Are Photographers Obsessed with Megapixels?

Why Are So Many Photographers Obsessed with Megapixels?

I had a conversation with a friend recently who wanted to know why so many of his son’s photographer friends were obsessing over how many megapixels their cameras had. To the point that those with high-end (i.e. lots of megapixels) cameras were “looking down” on his son because he had an old DSLR camera.

Honestly? In my opinion it’s part insecurity and part marketing bs. The camera companies figured out years ago that “more megapixels” was an easy number to sell and so much sexier than “better color science” or “improved dynamic range” though both of those would be more important to many.

So basically the marketing boys are tricking buyers into thinking a 60MP shot of their cat will somehow be more artistic than a 16MP one. Are more megapixels useful? Sure, they can be. To some. But are they critical? Perhaps not.

Then there’s the “I’ve got amazing gear” trap. When someone’s not sure if their composition is great, they can always convince themselves that sharpness is greatness. Pixel peeping can and does feel like control to so many.

Here’s the thing though. You can’t force a great moment, you really can’t, but you can obsess over whether that distant bird’s eye is perfectly in focus at 200%.

Now this is the part nobody says out loud but professionals understand: most clients, prints, and social feeds will never see the difference. A stunning photo at 16MP beats a boring one at 60MP every time.

As a sidenote the first professional DSLR, the Nikon D1, was introduced on June 15, 1999, and featured a 2.7-megapixel sensor. Yep! A paltry 2.7mp. And used successfully by pros.

So perhaps it is time for many (does that include you?) to maybe zoom out, step back, and look at the whole damn frame once in a while. Consider the picture and not the pixels.