What do mp for a professional camera mean?

Question

like a 8mp camera, 9mp. what kind is the best for $$$?

Answer 1

mp stands for megapixels, or the number of millions of pixels that the camera can see. A 10mp camera has ten million pixels. A pixel is a tiny piece of a picture  (a dot of a single color) that the camera records, and with a higher number of dots, more detail in the picture can be seen.

Past about 6 megapixels (mp), I consider it all a numbers game to attract buyers. A quality lens on a 8mp camera will virtually always yield better image quality than a kit lens on a 12 megapixel camera. When looking at the resolution of a camera, you need to ask whether you honestly need a high number of megapixels. If you plan to repeatedly print your pictures at true photo quality to be very large (ie, poster size), then a high megapixel count can be a consideration. Otherwise, the vast majority of photographers will not see a noticeable difference in 6mp vs 8mp or 10 mp vs 12mp.

As for a "professional" camera, you'd be looking for a DSLR. Now, you can't really get a truly professional camera for less than a few thousand dollars, but you can get a great DSLR like the Nikon d40 or Canon Rebel XT for under $500. While these are advertised as a consumer DSLR, they can take professional quality images in skilled hands.

Answer 2

9.

mp=megapixel