Crop Corner

If youve been shopping for a digital camera youve probably noticed that, for the most part, price points between the various models center on megapixel level. Cameras in the 1-2 mexapixel level are usually priced at less than $100. Cameras in the 3-4 megapixel level are at least two or three times as expensive, and cameras in the 5-8 megapixel level can, of course, sport an even higher price tag. So what do these numbers mean and how do you choose? Whether viewed on a computer screen or printed, a photograph is made up of tiny dots called pixels. With regard to digital imagery, megapixel (or MP) is used to refer to the number of pixels the camera is able to capture. Mega indicates million, so one megapixel equals one million pixels (i.e. dots). The higher the number of pixels in an image, the higher the quality of detail the picture will reveal.