HOW MANY MEGAPIXELS DO YOU NEED? YOU MAY BE SURPRISED!

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My name is Simon d'Entremont and I'm a professional wildlife and nature photographer from Eastern Canada.

Are you struggling trying to understand all the advice about the differences between high and low megapixel cameras? Not sure which you should buy? In this video I'll walk you through the differences, and clear up some common misunderstandings about them.

I use Topaz Labs software for noise reduction, sharpening and upscaling:

My equipment:

Music in intro: "Nicer", by Houses on the Hill. Find that, and other sound effects at Epidemic Sounds

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[simon_dentremont]

What’s the largest print you’ve ever made and how many megapixels was the original? I’d love to know!

[emeraldvirgo]

I took a 16 MP photo of a drifting car on a race track on a 14-year old DSLR, cropped it in so it’s around 12 MP, and printed it on a 3-feet-by-2-feet canvas. It’s hanging above my bed and I get compliments on how sharp it looks. It’s been a few months and I still can’t beat that photo to this day.

Also, congrats on becoming a Canon ambassador!🎉

[NSA.Monitored.Device]

I love how Simon beats technical gibberish with logic.🥰

[bza]

When creating a billboard as a graphic designer, I was so nervous to see the outcome when learning it was 15dpi. They gave me a test cropped section of the picture bc I wanted to check colours and it looked like a blur.... When viewing it from across the street it was sharp as anything and so happy as it cost a lot to put up. I've never worked that big

[cathedralirish]

I just found Simon’s video collection on YT. He speaks clearly, with some pace, and doesn’t include content that’s unrelated to the subject(s) of the video(s), staying “on task.” He provides tremendous clarity to what are generally pretty confusing topics. His videos are really, really well done, and his captured images, used in the videos, are quite impressive. I’m subscribing so I don’t miss future content. Thank you, Simon. 😊

[DanaPushie]

I had to watch to this video again, some months later, to reassure myself that my Canon APS-C 24MP camera would meet my needs for the foreseeable future. I knew I would get clear, concise information; info I could trust. Thank you Simon. Best wishes to you and yours for 2024, from a fellow Bluenoser.

[rogerking]

I won a camera club competition with a photo taken on a 2012 12mp camera, but it had been cropped to around 4mp. No one even commented on the lack of resolution, even though it had been enlarged to around 18" x 12". Currently I use cameras up to 45mp, but I still use that 12mp camera without any problems.

[mawavoy]

Simon, this is another high value video. Like all of your work, is comprehensive, accurate and presented in an easy to comprehend delivery. Thanks for both the information and the comprehensible presentation.

[NoNeNoNeNoNe]

I did a shoot in 2013 with 18 megapixel camera and it was on 80 feet wide It was looking tremendously I used the viewing distance calculations and applied output sharpening technique in a very effective I'm glad that you made this vide as many many people are extreamly confused in megapixel war... Keep up great work

[lex]

This was such a crazy helpful video, I've been doing photography for a decade and I'm learning so much recently. Your channel has been a life saver.

[OscarGomez-ooim]

Mr. d'Entremont, you are exactly the best communicator that I have ever listened to. Making all the controls in the camera, concepts about resolution, focus, real need of pixels, etc. something easy to understand goes a long way. Simple language is the secret of instruction and you are probably the best I have found in my life in possession of this art. Thank you for these videos that demystify the "bumba-bumba and yada-yada I hava found in books and classrooms...

[badger]

Great advice Simon.
As a 12 MP shooter on my old Nikon D300s, I couldn't be happier.

[johnvandusen]

I took up photography in 1970 when I joined the US Navy. I travelled all over the Mediterranean, Caribbean, etc. Even spent Christmas 1972 in Rome! I enjoyed your video very much.

[weiyeliu]

I decided to give you a LIKE right at this moment 04:26 "who looks at an image this large..from this close???" LOL

[boxingproff]

Damn! This channel is very informative. No fluff, just straight to the point. Good work.

[carsonanderson-bf]

Most knowledgeable YouTuber I've seen. Thankyou for handling complicated topics and making them make sense!!!

[aerialfilm]

I recently visited the offices of a company I used to work for, and they still have several 18x24 photos hanging that I took in 2001 on a 3.1mp Canon D30. Back then I couldn’t imagine it how it could get any better.

[kevincozens]

It was interesting to see the upscaled duck eye at 9:57 looking sharper than either the 18MP or 3MP image.

[keithspillett]

Great video. As a, theoretically, retired professional photographer, I now use the micro four thirds system of cameras. The two bodies I currently own are by Olympus, and are 16mp. I've happily printed images up to 40 inches by 30 inches, and the results look fabulous, completely supporting your comments regarding print sizes. In actual fact, they still stand up well, even under much closer viewing conditions 🙂

[Codename-B]

Your content is too good to be free. Thank you.