Each colored box represents a certain number of megapixels. The numbers along the top and left side are print dimensions in inches at 300ppi (pixels per inch). Most books and magazines require 300ppi for photo quality. For example, the chart shows that you can make a 5″ x 7″ photo quality print from a 3 megapixel camera.

inches @ 300ppi (numbers inside colored boxes are megapixels)

Notice that as the print size doubles, the megapixels required increases geometrically. You can make nice 8″ x 10″ prints with a 6 or 8 megapixel camera, but to make a true photo quality 16″ x 20″ print, you need between 24 and 30 megapixels. Don’t be fooled by manufacturers’ claims that say you can make 16″ x 20″ prints from an 8 megapixel camera. While you certainly can make a print that size, it will not be true photo quality.

Here’s why:

• A megapixel is 1 million pixels. It’s an area measurement like square feet.
• A typical 8 megapixel camera produces images that are 3266 x 2450* pixels.
  If you multiply 3266 by 2450, you get 8,001,700 or 8 million pixels.
• To find the largest photo quality image you can print, simply divide each dimension by 300:
  3266 / 300 = 10.89 inches
  2450 / 300 = 8.17 inches
• If you are not publishing your images in a book or magazine, and you’re just making prints for yourself or your friends, you can “cheat”. Good quality inkjet printers can make a nice looking print at 250 or 200ppi. At 200ppi, the maximum print size becomes:
  3266 / 200 = 16.33 inches
  2450 / 200 = 12.25 inches
• If you know how to use image editing software like Photoshop, you can “cheat” even more by increasing the image size, and even doubling the number of pixels in the image. The quality of the camera and lense becomes more important at this point bacause any loss of detail or sharpness is magnified. If an image is enlarged too much in this manner, it will look “fuzzy” or “pixelated”.

Megapixels vs. Maximum Print Size Chart

*Typical Resolution. Actual pixel dimensions vary from camera to camera.

**At 150ppi, printed images will have visible pixels and details will look “fuzzy”.

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The Mirage, Las Vegas. Our flight had been horribly delayed at JFK, so we arrived at the hotel around 2 or 3 in the morning. We lined up with about two dozen other people only to be told that our prepaid, reserved room had been given away. Here we are; wife, 2 year old son, and my not at all young inlaws fresh in from the U.K., and having all of us endured a horrific flight, being told to basically piss off until sometime after 8 a.m.— delightful.

I am beginning to lose it slightly, to say the least. I raise my voice somewhat. I remind the hotel desk clerk that a prepaid room is a contract that is not broken without some negative repercussions for the hotel. I stand my ground and quote the law as I am familiar with it, with some degree of emphasis to say the least (as my wife squeezes my arm, HARD. She hates a scene, being English and all that), my inlaws, unused to american orneryness also fidget, alot.

A supervisor is found. Calls are made. Security hovers around us, sending my wife’s blood pressure sky-rocketing. I think to myself: maybe I shouldn’t have come on that strongly. Supervisor leaves us, he says for a moment, it seemed a damn sight longer than that.

Supervisor returns with very large security looking type guy. I’m holding my 2 year old and thinking, maybe, that being assertive in a Vegas casino hotel at 3 in the morning with security, prostitutes and high rollers milling about, flanked by my put upon wife and exhausted, confused, bemused and entirely uncomfortable inlaws, could have been, possibly, a miscalculation on my part. I begin to sweat slightly.

Supervisor guy proceeds to inform me that management apologizes profusely, and will provide us with a room for the balance of the evening at the Luxor, and a taxi there and transport back to the Mirage in the (later) morning. A refund credit to be applied for one night, for my inconvenience(!!!!!!).

OK then. Inlaws and wife slightly impressed. Inward sigh of relief. The Luxor unfortunately was a dump. We were given a room on the first floor that stank unutterably of cigarettes. Upon closer investigation we found someone had amassed a collection of hundreds of cigarette butts on top of the high wardrobe in the room. Interesting, to say the least. The bed also stank of smoke and ashes, but the shower proved hot and high pressure, all was not lost.

Morning arrives and we call The Mirage to arrange our pick up. A stretch limo arrives, the day seems to be getting off to a better start than the one previous. We arrive at the hotel and check in. I have to mention now, the lobby of The Mirage. It is absolutely beautiful and wonderfully fragrant. They have a small rainforest, an aquarium, and an enormous exhibit that is periodically occupied by a white tiger. Without the hookers and drunks from the night before it was really amazing. But I digress.

We find ourselves checked into a massive, luxury, double suite; living room, bar, dining room, four or five bathrooms, master bedroom with one of those fancy TV’s that rises up out of a cabinet at the foot of the gigantic king size bed, panoramic views outside the windows, and assorted goodies and treats left on the bar for us. By this point my inlaws are beginning to think there must be something to that good old fashioned American assertiveness and plain speaking. I quietly thank God. My wife is bragging to her parents about how great I am while all and sundry liberally pat my back bruised. My son is meanwhile running the circuit through all the rooms (it took him a few minutes to make it back to where he started) a big old grin splitting his face in half. We found out later that this was a suite of rooms that usually went for six grand a night.

As upgrades go, this was as up as you could have got. My very British parents-in-law were seriously impressed with the American propensity to go that extra mile in a big way, and I have to admit the management of the Mirage acted with jaw dropping alacrity in correcting and over-correcting a possibly vacation ruining error into a once in a lifetime customer satisfaction experience.
Bravo Mirage staff and management!!!

The living room

The dining room

Master Bedroom

Master bath and son

We had a great time, the restaurants at The Mirage were all exceptional, the Cirque Du Soleil show we saw (from front row of course):Mystere at Treasure Island, was absolutely stunning and has ruined me for any other circus spectacles, ever. It was that good.

The morale of this story: prepay your lodgings. There were quite a few disappointed folks ahead of us because they reserved, but did not prepay for the room in advance, they did not have their stories turn out as well as ours. And don’t be afraid to assert yourself when you are in the right, as long as it is done politely, with proper language and courtesy (if you must raise your voice, at least don’t be profane,and don’t sound unreasonable). But do stand firm in the face of obvious nonsense.

Video of the famous volcano fountain:

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Approaching rocks at the base of the falls, 04/22/05.

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL

f/8

1/160 sec

ISO 100

18mm

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