Megapixel calculator

A "megapixel" is one million (1.000.000) pixels. Enter the pixel dimensions of your photo, camera, screen or tv, and calculate how many megapixels that is.

Calculate megapixels

  • Size = 1920 x 1080 = 2,073,600 pixels
  • Pixel count = 2.07 million pixels
  • Resolution = 2.07 mega pixels
  • A full frame sensor would be 42.7 x 24 mm (1.78)
  • Pixel density would be 53 pixels/mm or 1350 pixels/inch (dpi)
  • Pixel pitch: 18.8 micron (rather large)
Aspect ratio 1920x1080

Calculate (file) size

Uncompressed RAW/BMP

FormatSize
TIFF Monochrome 8bit/pixel2.07 MB
RAW/DNG 10 bits/pixel2.59 MB
RAW/DNG 12 bits/pixel3.11 MB
RAW/DNG 14 bits/pixel3.63 MB
RAW/DNG 16 bits/pixel4.15 MB
BMP RGB 3x8 bit/pixel6.22 MB
OPENEXR RGBA 4x16 bit/pixel16.59 MB

Compare to

4K TV (16:9) • 8K TV (16:9) • HDCAM • NTSC DVD • NTSC SVCD • NTSC TV • NTSC VCD • PAL DVD • PAL SVCD • PAL VCD • Quicktime HD 1080p • Quicktime HD 720p • Quicktime SD 480p •

Background

For decades, advances in camera technology have been measured in 'megapixels', although more pixels doesn't always mean better quality. The same metric can also be used to describe the resolution of photos, or digital screens. This megapixel calculator brings it all together. Calculate, compare, visualise and estimate.

References

Wikipedia: Pixels & megapixels
Wikipedia: Common resolutions
Camera Resolution explained
Canon RAW, sRAW, mRAW

Photo calculators & converters

Aspect ratio
Image Width x Height → aspect ratio
Aspect Fit
Fit an image on a screen
Composition Calculator
Focal length, distance, crop factor → image composition
Depth-of-Field Calculator
Aperture, focal length, distance, crop → depth-of-field
DPI calculator
Print Width x Height and dpi → megapixels
Image filesize calculator
Image Width x Height JPG/RAW/PNG → bytes
Light calculator (EV)
Aperture, shutter time, ISO → Exposure Value
Megapixel calculator
Image Width x Height → megapixels
Megapixel Aspects
See megapixels in different aspect ratios
Portrait distance
portrait distance, composition, crop factor, focal length

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate megapixels from resolution?

Multiply width × height and divide by 1,000,000. For example: 1920×1080 = 2,073,600 pixels = 2.07 megapixels. A 4K display (3840×2160) is 8.3 megapixels, while a 24MP camera produces 6000×4000 pixel images.

How many megapixels do I need for printing?

For quality prints at 300 DPI: 8×10 inch requires 7.2MP, 11×14 inch requires 14MP, 16×20 inch requires 29MP. For billboards viewed from distance, 10-72 DPI suffices, so even 2MP can work for large format prints.

What is the file size of a megapixel image?

Uncompressed: 1MP = 3MB (24-bit RGB). JPEG at 90% quality: roughly 300KB-500KB per megapixel. RAW files: 1.5-2MB per megapixel. A 24MP camera produces ~25MB RAW files or ~8MB high-quality JPEGs.

Does more megapixels mean better quality?

Not necessarily. Sensor size, lens quality, and pixel size matter more for image quality. A 12MP full-frame sensor often outperforms a 48MP smartphone sensor in low light. More megapixels help for cropping and large prints but can increase noise on small sensors.

What resolution is 1 megapixel?

A 1 megapixel image is exactly 1,000,000 pixels total. Common dimensions include 1154×867 (4:3 ratio), 1188×842 (√2 ratio), or 1000×1000 (square). HD video at 1280×720 is 0.92MP, while 1280×960 equals 1.23MP.

How do megapixels relate to print DPI?

Print size = pixels ÷ DPI. A 12MP image (4000×3000) at 300 DPI prints at 13.3×10 inches. At 150 DPI (magazine quality), the same image prints at 26.7×20 inches. Higher megapixels allow larger prints at the same quality.