There are so many digital cameras around today, and each one advertises a certain number of megapixels. Many people don't know what megapixels are. I am going to explain them here.

First, visit my pixels page if you haven't already. You'll learn that pixels are squares of color that are arranged in a grid to form a digital photograph.

A megapixel is just another way of saying one million pixels.

1 megapixel=1 million pixels. 2 megapixels=2 million pixels. And so on.

This camera has a sticker on it that says 6.0 megapixels. That means it can create a digital photograph that is 6 megapixels in size.

How many million pixels are in a 6 megapixel photograph?

How many megapixels are in a photograph that is 2000 pixels wide by 1000 pixels tall?

CAMERA ADVICE

How many megapixels should my camera have?

Now that you know what megapixels are, you might be wondering what is a good megapixel capacity for a digital camera. Some people think that the more megapixels in a camera, the better it is. Not true. You can make great-looking poster-sized prints from a 6 megapixel digital photograph, so there is no reason to have more than that. Many point and shoot cameras have 8, 10, and even 12 megapixel capacity these days, but getting a higher number isn't necessarily going to improve your photographs. In fact, having lots of megapixels crammed into a small camera will sometimes result in lower quality photographs.

When you are buying a digital camera, read the reviews and test it out. Look at the quality of the photos, how fast it can take pictures, and how long the batteries last. These things are just as important as the number of megapixels. Feora has a 3.2 megapixel camera that is far better than Bryce's 6 megapixel camera. Hers is much faster, focuses better, and the quality of the photographs is superior. Feora's photos look great on the computer screen, and print beautifully at 4x6 or 5x7 inches. So, be an educated consumer and don't get caught in the megapixel trap!