Megapixels and Resolution

How many megapixels should I look for when I’m shopping for a new camera? Seems to be a fairly common question these days. More is better, right?

If you believe the advertising and sales people at most camera stores, it would be easy to get that impression. Most of the magazine reviews will indicate that increased pixel count is an “improvement” when comparing the previous model with the new and improved version.

Contrary to what all these “expert sources” may be saying, more megapixels don’t necessarily equal better images. It really depends on what you plan on doing with the images after you capture them.

If you take family and friends snapshots or intend only to use your images for a web site you really don’t need more than about six megapixels. You probably would not notice the difference between three or four megapixels and six. You would only notice the difference in a small percentage of your images if you compared them at 100%. But, you would never see the difference on a web page or in standard prints.

You wouldn’t see a difference even with 8X10 prints. Even professionals printing to thirty inch wide prints get excellent results with six megapixel files. The real world doesn’t always correspond to advertising copy.

Some other things not talked about much by sales people, or advertising copy writers are things like color balance and ease of use. They would rather have you believe myths like ten megapixels have a lot more resolution than six. Actually the difference is minimal. Doubling resolution requires a four time increase in pixels. So, to double the resolution of a six megapixel image would require twenty-four megapixels.

What about after you take the picture? More megapixels take more room on your memory card. So that means buying more or larger cards to deal with the larger images. Then your computer has to deal with the larger files in several ways. Just as the card size must grow, you can’t store as many images on your hard drive. That means you need to upgrade the on board drive or start adding drives. This applies to the drives that you back up to as well.

Another area not discussed is the additional load on the processor. PhotoShop or the imaging software you use won't seem as snappy with larger image files. If it seemed slow before, buy a new camera that makes huge files, and your computer will slow to a crawl.

So, after buying the upgraded camera, you now need to invest in more hardware and working on your computer becomes torturous because of the additional processing time. Worse, you can’t see any difference in your prints or that web site you work on. But, cheer up. You can brag to all your camera friends that you now have the latest _______ (fill in the blank) and they will all be envious. If they only knew....

Eliminate Shutter Lag

A couple of months ago I was reading a publication that specializes in the Apple Macintosh. I use Macs, and the articles and reviews are good. And since Macs are used a lot by the creative segment, the publication reviews related products like cameras. I was curious to see what the reviewer said about a DSLR I had recently purchased. Overall, they liked the camera, but one of the “faults” they talked about was excessive shutter lag.

Shutter lag is a phenomenon that is a real problem with most point and shoot cameras and some of the early DSLRs. Shutter lag, if you are not familiar with the term is a delay between the time you press the shutter button and when the shutter actually fires. Since much of photography is about freezing the moment, shutter delay will get you pictures of your kids right after the smile went away. Or you might get a picture of the smoke curling up from the candles on the birthday cake instead of the subject dramatically blowing with their face illuminated by the flame.

My experience with this camera was totally different. When I used it, there was not even a hint of shutter lag. Camera magazines and on-line reviews rated this DSLR as having no perceptible shutter lag and that is one of the reasons I decided to buy it.

I found out that the author of the review was familiar with 35 mm film cameras but had very little experience with Digital. What I discovered was a lack of familiarity with how the metering and auto focus works on a digital camera. If you are new to digital, you may experience the same problems as the reviewer did.

The reviewer had an expectation of the shutter firing the moment the shutter was pressed. Kind of like the expectation that a pistol will fire the moment the trigger is pulled. Depending on how the camera settings are selected on a DSLR this may or may not happen. With some settings, you can hold the shutter button down until the cows come home and the shutter won’t release!

On most digital cameras, the shutter release is two stage. Press down lightly on the shutter and you will feel a point where there is slightly more resistance, but the shutter won’t fire. What happens here is you have turned on the metering and auto focus mechanisms. The camera analyzes what you are aiming at and adjusts the focus. It also analyzes the brightness and quality of the light and decides which aperture and/or shutter speed will give proper exposure unless you are in manual mode. Many cameras will give you an indication that it has locked focus and is ready to shoot. Then press slightly harder and the shutter fires.

This is the time that real shutter lag occurs. On my new DSLR, once it sees that the lens is in focus and exposure is good, there is no lag when the button is pressed all the way down and the shutter fires instantly. On my older point and shoot camera, the shutter fires about half a heartbeat after the shutter button is pressed all the way down.

Many DSLRs have a setting that prevents the shutter from firing until the focus has locked onto something. These almost always give you an indication in the viewfinder that it could find something to focus on. The idea is to prevent wasted shots on things that are not in focus. Most cameras will have a hard time focusing on things that don’t have much contrast. Examples might be a clear blue sky or a plain white wall.

If this happens, you can usually place one of the focus points in the viewfinder on something that is the same distance away from the camera, press halfway down and let the camera lock the focus and then move the camera to recompose before pressing down harder to fire the shutter. Or you can change the camera settlings to allow the shutter to fire without having a focus lock. Consult your camera’s manual on how to set up your camera this way. Some cameras will have more than one way to lock the focus before releasing the shutter. If your camera is equipped with a focus lock button, you will have the option of pressing this button and then recomposing before releasing the shutter.

When there is a lot of action going on, you will have to “anticipate” the action by pressing the shutter button halfway down so the camera can set the focus and exposure. Then at the peak of action, take the shot. This will take some practice, so don’t get discouraged. This can be done with even a point and shoot where there is a perceptible shutter lag. You just have to time the shutter release to just before the peak of action. A little harder, but it can be done.

The mistaken perception of the reviewer above is a good illustration of the importance of taking some time to read the owner’s manual and taking some time to practice with any new camera. Don’t make the mistake that many people make. They buy a new camera a day or two before the birthday party, reunion, or vacation. Then they show up and haven’t even read the owner’s manual. They usually are disappointed and frustrated because even a simple point and shoot has settings and options that aren’t necessarily obvious.

Like any complex piece of machinery or electronics, your results will improve as you learn more about it and practice. With cameras, the more you have to think about what you want to do, the less time you will actually have available for taking pictures.

Get A Sneaker Zoom Lens

When I first started making pictures I would anxiously wait for the film to come back from the lab. I was often disappointed because it looked like the whole roll looked like copies of the same picture. One of my mentors suggested that maybe I should get a new lens. I asked what lens, he said I should get a “sneaker zoom” lens.

I was puzzled. This was a new one on me. “Um, what is a sneaker zoom lens?” I asked. My mentor laughed and said I needed to start moving around more. He said, “You know, get closer, move left, move right, kneel, get up on the table if you have to. Anything to get your camera in a different position.”

He explained that I should avoid taking pictures when the view would be what most people see. He picked a shot of some flowers from the stack. I thought the color was great. He told me that my boring flower pictures could have been great if only I had gotten down at or below the level of the blossoms.

He explained that exciting and interesting photos usually showed the subject in a way that is different from the way we usually see it. I made my flower pictures standing up and shot down on them. He said they were boring because that was the same view anyone would see just walking by. My attempt at capturing the beauty resulted in a boring snapshot.

He pulled out some of his images and showed me some pictures he made. I could immediately see the difference. There was a sense of excitement and intimacy that was missing from my boring attempt.

He got his camera much closer and was probably lying down on the ground shooting up towards the blossoms.

He told me that a sure fire way to avoid boring pictures was to get closer. And when I thought I was close enough, get even closer. I tried his advice. My pictures started getting more interesting when I started putting on the “sneaker zoom” and got closer to my subjects.

Welcome to Achromia Photo Tips

Improve Your Photography Skills

Ideas to help you improve your photography are the reason for this Blog. Many people have helped me from time to time, generously sharing their time and expertise whenever I asked. Photographers are generally pretty helpful people when you ask.

So, this is one of the ways that I want to say "thank you" for the help that you have given me along the way. 

I decided to do this as a Blog because it does give you, the reader an opportunity to comment and participate. I don't pretend to know everything about photography and if you know of an easier/faster/better way to do something I talk about, please tell us about it in the comments.