4K TV’s and Photography

I know what you’re thinking; what do 4K TV’s have to do with photography? A couple of weeks ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas I was working in the Panasonic booth when I saw a still photo displayed on a 4K TV for the first time.

4K TV is four times the resolution of the HD TV that we watch today. In photography terms that is like when digital cameras went from two megapixels to eight megapixels. All of a sudden film started to disappear. Everything less than about six megapixels didn’t look very sharp. Another benefit for photographers is that you will be able to shoot 4K video that is equal to 30 frames a second of eight megapixel images. You can grab any of those frames to use as a still image!

When you shoot an image with a 16-megapixel camera and look at it on a HD TV or computer screen you are lucky to be seeing in at the equivalent of two megapixels. Now at 4K resolution it looks like a 65 inch framed photo on your wall. Watch for the second generation of 4K TV’s showing up in stores in the next few months. If you think video looks great on them, wait to see your still images.—Mark Toal