# Image Resolutions



## exoticwo (Aug 24, 2007)

Are these sizes too big for posting pictures here??

Image Resolutions  3008 x 2000 â€¢ 1504 x 1000 â€¢ 2256 x 1496  

This info is from a Nikon D50 SLR I am looking at buying.

 THnks for the help.


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## gketell (Aug 24, 2007)

Yes.  1 the image size will be to big.  but more importantly most of us have our screens set at 1024x768 or 1280x1024 so you are saying the pictures would be 2 times as big as our screens.

I usually post at 640x480 or 800x600 (If I want it really big).

But, it is easy to change the resolution after the fact in software so you can have the really big one for things like posters in your display, etc.

GK


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## beamer (Aug 24, 2007)

They're huge, but you WANT that. Camera resolution is all about prints, not screens. If you print the pictures (or have them processed into prints), you'll want the higher resolution photo otherwise it'll look like poo (technical term).

For print, figure at leat 300dpi. For screen, you're stuck at either 72 or 96dpi. You're much better off not letting screen resolutions dictate your camera purchase. Unless, of course, you're never going to want to print them.

Resizing is a snap, and 99% of the cameras will come with software that'll let you do that.


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## exoticwo (Aug 24, 2007)

Greg, I think what I ment to say was that the camera only has the three sizes available for shooting pictures. Idon't want something that makes "POO"
 Does the larger size mean the resized picture/file will be bigger (more DPI's)?


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## gketell (Aug 24, 2007)

When you resize you can select not only your dimensions (height and width) but also your dpi so being able to take big pictures with high dpi is a good thing if you want to make prints.  Then you resize them down to small size, low dpi for posting on the web.

3 things I would look for in a camera for doing "inventory" type pictures:
  1) Complete manual setting: focus, f-stop, shutter speed.
  2) Ability to manually set the white balance (this one is quite possibly the most important)
  3) This one is optional but highly recommended.  The ability to shoot in "raw" mode.  Raw mode takes everything the camera sees natively and saves it to your memory card.  If it only saves in JPG then it is doing all sorts of manipulations to the photo before it saves it and you can never undo those changes.  With the raw picture you can correct for white balance, etc very easily after the picture is taken.  And with good software it is easier to go from the raw image to your final, corrected and resized jpg size of choice than it would be to go from JPG to JPG.

IF you are only shooting for the web and never plan to make big prints, a 3-Mpixel is plenty of camera because you will be cranking the photo down to small size anyway.  You only need zillions of megapixels if you plan on doing big prints.  

The important factors are those listed above and a good lens.  A zillion megapixel camera with a junk lens will take junk pictures.  A 3 megapixel camera with a good lens will take great pictures that will look good up to about a 5x7 print and will look just as good as the zillion... when resized for the web.

GK


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## beamer (Aug 24, 2007)

Albert,

I probably was a little too vague with my description. Choosing a digital camera is a fairly complex thing and somewhat of an individual choice. There are a number of factors to consider and your needs will really depend on how you'll be using the camera. Being that you're posting on here tells me you'll probably want some fairly close-up still shots for sure.

The rules about posting the photos on here really wouldn't be much help in choosing the camera, though. I guess what I'm saying is that you should probably count on resizing them if you want to post them anywhere on the internet. When I say resizing, I mean taking away some pixels - taking an image that came off the camera at say 3008x2000 and making it 800x530, for example.

Resolution and 'dpi' is the same thing, it's like saying Distance and 'inches'. One is the unit of measure for the other. Resolution is not how many pixels something is, total. It's really a measure of the size of the pixel itself. To further cloud things, you can have the same number of pixels and have a different resolution. For example: A 3008x2000 picture would be about 10" by 6.5" if printed at 300dpi. But at 72dpi, it'd be about 41.5" by 27.5". Same number of pixels, different sizes altogether.

In the print world, 300dpi is a good starting point. But computer screens generally only run at 72dpi (or 96). Cameras are generally built to satisfy the print world and because of that, anything you want to be seen on a computer screen would probably need to be resized. That's where the rules of this forum come in. Since most people run at certain resolutions (800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024, etc), anything bigger than about 800 pixels wide would be HUGE on thier screens.

So ... to make a long story longer ... pick your camera based on all the needs you'll place on that camera and plan on resizing anything you'd like to share on the internet. This goes for emailing to friends, posting on forums, putting on your web site, etc.

If you're struggling with what to look for in a digital camera, googling came up with several guides for choosing them. You might look at these sites:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=buying+a+digital+camera

Hopefully I haven't just sent too many people into techno-coma


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## ctwxlvr (Aug 24, 2007)

there is a new show application site that is used by several crafting promoters that want the images at 1920 X 1920. 4 of the shows I am thinking about for 2008 are using this for their application process the site is: http://www.zapplication.org/


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## exoticwo (Aug 24, 2007)

Thanks for the advise!
  Thats sounds like just the info I needed to get more educated. I have read lots of things here about what it takes to get a good picture with your camera and you made it easy for me.  I really want to get better close up's and My current camera does none of these things well. 
Thanks again.


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## gketell (Aug 24, 2007)

Popular Photography and Imaging (www.popphoto.com) has a good guide to "choosing your camera" and also does fabulous reviews of cameras and lenses.

GK


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## gerryr (Aug 24, 2007)

I have to disagree about Pop Photography.  I subscribed to it for several years when I was shooting professionally and not once did they ever pan a piece of junk that should never have even made it to market.  If you want unbiased reviews of cameras or equipment you need to find ones done by people who aren't basically funded by the companies whose products are being reviewed.  If you're thinking about a Nikon, check out www.nikonians.org .  They have forums devoted to specific cameras, like the D50 and you can find a lot of useful information there.  I have no ideas how much the camera you're looking at costs, but if you want an unbiased opinion of the D40, send me an email.  It's several steps down from what I've been used to using, but I am extremely pleased with it.

In addition, while shooting RAW images will give you a huge amount of control over the final image, it adds some significant complexity to the task of taking the image from the camera to paper or monitor plus you will have to buy software to deal with it properly, either Nikon's Capture NX or Adobe Photoshop.  Get the white balance and exposure correct when you take the photo and you don't need all that manipulation.


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