Fall at our pond on Deer Run Farm. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
How many megapixels must your digital camera have to make good photos?
The answer is -- many fewer than you probably think!
The photo above was made with an Olympus E-M5, with a sensor only about one fourth the size of the sensors in so-called full frame cameras, and only 16 megapixels. Yet, the picture you see was printed 48 inches wide (that's four feet, in case you weren't too good at math), and is satisfyingly sharp. It hung above our fireplace every fall for several years.
Short's Mill, Clarkesville, Georgia.
This photograph of Short's Mill was made with a Canon 5D, the original model, often referred to as the Classic. It had a 12-megapixel, full frame sensor. I used it with great satisfaction for eight years. The photo runs across two pages in my limited edition book Georgia: A Backroads Portrait. No one has ever suggested it isn't sharp enough.
Fellow photo-blogger Bill Fortney. a Fuji camera user, decided to select his favorite 30 photographs from the last 12 years. To his great surprise, 28 of the 30 were made with the 16-megapixel Fuji X-T1. Read about it here.
I currently use two Fuji cameras -- An X-T20 and an X-H1. They each have 24-megapixel sensors, which I consider ideal. Enough for all the enlargeability one could wish, yet not big enough to overload my hard drive with unnecessarily large files.
But the camera ads and most of the photography blogs and web sites will tell you that you need more, more, more megapixels. I understand that. They want to keep you spending, spending, spending to upgrade, upgrade, upgrade. It's all about the money. So if you simply must have the latest and greatest and can afford it, follow their lead.
My advice? If you have cameras you like, that give you good results, save your money.
Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia
are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.50 shipping. My PayPal
address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943
Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how
you would like your book inscribed.
Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/ Looking is free, and you might find something you like.
Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.
Tags: photography Olympus E-M5 Canon EOS 5D Classic Fuji X-T1 Fuji X-T20 Fuji X-H1 Short's Mill
I "upgraded" from a Canon 5D Mark II to a 5Ds... Only to wind up repurchasing a used 5D Mark II.
ReplyDeleteThe huge files were a pain to send to editors and completely unnecessary for magazine work. I only use the 5Ds for landscapes and such these days.
I used the 12 megapixel 5D Classic for eight years. Great camera. I eventually moved over to a 6D. One could do pretty much all magazine work with an m4/3s camera.
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