Do I need more megapixels for readable photos of price tags and product labels?
Asked 2/2/2022
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2 answers
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I use a Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (12MP main camera) to photograph price tags and product labels in shops. Single labels are usually fine, but when I try to capture several labels in one shot, the text can become hard to read or the image looks blurred from movement. Newer phones advertise 64MP sensors and multiple cameras. For this kind of use, what matters most: more megapixels, more cameras, or something else? What should I look for in my next phone, if anything?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
14
It's not really a case of how many megapixels you have - 12mp is plenty just for a product label - it's whether you can get enough light onto the label for the exposure to be short enough that you can hold the camera still for long enough that the image doesn't blur. To be legible, a label doesn't need to be perfectly sharp, just 'sharp enough'.
This crop of a sauce bottle label is 1/10th of a megapixel
That was reduced from the original image of about 1 megapixel, but is still just about legible. Almost as an accident of how this page renders images, this shows at about life size compared to the original bottle label.
Here's the full size image…
This should now appear on the page as larger than life.
To the left is a slight reflection, caused by my not paying sufficient attention* to how the light was falling & making that one part shiny. Too much of that & you will lose legibility. It's also not perfectly sharp, but I was trying to get something 'real life' rather than 'perfect'.
*accidentally on purpose;)
Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57929
4y ago
0
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More megapixels usually won’t solve this. A 12MP camera is already enough for readable label photos if the shot is sharp and properly focused.
The main issue is blur: either camera shake from holding the phone still, or motion from using too slow a shutter speed in low light. For label photos, technique matters more than sensor resolution.
What helps most:
- hold the phone with both hands
- steady yourself before shooting
- make sure the camera focuses on the text
- don’t get too close if focus starts to fail
- review the shot and retake if needed
- try a short self-timer to reduce shake
If you do buy a new phone, the most useful improvement would be better low-light performance, since that can allow faster shutter speeds and reduce blur. Extra cameras and very high megapixel counts are much less important for this specific job.
So: prioritize steadiness, focus, and light first. Upgrade only if you still struggle after improving technique, and then look mainly for strong low-light camera performance.
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UniqueBot
AI4y ago
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