what picture size do you use
Discussion
Iv been playing with my D70 im starting to get the hang of it:d this may sound like a stupid question but what picture sizes do you guys use? iv been running it on fine quality and Large (3008x2000) im not really going to be printing many of the pics off and if i do they are normally only A4 if i move down to medium quality (2240x1488) am i going to loose and of the image quality or just get a smaller overall picture
I think most will tell you always to shoot the best your camera is capable of, and a less popular line of advice but one that is still common (and in my opinion, sound) is to always shoot in RAW.
Can you imagine taking that one snapshot of a lifetime and it's comprimised because you haven't set the camera to a decent quality?
Dunno about you, but for me it would be a major
moment.
Unless you're severely restricted in the storage capacity department (for instance when travelling with no backup storage device) or shooting stuff you KNOW you'll never need high-res (like product shots for the web) then always shoot the best you can.
The decision I make is whether to shoot RAW or JPEG depending on how long it will be before I can offload my memory cards (though now I have a 40GB external storage device with a built-in CF reader, so those days are over). Not ONCE did I question whether it was worth reducing the image quality from maximum at maximum res.
Not once.
Can you imagine taking that one snapshot of a lifetime and it's comprimised because you haven't set the camera to a decent quality?
Dunno about you, but for me it would be a major
moment. Unless you're severely restricted in the storage capacity department (for instance when travelling with no backup storage device) or shooting stuff you KNOW you'll never need high-res (like product shots for the web) then always shoot the best you can.
The decision I make is whether to shoot RAW or JPEG depending on how long it will be before I can offload my memory cards (though now I have a 40GB external storage device with a built-in CF reader, so those days are over). Not ONCE did I question whether it was worth reducing the image quality from maximum at maximum res.
Not once.
To answer your question, whether or not you lose quality depends on how you look at it. If you're only going to print it on A4 or less you'll never see a difference - as long as the quality is fine the camera resolves as much detail as possible. It just shrinks all that information into a smaller form factor and discards the remaining data.
Ultimately you DO lose quality, in the sense that when you print big you will see a difference between the two, but if you never do this then practically speaking you will never see a difference.
But as I said, my advice is don't even go there.
Ultimately you DO lose quality, in the sense that when you print big you will see a difference between the two, but if you never do this then practically speaking you will never see a difference.
But as I said, my advice is don't even go there.
Well for various reasons, my D70 hasn't been changed from RAW since I set it up.
Working backwards from what you're trying to achieve, if you need or want best quality prints aim at 300dpi resolution. So a (roughly, so I can do it in me 'ead) 3000x2000 should be excellent for 10" x 6.7". Even then 300 might be seen as overkill. What printer are you using, what are its limits?
If you only want web-sized and 6"x4" then 1800x1200 is more than adequate.
But you will then find that you can drop the resolution (partly because the bigger the output the further away you are likely to view it from). Taken to logical extreme - a billboard in the street is nothing like 300dpi - but you still get good images, don't you!?
I've just printed off a few A4s for the Mum-in-Law and they're absolutely excellent at the 225-240dpi range. They've just been cropped down a little bit, mainly to be the right dimensions. You can view 'em from 9" if you want to!
Not surprisingly a combination of the subject matter and any effects you want may also affect the perception of the overall result. So, while you may take on board others' views, you might just want to test for yourself.
Just got a second 1Gb card today, so I'm good for 360ish RAWs and you can always drop resolution (and after all what did we shell out on a D70 for if we were'nt going to aim for high quality).
I like the latitude of aiming high and being able to "ski downhill" by throwing away pixels if I later decide I don't want them.....
Sorry! that turned into a bit of a ramble didn't it!
Working backwards from what you're trying to achieve, if you need or want best quality prints aim at 300dpi resolution. So a (roughly, so I can do it in me 'ead) 3000x2000 should be excellent for 10" x 6.7". Even then 300 might be seen as overkill. What printer are you using, what are its limits?
If you only want web-sized and 6"x4" then 1800x1200 is more than adequate.
But you will then find that you can drop the resolution (partly because the bigger the output the further away you are likely to view it from). Taken to logical extreme - a billboard in the street is nothing like 300dpi - but you still get good images, don't you!?
I've just printed off a few A4s for the Mum-in-Law and they're absolutely excellent at the 225-240dpi range. They've just been cropped down a little bit, mainly to be the right dimensions. You can view 'em from 9" if you want to!
Not surprisingly a combination of the subject matter and any effects you want may also affect the perception of the overall result. So, while you may take on board others' views, you might just want to test for yourself.
Just got a second 1Gb card today, so I'm good for 360ish RAWs and you can always drop resolution (and after all what did we shell out on a D70 for if we were'nt going to aim for high quality).
I like the latitude of aiming high and being able to "ski downhill" by throwing away pixels if I later decide I don't want them.....
Sorry! that turned into a bit of a ramble didn't it!
I also use JPEG Fine.
I tried RAW and spent a whole night trying to view the bloody files on my computer. I've only got Photoshop Elements and it doesn't support RAW afaik.
I'm more than happy with the FINE setting and it means I don't have to change CF cards as much.
give me 6months and I'll probably be using RAW and wondering how i lived without it...
I tried RAW and spent a whole night trying to view the bloody files on my computer. I've only got Photoshop Elements and it doesn't support RAW afaik.
I'm more than happy with the FINE setting and it means I don't have to change CF cards as much.
give me 6months and I'll probably be using RAW and wondering how i lived without it...
beano500 said:
I use Raw Shooter
...also Nikon Capture (which you probably have a trial version when you purchased the camera body)
afaik most of these programs are suitable for PCs and not Macs. I do remember having a bit of a
evening after shooting in RAW. I'm sure Bacardi knows of a suitable mac program but for what I need, jpeg fine seems ample >> Edited by rico on Friday 1st April 08:34
With the price of CF cards now (and large hard drives) it is always a good idea to shoot higher res. For me Jpeg fine for most occasions just given the extra workload created by Raw, but I might switch to Raw if in tricky/mixed lighting etc - For me it is that shooting higher res will allow you to crop in significantly compared to smaller sizes. Its so frustrating that you you can have secured a cracking shot but the subject is just too small in the frame, the ability to enlarge and still have a usable resolution can be a lifesaver.
I don't think it matters whether you shoot raw or not as far as the original question goes. From what I can tell you are saying that you can't print A4 from the 3000 by 2000 images?
I assume this means when you do you get a border or missing parts on one edge of the image? If so, I think this is due to the aspect ratio of the picture. Any "A" type paper is a slightly different aspect ratio to your D70, and so a full width portrait image printed to A4 will miss 200 pixels or so off the height.
At least that's what I've found anyway! I could be wrong though.
I assume this means when you do you get a border or missing parts on one edge of the image? If so, I think this is due to the aspect ratio of the picture. Any "A" type paper is a slightly different aspect ratio to your D70, and so a full width portrait image printed to A4 will miss 200 pixels or so off the height.
At least that's what I've found anyway! I could be wrong though.
white_van_man said:
if i move down to medium quality (2240x1488) am i going to loose and of the image quality or just get a smaller overall picture
Ah right - I just read the Q again... You can print out the photo any size you like. Technically you will lose quality by starting with fewer pixels, but if you think of 3000 pixels printed over 10" as being 300dpi, then 2240 pixels is stil 224 pixels per inch - plenty for a decent print.
Just re-read your post - I think I'm the victim of a missing full stop....
I'll go back to sleep now, sorry. Although I do think I'm right about the aspect ratio, since my borderless A4 prints always seem to miss something off the edge!
white van man almost said:
im not really going to be printing many of the pics off and if i do they are normally only A4full stop if i move down to medium quality (2240x1488) am i going to loose and of the image quality or just get a smaller overall picture
I'll go back to sleep now, sorry. Although I do think I'm right about the aspect ratio, since my borderless A4 prints always seem to miss something off the edge!
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