I want to start making iPhoto books, calendars, and cards and was looking to buy a new digital camera in order to do this. I was wondering how many megapixels I should get in order to ensure high quality pictures when I have the books printed out.
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Any camera that is 8 MP or greater will give you 300 dpi for full page photos - books do not use anything more than that
I like Sony cameras
Cannon camera's generally do not mount to the desktop which can be a small hassle sometimes - but they probably are the most popular cameras among posters
In addition to Larry’s sage advice: the only things more important than mexapixels are the size of the Sensor in the camera and the lenses there.
So, what’s your budget? A dSLR with a good lens will always give better results than a point and shoot camera with more megapixels. the dSLR will have a bigger sensor - literally, its‘ megapixels are worth more than a P&S camera’s 😉 - and a better lensing system.
With Point and Shoot cameras you will get best results by sticking to well known brand names - Canon, Nikon etc.
Thank you. So if my main use of my digital camera was through iPhoto and its functions would I have any use or benefit in getting a 10 or 12 mexapixel camera?
Thanks. My budget is probably anything under $300. I'm want really good quality print outs, but if I can get that done with an 8 megapixel camera and I wouldn't notice a difference with a 10 or 12 megapixel camera than so be it. But if I'm going to notice it somewhere I'd rather spend the extra money. Also, I want something that's convenient enough to carry around by itself, so I think I might be stuck in the point and shoot category.
No - but you can use one to shoot at a lower size and use the higher size if you need it
As TD says MP is not quality (a large bad image is still a bad image) - sensor size and lens quality make the difference - the more you spend (in general) the better quality you will have but any modern point and shoot camera does great for iPhoto books
..... Be happy with your budget. I had a nice Canon that sold for under $300, as I recall. My pictures and videos came out looking wonderful, I feel. (So did others) Unfortunately, it was eventually ruined, by my very hard use under awful weather conditions. I wasn't always careful. It just went off to recycling heaven.
Shooting nature shots, I must say that I did see other people's pictures that were better than mine. Gosh knows how much those big cameras with telephoto lenses and super-fast shooting cost.
Those cameras are almost unfair competition, since these people could simply put the camera on auto, aim at a moving subject and start shooting multiple pics per second. Of course one of them would catch this or that bird in flight with a fish in its mouth, for example. Fantastic Picture! Yet, it was the camera that made the pic, not the photographer, IMHO.
Eventually, I just called them nature paarazzi, and enjoyed myself despite some rude laughter at my real mistakes. Still is fun. Some photographers are just cruel, but that's different story.