resolution

Image Quality is More Than Megapixels

The megapixel count of a camera is often viewed by consumers to be the benchmark number for telling whether or not that camera is "good." If that were true, however, why do photographers not just buy a 108-megapixel smartphone to use as their primary equipment? The answer: because image quality has to do with far more than just megapixels.

Ropes

Why 24-Megapixels is Still the Best Resolution

I believe in a happy medium, somewhere between too little and too much. Aristotle defended this view with his Golden Mean, the middle ground between excess and deficiency. Apply it to the pleasures of life, to your emotions, to your decision-making, and it makes practical sense. Even digital photography follows Aristotle’s wisdom.

A digital camera with a question mark on the screen

How Many Megapixels Do You Actually Need?

Camera resolution in the early 2000s was a space race to the biggest and best. Nikon ushered in the beginning of the end -- with the release of the 36-megapixel era-defining D800 -- to what became the resolution doldrums.

Apple Silicon is Still a Pain to Use with Color Accurate Monitors

If you've been using an Apple Silicon Mac with an external display for photo and video editing, you may have noticed a few issues. Whether it's ultra-wide monitors not displaying correctly, calibration software not working right, or high-end monitors displaying in YCrCb mode instead of RGB, Apple Silicon still has a bunch of issues with color-accurate monitors.

Canon R3 to Have 24MP Sensor, EXIF Data Reveals

As part of ongoing testing of the Canon EOS R3 at the Olympics, photographer Jeff Cable has uploaded many photos that he has taken with the camera and EXIF data remained. As a result, the resolution of the new camera has been revealed: 24-megapixels.

Blind Test: Fujifilm X-Trans vs Bayer Filter, Which is Better?

Andrew of the YouTube Channel Andrew & Denae is back with another helpful "blind taste test" for camera lovers. This time, he's not comparing color science—he's comparing the results from Fuji's X-Trans sensors agains images captured through a standard Bayer Filter.

8×10 Film vs 150MP Digital: Can 150 Megapixels Compete?

Over 8 years ago, we over at On Landscape performed a mammoth “Big Camera Comparison.” We compared medium format and large format film against various digital cameras including the then cutting edge Phase One IQ280, an 80MP CCD sensor which we used on a Linhof Techno, an Alpa, and a Cambo technical camera (we also tested a D800 and a 5D Mark II).

How to Double the Resolution of Your Smartphone Photos

"Super-resolution" and "pixel-shift" photography isn't just possible if you have a fancy camera that can move the sensor 1 pixel between shots. As Usman Dawood of Sonder Creative demonstrates in this video, you can even do it with your run-of-the-mill smartphone, shooting hand-held.

Sony a7R IV Field Test: A Landscape Photographer’s Dream

Two weeks ago I unboxed the Sony a7R Mark IV mirrorless camera, the high resolution beast, and brought it with me for a field review in the mountains around Santa Clara in Northern California.

Is Your 24MP Camera Obsolete? How to Future-Proof Your Photographs

The problem with technology is that it can look dated the older it gets. How good does a VHS tape look on your 4K TV? The same thing can happen with cameras. While 24-megapixel cameras are making great pictures, what they are going to be compared to is about to change… radically. You need to understand how the next generation of digital cameras will affect you, especially if you are a pro or serious amateur.

Sony a7R III vs a7R IV Image Quality Comparison

How much of a difference can an extra 19MP and a newly-designed really make? Apparently, quite a bit, as you can see in this quick side-by-side comparison of JPEGs shot on the 42MP Sony a7R III and the newly released 61MP Sony a7R IV.

Does 900 DPI Make Better Prints?

900 dpi prints?! That’s kinda crazy, right? You just need to print at 300 or 240 or 200 because somebody on the Internet told me no one can tell the difference.

Startup Promises VR with ‘Human Eye Resolution’

Virtual reality is an up and coming industry. Big jumps are being made, with many genres of photography and film getting on board. But VR has always been limited in its resolution, with the experience feeling a bit pixelated to the user. Finnish startup Varjo wants to change this with "human eye resolution."

Lens Shootout: Nikon 105mm f/1.4 ED vs Laowa 105mm f/2 STF

The world's fastest 105mm lens, the $2,200 Nikon 105mm f/1.4, made a big splash when it arrived on the scene, but is there a more affordable 105mm lens that can produce similar results? Laowa's $700 105mm f/2 STF lens gives it a shot in this lens shootout.

DPI Explained: Everything You Need to Know About Print Resolution

When it comes to printing your images and that elusive DPI (dots per inch) number, the ultimate question is: "how big is big enough?" Whether you're exporting for billboards, magazines, or fine art prints, this video explains what DPI you should be using and why.

100% Crops of Photos from a 100MP Medium Format Camera

Phase One made a splash back some months back when it unveiled its 100-megapixel medium format camera system. To show the power of a 100MP medium format sensor, retoucher Pratik Naik has published a series of 100% crops from a recent shoot with the camera.

Google Maps and Google Earth Just Got a High Res Update

Google Maps and Google Earth just got a whole lot sharper thanks to NASA and its Landsat 8 satellite. Using beautiful high-res imagery captured by the new satellite, Google has built a better high-res cloud-free mosaic of the world based on some 700 trillion pixels of data.

Panasonic to Launch the World’s First 6K Consumer Camera, Report Says

4K video recording is appearing on many new digital cameras these days, but it appears Panasonic is itching to take the industry to the next level. A new report says the company is planning to launch a new 6K mirrorless camera during its fiscal year 2016 (a period that ends March 2017). This would likely be the world's first 6K-capable consumer-oriented camera.

Shooting 360° Video in 48K Using 12 Sony Xperia Z5 Smartphones

Sony has created what it believes is the world's first 48K 360-degree video. The company created a special 3D-printed camera rig that uses 12 Xperia Z5 smartphones arranged in a circle. By shooting 4K with each phone and then stitching together the resulting footage, Sony was able to create 48K video that you can explore interactively.

These Short Films Were Shot with the Nikon D5

Want to see what the Nikon D5 can do on the video front? Nikon ambassador photographer Corey Rich shot this short film titled "Inspired" using the new flagship DSLR. The video "explores what drives today’s most diverse and interesting professional photographers and filmmakers, and captures the commitment it takes to tell truly meaningful stories."

Canon: We’re Building a 120-Megapixel DSLR

Yesterday, Canon made a splash by announcing the development of a new 250-megapixel CMOS sensor -- the highest resolution for a sensor smaller than 35mm. That sensor is geared towards industrial applications (e.g. surveillance), but if you're dying to get your hands on a monster-resolution Canon DSLR, the company has some good news for you too.

Canon just announced that they're currently developing a DSLR camera that packs a 120-megapixel CMOS sensor.

A Beginner’s Guide to Buying Camera Gear on eBay

Camera gear can be expensive, but one way to work around this issue is to purchase equipment used from online auction websites such as eBay. But it can be tough trying to determine the exact condition of an item without getting your hands on it. We will be going over tips to help you purchase both digital and analog film cameras without throwing your money down the drain. Here are some practical pointers to staying smart and safe on eBay when buying your next bit of kit.

Instagram Resolution Increase: Here’s How It Affects Image Quality and File Size

On Monday, we shared that Instagram had begun quietly storing larger 1080px versions of photos, up from the 640px resolution of the past (when the service launched the size was 612px).

Instagram has now confirmed the resolution increase across its photo-sharing service, and says that the change will improve the quality of photos while having minimal impact on file size and data usage.

Instagram May Be Getting Ready to Up Photo Sizes to 1080px

If you’re an Instagram fan, there is a good chance that your experience is about to get quite a bit better. In the past, Instagram has uploaded and stored user images at a meager resolution of 640x640. In a world in which smartphones are beginning to include quad HD displays, a non-HD resolution seems subpar. Luckily, it appears that 1080x1080 Instagram uploads are on the way.

How to Read MTF Charts for Camera Lenses

Purchasing a new lens for your kit can be an expensive endeavor and the more information you know before making a purchase is always useful. You may have noticed that lens manufacturer sites tend to include what is known as a Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) chart.

Canon 5DS and 5DS R Initial Resolution Tests

Like everybody else, we at LensRentals were pretty excited to get our hands on Canon's new 5DS and 5DS R. There are already a lot of hands-on articles about the cameras that probably have told you more than you need to know to make your purchase decision. Of course, for most of the Canon shooters who read this blog, the purchase decision was just which place you want to buy it from.

Film vs Digital: A Comparison of Pros and Cons

In a world in which photographs are primarily taken with digital image sensors, there are a growing number of photographers who are newly interested in film formats of the past. But why would anyone in our age of technological convenience still choose to shoot with analog film?

A Practical Guide to Creating Superresolution Photos with Photoshop

We’ve seen it in plenty of thriller/crime solver TV shows and movies: upon reviewing some grainy and very low-resolution surveillance footage, someone inevitably asks the technician, “can you zoom in on that and enhance it?” Then, with the quick press of a few masterfully placed keystrokes and bleepy computer sounds, the image is suddenly enhanced with vastly increased resolution and a key plot device is revealed.