How many megapixels do I need for an 8x10 print?

An 8x10 print at the traditional close-viewing 300 DPI target needs roughly 7.2 megapixels — 2,400 by 3,000 pixels — comfortably within what any current camera, and most cameras from well over a decade ago, capture natively without any upscaling required.

Why 8x10 Specifically Uses the Strict 300 DPI Standard

Unlike a poster or large wall print, an 8x10 is genuinely small enough that it's often held in the hands, placed on a desk, or examined at a close, deliberate viewing distance — exactly the scenario the traditional 300 DPI convention was calibrated for. This is one of the few common print sizes where the strict 300 DPI figure is actually the right target rather than an overly conservative one, since the realistic viewing distance for this size genuinely tends to be close.

What This Means for Cropping

Because the requirement here (7.2 megapixels) sits well below what most current cameras capture, an 8x10 print gives real cropping headroom even on a modest resolution camera — a 24-megapixel file can be cropped down to close to a third of its original frame and still comfortably clear this target, a genuine practical advantage over trying to crop for a much larger print size.

Check your own camera's cropping headroom for this print size in the Print Size / DPI Calculator, pre-filled at close-viewing distance.