7 FACTS For Better Image Quality - Megapixels, Resolution, Image Sensor Size, Photosites???

Image quality is not just about megapixels. Here are 7 useful facts that help define image quality.
When it comes to image quality, there is a big misconception that if you want better quality, you need more megapixels. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) it isn’t that straightforward.
Over the years camera manufacturers have dedicated much of their efforts to improve the number of megapixels in their latest models. At the start of the century, both Nikon and Canon were producing DSLRs with just 3MP - a far cry from the 100MP cameras we see today.
This drive has led many to believe that megapixels are all that matters when it comes to image quality, but to better understand image quality, considering the number of megapixels alone isn’t enough. You also need to look at the size and type of image sensor, understand how images are formed, how light is focused onto the sensor, the impact of lens choice and quality, and consider the pixel size to get the full picture. Read More: bit.ly/Image-Quality
-----------------------------------------
Save 10% on your Squarespace Website: bit.ly/SquareSpace-Code-KARL
-----------------------------------------
Access ALL Classes & Workshops: bit.ly/karl-taylor-membership
-----------------------------------------
Start Learning Photography (Complete Course): bit.ly/free-photography-classes
Join the fun and follow us on Instagram - / visualeducationstudio

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Hi guys, just a correction to note please - at 13:50 I explain how to calculate megapixels by dividing by one million but at 14:09 when I repeat the calculation I accidentally say one thousand instead of one million. Sorry my bad 😬. Thanks to a couple of our viewers for pointing it out.

[@messylaura]

thank god you made a mistake, i was thinking you were a God....................:)

[@ChannelAA]

Shoudn't this number be 1,024 as opposed to 1,000? Thanks.

[@returntohome330]

This is a great video for those new to photography, it took me a few years to put all this information together for me to draw on when needed. This video is pure gold as a learning tool great job saves me explaining it to new photographers!.

[@cottonbomb8272]

It's cool, I've noticed that during watching and I actually felt relieved because of that: this guy is still a human 😂 phew

[@OccultDemonCassette]

Also, there were APS film cameras available before digital crop APS-C became mainstream. "Advanced Photo System Type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System (APS) film negative in its C ("Classic") format"

[@lornanjanja6837]

I will get back to this in the morning. Equipped with a notebook and pen😂

[@takundachitakatira5319]

Lol😂

[@peter9962]

Yes, I will be doing the same thing.

[@TheKillingTreeTT]

Wow. What a well delivered, in-depth video about the topic. Very well done. I felt like I went back to university :).

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Cheers Denis 😂

[@jotablen5978]

Same!!!

[@backfilms1953]

My university is all about student to teacher sex incidents. I didn't leave much cos of that

[@donschiffer7400]

I think the law of diminishing returns plays a roll in most aspects of photography. Megapixels were a huge factor when going from 3 to 6, or 6 to 12. But the improvements from 50-100 aren't anywhere near as dramatic. The same is evident in lens improvements, noise performance, sensor size and other areas. For most people the sweet spot for most of these things is somewhere in the middle.

[@MJ-uk6lu]

Same with sensor sizes. Past one inch type sensors there massive diminishing returns. APS-C is definitely better, but much less obviously than going from 1/2.3" to 1". And going from APS-C to full frame offers even lower gains.

[@wallymikhu]

Seriously the best photography video series on KZbin that is full of great information. I look forward to every video. Thank you Karl!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

My pleasure

[@pattyhertogh9294]

As always, great information Karl!! I don’t know how you remember all of that information. I had to stop and rewind a couple of times to process what you were saying. 😆 Thanks for sharing!!

[@jozefgeusens44]

Well, Patty, remember though that Karl's work is solving problems that customers have and that he has a career as a photographer for many decades. Knowledge builds up while you work and what you do often is printed in your memory, I'd say. You know that too.

[@speterlewis]

As always, this was top-notch. Your knowledge and ability to deliver it so we can all understand it is as good as it gets. My only caution for viewers would be to not dismiss smaller sensors out of hand because of perceived lower image quality. While technologically and mathematically true, in practical terms, it isn't always relevant. Case in point is my own 30+ year career as a photographer, which, for the last 15 years has been done successfully using digital APS-C cameras. For the type of work I do, my clients have been overjoyed. Are there limitations? Sure. But I've learned to work within them and have been able to consistently produce, not just "good enough" images, but excellent images. I may well get cameras with larger sensors in the future, but not because I want to "upgrade," but just because I want to be able to do different kinds of work. Keep up the excellent training, Karl. You are absolutely one of the best teachers out there!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Yes good points Peter and there were photojournalists even using film formats smaller than 35mm back in the day, however my main point was that as we see an advance towards mirrorless and less expensive sensors we may see a reduction in demand for that format and at that time the camera manufacturers may choose to drop that format in favour of 35mm FF mirrorless. As always with everything it's will come down to a supply/demand/cost equation.

[@speterlewis]

@@VisualEducationStudio Thanks, Karl. Appreciate the response. I'm excited to see where technology leads us!

[@jenniledford1280]

Amazing detail! Very Knowledgeable! I’m subscribed! Love your stuff...thank you!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Welcome

[@IvanMaras84]

Fantastic and great value information Karl. So well put together too! Best wishes and stay safe.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks Ivan

[@tanweercaa]

Superb video Karl, excellent collection of information in an excellent way, great job🌷

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you Tanweer 📸

[@zackvowell]

Thanks for the information! Extremely helpful stuff.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

A pleasure Zack

[@kymcainday6677]

Karl is my only dictionary in photography. Thanks Karl.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Cheers!

[@sgroadie6367]

The OM-D you show is micro four thirds, and smaller than APS-C sensors. And half frame 135 film cameras exist, and there were numerous crop film cameras like 110, 126 format.

[@thethirdman225]

The OMD body is also smaller than an APSC body. A Canon EOS 7 D is physically the same size and roughly the same weight as a 5D and uses the same lenses. The OMD lenses are much smaller and lighter so your bag ends up being about a quarter of the size and weight.

[@chrispatmore8944]

And the APS film format from which the sensor size was derived.

[@bhaskardevkonwar]

Nice rendition of the concepts.Thanks and wishing you a happy new year 2021.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Same to you

[@Tonkybro3]

This is probably the best informational video i have seen on youtube. Thank you for this!! Subscribed!!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks for the sub!

[@rickkoloian4179]

Thank you so much for taking such challenging topics & making them easy to follow. Outstanding.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

You're very welcome!

[@ILOVEMFEO]

karl, this is really super helpful (even though i may need to watch the vid 3 times to let all the info sink in :) ) just subscribed!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@darylnd]

Several years ago, I showed a co-worker a recent portrait I'd made of my wife. The following conversation ensued. She: "That's beautiful! You must have a really good camera!" (The greatest compliment any photographer can receive.) Me: "Yes, I do." She: "How many megapixels does it have?" Me: "None" She: "None? What do you mean?" Me: "It's a film camera from 1952 or 1953." (Zeiss 6cm x 6cm folding camera)

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Brilliant

[@khikaru7846]

Which is still technically incorrect, maybe you should've honestly answered as it wasn't the 6x6 strip you've actually brought there right, it was either a print or a file from a scanned film :) edit: well, maybe it was a chemical print though in which case it's "none" but you may still calculate resolution of the particular film and lens and "somewhat" convert that into mp number.

[@kreygscott]

My head literally exploded watching this. Now I'm going to need to get an ice pack and watch it 3 more times to fully understand it. That being said this has been the best explanation I've seen thus far on image quality. Cheers Karl.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you.

[@thomastuorto9929]

Everything comes into account. Camera processors ,software/firmware lens choose. But the pixel design, size & pitch mean so much., & is what really makes the difference. Somewhere out there there is a comparison chart of all the Nikon & Canon cameras with the features & individual pixel size & pixel pitch. If you look at the cameras that were performers, the closeness of the larger pixel size &, the pitch numbers is what they had in common.

[@messyfilms6325]

If you’re a newb you should be watching and reading some more introductory stuff.

[@PerEng2405]

Thank you! for explaining and elaborating on in particular sensors. Much appreciated.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@matteodemattia]

absolutely the clearest and most complete introduction to digital photography I have ever heard. Congratulations!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@gpdoyon]

Mind blown!! Thank you very much for the excellent way you presented this material. I learned a lot!!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@renoholland7090]

Thank you. Excellent information.

[@koroshghanbarzadeh1360]

Very informative, thanks for sharing.

[@howeryuen]

This is gold in regarding to photography knowledge, thank you so much.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

My pleasure!

[@johanacardenas4546]

What an amazing video. All of the information you presented is so helpful, detailed and easy to understand! Thank you.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@gray10111]

Thanks Karl, really informative and easy to understand explanation.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you.

[@Dannysubliminal]

Hi Karl, I haven't seen many of your videos in a while, I forgot how detailed and unbiased you are, as always, your videos are straight to the point, informative and easy to follow. You are still one of the great masters. I felt this this video in areas was a bit of a rant, but rightly so, a great argument and made so much sense, yet again, from the thousands of videos I've watched, I learnt from yours the most. Cheers, Danny.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks Danny much appreciated

[@ctretta]

Brilliant description of so many concepts. Thank you Karl.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@paulyoung4998]

Thank you for clearing up all my doubts.

[@gb4639]

Fantastic information, thank you for sharing your expertise!

[@dannycastro1826]

Very well delivered Karl. Thank you for this detailed explanation.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks Danny.

[@stepseldinski]

As few as possible words for transporting the information. Nice production. I did‘t learn much new, but still watched the video until the end, because of the overall quality. Keep going! Thumbs up!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks.

[@bonsaibob8253]

As always Karl gives us a plethora of information. Easy to understand, remember and put to use. Thank you Karl!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks Bob.

[@himalayanmonk3350]

sir , you explained everything with sheer brilliance. hats off !

[@sunsettaye4820]

Your gift of knowledge is appreciated. Thanks for sharing with us!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

My pleasure!

[@emanuelschimpfossl5919]

Congrats to 500.000 subs! :)

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you.

[@terryjones6049]

Thanks Karl for a brilliant video, just saved me a pile of pocket money. Happy new Year.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it helped

[@glennmiller2103]

At last ! finally complicated information I can understand. Well delivered, easily understood and clear. Thank you ...I have subscribed and will use you as my "go to" youtuber.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Awesome, thank you!

[@michaellekas27]

Fantastic video. thank you so much. You summarized everything elequently and precise. Your explanation of the subject matter helped fully grasp the concepts fully. Thank you again

[@VisualEducationStudio]

You're very welcome!

[@meghanadganpule]

Perfect point to point discussion , great examples shown to clear all the clutters . shared with so many professionals in photography .

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you

[@Luigi13]

Very, very useful indeed? I have enjoyed the clarity of all the issues on the photographic medium being discussed here. Thank you very much. Happy New Year 2021

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful. Cheers.

[@rajeshpandey4131]

So so so useful. Thank you

[@HDEFMAN1]

Some very solid information here. thanks Karl

[@iSleepDoc]

In such a short time you did an amazing job of explaining the best info about the most important aspect of photography… Image quality!!! Bravo 👏 👏👏

[@peterdixon6807]

Karl, Thank you. Most illuminating. Thanks for bringing it all together in one coherent piece. What happened at 14:57? Your set design is stupendous and I was keeping an eagle eye on your desk to see if anything moved (yes teachers had difficulty keeping my attention) and just before 15 minutes something appears near the laptop ports. Anyway, I took the most notes for a YT video ever. Thanks.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Probably a dead fly I swatted! See the handle of the electric fly swatter sticking out below Eizo montior.

[@afalco54]

A little correction: the Olympus Pen series used half of the 35mm film, that is it was a "cropped sensor camera". And there are more sensor sizes. The most prominent sensor sizes today are the ones used in phones and they are much smaller than these. And there is the four-thirds sensors.

[@ACitizenOfOurWorld]

And APS format was actually created as a film format

[@BarryCarlton]

And let us not forget 110 film, as well as the Minox camera.

[@davids8766]

Excellent presentation. Very clearly put across.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you kindly!

[@sebastiang7183]

This is brilliant. This is the best honest overview I have ever seen.

[@shaniranikauboj]

Wow. Thanks for in depth video on this. I am subscribed!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Welcome aboard!

[@klausschuster2855]

outstanding overview of image quality factors to take into account. Love your professional and analytic style of providing key point knowledge

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Much appreciated!

[@jaypoly]

14 minutes in and Karl is just after a job on Countdown.....alias clear and concise information as always. Brilliant. Lens wise is interesting to note that in cinematography these days a lot of DP’s are using older lenses such as K 35’s, usually re-housed. These illicit diffractions and aberrations are sometimes wonderful.

[@juanlujano4895]

Learned so much from this! Well delivered.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

cheers

[@tracyleepitre6079]

Thanks so much for sharing this info!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GaWajn]

That was refreshing. Actual knowledge sharing as opposed to opinions sharing. Very informative. Thank you

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks but I have to say I also share my opinions from time to time too 🤣

[@solomonunya9700]

Thanks Karl for an awesome delivery

[@VisualEducationStudio]

My pleasure

[@martynphillips6646]

Not one um one er, so not only is Karl a master photographer but a consummate speaker. Superb tutorial.

[@danilogarcia4406]

Thanks for sharing great information always. Definitely your videos are the best in photography formation.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you like them

[@rohinidilipd7162]

Ammazing! Thank you so much! I learnt a lot.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@RiaKnight]

VISUAL EDUCATION, This was most instructive, thank you. 👏

[@tonyhales-BigT]

Super interesting 👌🏻 thank you very much.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you liked it, thanks.

[@garymorrow9324]

That is the best training video I have ever watched. Just terrific. Thanks you!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@terjebrattelid7574]

Amazing tutorial. Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

thanks

[@thaitopfitness]

What an amazing video. I'll be sharing this with all my friends who want to know how to take better images!

[@cmichaelanthonyimages2197]

Great explination. Much to know. Where as one time the mantra was "its not the equipment but the photographer"...but in the digital world, it is equipment as well, in where the knowledgeable professional will make much better use of the higher end equipment.

[@prosunsport1]

Excellent overview.

[@RekinCzwarty]

Thank you for that video and sharing your knowledge!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lauchos3]

Excellent video. Thanks

[@VisualEducationStudio]

You are welcome!

[@elmoqbobo]

excellent video instruction manual. i w ll go over it again to learn more. thank you!!

[@61republic]

This is the best explanation about the crop and full frame difference. Thank you!

[@andrefelixstudio2833]

Great video Kal, but I bet it went way over the top of many heads, super packed with information! Who said you don’t have to be a rocket scientist! Nicely done!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@beanghosh3195]

Just awesome this video and your knowledge!!!!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you liked it!

[@valueforvalue76]

The megapixel race reminds me of the early 2000s when intel convinced everyone that the more GHZ your processor had the faster your computer ran. The general public like nice round simple numbers to equate to higher or lower quality. 3GHZ is obviously better than 2.6GHZ unless you take into consideration processer design and efficiency. :)

[@frostybe3r]

IPC.

[@johnvarghese8742]

Knowledge-packed video. Thank you Karl

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you

[@kennethjonesphotography]

This is the most relevant information I've ever found to help me better evaluate my next camera and lenses. Thank you very much for such a very comprehensive explanation.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful

[@arielc2010]

BEST educational clip about sensor-size and image-quality that there is. Thnx Karl :)

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you.

[@sideeffectsstudios]

Extremely useful details 👍

[@conghoangnguyen8534]

Thank you very much. This is very informative lecture !!!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

You are welcome!

[@MexBytes]

Very Informative!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@alanplatt888]

A very comprehensive explanation of things I think I need to consider, to improve my comprehension of capturing a better image. Thank you.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful Alan

[@gilles6238]

very good very clear ! thanks a lot

[@VisualEducationStudio]

You are welcome

[@remmsteinslove]

Rare to find so many useful information in one video. Thank you.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful

[@philfyphil]

Bloody ‘ell, I bet your courses are good :-) you have a great gift of getting information across in a way it can be retained.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you and yes they are!

[@AwesomelyAwesomeO]

Great video. Thank you!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks

[@johnl4469]

G'day Karl. Another video chock full of useful information. Thanks mate.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks John.

[@thekrewfan1235]

This is the best explanation i've seen so far on image quality vs resolution

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you.

[@videodarshan]

Very much useful information thank u so much sir

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Welcome

[@DavidMorehead]

Wow! Great presentation. Thank you.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks.

[@paulgill3785]

Very clear, thanks.👍

[@VisualEducationStudio]

You are welcome!

[@andhikazanuar]

very helpful 👍🏻

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks

[@alnoormeralli]

Great review. Sensor design is so important. Also a great point about demosaicing processing between camera manufacturers using the same fabricated sensors. Data processing for higher than base ISO may be another important factor.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Many thanks

[@necrotat2]

Thank you, I learned a few things watching this that I had no idea I even wanted to know... Now I need to learn even more!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lunamagic8]

Incredible well explained video!!!! mind blowing

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Glad you liked it!

[@gashead2]

Thanks, informative

[@BOKEHMASTER]

Very detailed. Thank you.

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thank you.

[@plre2030]

IIRC crop sensors came about way before ff sensors due to technology limitations. BTW, price is not the only drawback of larger image sensors: larger sensor requires larger and heavier lenses. This is why I'm considering switching to m43 for my urban/street photography: it's 70-200 equivalent is much smaller and lighter than a regular full frame 70-200 lens.

[@TechnoBabble]

I don't know why you think this, but the lenses are not smaller. There's not even a full frame 70-200 f/4 equivalent for M4/3. Lenses that are actually equivalent for smaller sensors are just as big and expensive.

[@NeonShores]

@@TechnoBabble this is hilariously wrong. Many of the lenses are tiny in comparison, and much cheaper. The 35-100mm f2.8 is small, optically amazing and half the price of most F4 zooms.

[@TechnoBabble]

@@NeonShores ​ Hilariously wrong? So the 35-100mm f2.8 is equivalent to what on full frame? A 70-200 f5.6. You might think it's equivalent to a 70-200 f/2.8, but that's what would be hilariously wrong. On average, when using similar levels of sensor technology, a M4/3 sensor produces images with 4x the amount of noise of a Full Frame sensor when at the same ISO. This means that to produce an image with the same level of noise the M4/3 camera needs to be at 1/4 the ISO value, needing a lens that is 2 full stops brighter. That 35-100 would need to be f1.4 to match a full frame f/2.8 zoom. Why do you think it's half the price? It only allows the camera to gather half the amount of light. Smaller sensors are not magic and they don't get to break the laws of physics, unfortunately.

[@diybatterypower]

m4/3 is awesome. I have an EM1 ii and Sony A7iv, while I love the more powerful Sony the Olympus is my favorite for travel and street photography.

[@diybatterypower]

@@TechnoBabble The lenses are smaller, this is a fact. I have an array of m4/3 and full frame lenses.

[@Daytondoesstuff]

Love this! Just found your channel and my girlfriend is just starting the process of becoming a professional photographer. I am definitely going to recommend she binges your videos :) Very clear and helpful!

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks, I hope she enjoys it too. She can check out my work on karltaylor.com

[@Daytondoesstuff]

@@VisualEducationStudio Dope! I'll check out the free course, too! Cheers :)

[@jozefgeusens44]

That was indeed educating and good to hear it all in one place, Karl! To give an example: As an amateur who has been photographing since the 70's, I have (at some point) finally decided to buy a 24 megapixel full frame to digitalise my slides and black and white negatives. Why 24 MP? Because my older DSLR with 12 megapixel didn't reproduce all details from the fine grain b/w negatives and even some from my Kodachrome 25 slides (possibly 21 MP would be enough, but that camera didn't provide the needed dynamic range). To capture the whole dynamic range from those slides without losing on highlights or deep shadow areas, the full frame took care of both because of the larger photosites. Also, because I already had an expensive macro bellows and slide duplicating system, I could re-use it with my digital camera. Of course I also get excellent - technical - results in conventional photography because of that camera, but I am happy to use my older gear with older lenses because they still give me that much pleasure in photographing. Which I think is a tad more important than having the newest, highest technical quality - especially because I don't have to work towards a customer's goal. And that is what you, Karl, have mentioned quite often in your videos: you choose your gear in function of the result, which is of course replying to the needs of your clients. I thought I might emphasise this one more time ;-)

[@VisualEducationStudio]

Thanks Jozef.

[@dizzydira9695]

What a Class ..thank you Mr Taylor

[@VisualEducationStudio]

thanks dizzy.

[@returntohome330]

Photography is really an Allice in Wonderland rabit hole, when you think you have leant all one can possibly know a mentor appears revealing a whole new world to explore within...