administration. They carry no 'special' value (except to me and Lacie of course)
 
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Mako2011 said:
with how i currently shoot and use my image files...24 when choosing what camera to pick up
Click to expand...
Yep it depends on what you are aiming for, I agree, 24mp sensors are amazing but I might be just nostalgic for those older low res cameras because they are often better than I was expecting, so that gives me a buzz
 
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I guess allowing for very modest crop. I worked as an automobile photog so needed to frame and submit over 300 shots per week so PP was just not viable, even 2 min per shot in PP would add 10 hours to my workweek, we needed to limit shots to 1mb because they were uplaoded electronically, so I became very good at framing and getting it right first time otherwise I was working for nothing, so the answere is very modest crop but preferably no crop
 
Kodakrevisited said:
How many MP is your minimum requiremant ? for me its 5mp as I am able to produce images I really like with that count, added to that, cameras in that catagory are super cheap, I might even find 4mp OK too but I dont own one
Click to expand...
Do you mean on a Full Frame camera ??? I guess like 85 or 90…. If I only wanted “equal” the pixel density of my R7. But to be quite honest, I’ve come to believe that there are other downsides to shooting in crop mode. I feel like a camera that makes 32 mp’s and using every one of them, would still be better than an 85 mp camera, making 32 mp in crop mode.

As for MP’s with an APS-C, the 32 mp’s on my R7 is pretty decent. When the new R7 Mk II comes out, there are several improvements I’m hoping for, but if they didn’t increase it to 35 or 40 MP’s, I wouldn’t be completely bummed. In fact, to be totally honest, I wouldn’t even ask for an increase in MP’s if it came at a cost in noise performance or dynamic range… and it probably would.
 
Kodakrevisited said:
How many MP is your minimum requiremant ? for me its 5mp as I am able to produce images I really like with that count, added to that, cameras in that catagory are super cheap, I might even find 4mp OK too but I dont own one
Click to expand...
It depends on the sensor size. On a full frame, I would say 24 megapixels. On APSC, 16 megapixels. On 1” sensor, probably 12 megapixels are sufficient.
 
I go for 24 as well, I sometimes tend to crop a lot. If I don't anticipate printing large and if I am shooting something that I can frame so I won't crop then I could get by with 12mp. However I prefer to shoot with 36mp D810 whenever I can.
 
Kodakrevisited said:
How many MP is your minimum requiremant ? for me its 5mp as I am able to produce images I really like with that count, added to that, cameras in that catagory are super cheap, I might even find 4mp OK too but I dont own one
Click to expand...
At about 5MP I was happy, but happier when it got to 8MP as that was clearly working better than the Fuji Sensia slide film that I used to use.

It's more about other qualities of cameras and now I am happy with a 16MP M4/3 system camera of 10 years ago vintage and a 1 inch sensor 20MP quality compact from about 6 years ago.

I occasionally go back to my 5MP Ricoh R3 compact as it works well for some little projects.
 
in low to mid priced gear. My currently active cameras are
  • Phone and drone 12MP
  • m43 20MP
  • FF 24MP
All good for A2 prints. If I need more I can stitch or shoot in hires mode the subject allowing which it usually does.
 
Kodakrevisited said:
so the answere is very modest crop but preferably no crop
Click to expand...
Now it's 2024 and it's a nonsense question; it's all about intended usage.
Co-incidentaly, just bolting a NEX-5R to a semi-permanent rig for Ebay shots.
16mp is overkill but the cam cost me peanuts.
It's all about what you can glarm for the job, not some arbitary "comfort level" for pixellage. AF, MFD, FL and IR release were far more important for this little jigger.
 
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I have made prints up to 4 by 6 feet from 6 MP files -- so I don't know if I have any real minimum.

OTOH, I have used up to 36MP and it does make a difference -- at least on the screen. Though with good shooting and processing technique the difference is less obvious in a print, even a large print. And it takes excellent shooting technique, often including a tripod, to make the most of the high MP.

My current cameras are 20 MP, which is enough though there are times I would like more.

Gato
 
All the cameras I use are 10mp or more, so I guess that's the answer. The ones with higher pixel counts get used a lot more, though. I keep the 10mp camera mostly as a backup.
 
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As others have said, it depends.

12MP on my phone. Usually that is just documentation.

19MP for wildlife when it is reasonable to crop in camera. How much sky do you need?19MP for "record" shots.

45MP for family and travel or where I can fill the frame.
 
My minimum, to have confidence I will get the results I want, is 40Mp. My current "sweet spot" is 61Mp (when taking into account cost, computing speed, and storage).
 
Kodakrevisited said:
How many MP is your minimum requiremant ? for me its 5mp as I am able to produce images I really like with that count, added to that, cameras in that catagory are super cheap, I might even find 4mp OK too but I dont own one
Click to expand...
I have various philosophies when it comes to photography. 1, use the best gear I can afford and 2, ALWAYS future proof your work. When I was 12 I used a Kodak Baby Brownie and I was ecstatic with what it/I was producing. BUT just because I was happy when I was twelve doesn't mean I have to shoot myself in the foot every time I press the shutter. To each photographer their own!

I have several award winning bird shots that were taken at 20 mp about 15 years ago. Sadly they can't be printed at over 16x20 or the birds start to look like blobs! Not all work needs to be high mp but it's hard to know before you press the shutter which work that will be. You can always go backwards, but you can't go forwards and as I said, future proofing is a big one for me.

That said I shoot the majority of my work at 45mp but I also just bought my first 102mp camera for when real detail can become a factor! I'm no longer into my Brownie or my first 3.2mp digital but I'm quite ok for those for which their first cameras still satisfy their photography needs!!!

John
 
I think around 10/12MP. Anything lower and I start noticing the lack of resolution, anything higher and I start not noticing the difference.

But that's mostly for output resolution. I mostly shoot with 24MP cameras nowadays to allow me some cropping room, shall I need some.
 
Depends on what the usage is.

I'm fine with shooting film for personal use, and I've printed some 35mm images to have around the house.

But also had clients asking if I had bigger files when shooting over 40mp.

But ideally 20mp for personal, and over 40mp for commercial.
 
Chris Wolfgram said:
Kodakrevisited said:
How many MP is your minimum requiremant ? for me its 5mp as I am able to produce images I really like with that count, added to that, cameras in that catagory are super cheap, I might even find 4mp OK too but I dont own one
Click to expand...
Do you mean on a Full Frame camera ??? I guess like 85 or 90…. If I only wanted “equal” the pixel density of my R7. But to be quite honest, I’ve come to believe that there are other downsides to shooting in crop mode. I feel like a camera that makes 32 mp’s and using every one of them, would still be better than an 85 mp camera, making 32 mp in crop mode.

As for MP’s with an APS-C, the 32 mp’s on my R7 is pretty decent. When the new R7 Mk II comes out, there are several improvements I’m hoping for, but if they didn’t increase it to 35 or 40 MP’s, I wouldn’t be completely bummed. In fact, to be totally honest, I wouldn’t even ask for an increase in MP’s if it came at a cost in noise performance or dynamic range… and it probably would.
Click to expand...
I agree… it depends. My main shooters are all 20mpx 4/3 sensor OM/Olympus cameras and that’s just fine. I also have a 20 mpx 1” Sony ZV1 for video but the 20mpx 4/3 is way better for stills and higher ISO. My OM TG7 is only 12mpx 1/2.3, but easily matches the 1” ZV1 in IQ.

I think matching the pixel count/density to the sensor size is more important than pixel count alone.
 
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