| |
| |
|
photosonlinespace.com
|
|
|
|
The Truth About Pixels, Part 2-1: Printing 4x3 Inch Photos
Why is a 3 megapixel camera better than a 1 megapixel camera? It really depends on how you intend to reproduce the picture. The reason cameras produce pictures at 72 pixels per inch is that this format is standard in video uses such as television and DVD. So there is no noticeable difference in quality when viewing pictures on a TV or DVD. The difference appears when you are cropping and/or printing these pictures. If you are not familiar with the term cropping, I will explain it later. First, let's talk about printing. Even the most inexpensive of printers these days are capable of printing at 300 dots per inch (dpi). Most are capable of printing at 600 dpi and you can buy relatively affordable printers that print at 1200 dpi and above. You may have noticed that with cameras it's called pixels per inch and with printers it is call dots per inch. The terms are hardware specific, but relate to the same principal. A printer prints a specific number of dots of ink per inch on the paper whereas a TV displays a specific number of pixels per inch on the screen. In either case, combining the dots or pixels creates the picture. So how does this affect quality? If we're printing a picture that has 72 pixels per inch from a 1-megapixel camera on 4x3 printer paper we've got a problem. (Here is where I have to crunch some numbers, so please bear with me.) Let's figure it out. Four inches times 72 pixels (dots) per inch equals 288 pixels (dots) on the vertical line. Three inches times 72 pixels (dots) equals 216 pixels (dots) on the horizontal line. The total picture would have 288 times 216 or 62,208 pixels. That's way short of one million. So where did the other pixels go? If you're printing this picture at a store or camera shop that has conversion capabilities, the machine that you are printing on actually crunches the picture down for you. The size of the picture taken by a 1-megapixel camera is approximately 16 inches x12 inches. (16x72=1152 and 12x72=864 and 864x1152=995,328 pixels). The machine makes this picture into a 4x3 by increasing the number of pixels per inch. The 4x3 picture is 1/4th the size of the 16x12 so there has to be four times as many pixels per inch to reduce this picture to 4x3. Four times seventy two equals two hundred eighty eight pixels (dots) per inch. With more pixels or dots per inch, the picture can be reproduced at a higher quality level making details sharper and more distinct. So a 1-megapixel camera can produce a reasonably good quality 4x3 inch picture on a 300 dpi printer. That's what most amateur photographers get with their snapshot cameras. If you try to get larger pictures, then the picture quality begins to deteriorate. Part 2-2 will deal with larger prints. Conclusion: If you have a printer with more than 300 dpi capabilities and all you want is 4x3 inch prints, then you are not using all your printer's abilities. If you want prints larger than 4x3 inch, then you need a camera with a higher quality output capability. If all you want is 4x3 inch prints and video reproduction without cropping much, then a 1-megapixel camera and 300 dpi printer should serve you fine. Note: Different printers produce different quality prints. Since this is a discussion of pixels and digital cameras, I do not get into choosing printers for the quality. Suffice it to say, if you have a reasonably good quality printer, then the information provided should work for you. Note 2: There are ways to enlarge prints with lower dpi rates and size and still get quality results. This information will come in later discussions and is probably geared toward the more advanced photographers and digital dark room users. Wayne Rockwell is a professional videographer at Legacy Pictures to Video and specializes in Video Montage creation and Photo Retouching.
MORE RESOURCES:
MASS MoCA presents first major museum exhibition of Leonard Nimoy's photography - Albany Times Union
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Take Better Photos of Your Baby or Toddler Every Mom wants to take great photos of their babies and toddlers. We all want professional looking photos for our children without paying a fortune! This better baby photo article will help you take the best photos you can and you don't even have to own an expensive camera. Have You Read Your Digital Camera Manual? Have you read the manual that came with your digital camera? If not you are in good company, the majority of digital camera owners never get past the *Basic Operations* section.If you didn*t read the manual why not? Was it the obscure photographic terms? The numerous cross references ? The complicated diagrams? The myriad uses for each dial and button? The convoluted English? Maybe all of the above. Choosing The Right Digital Camera Let's get something straight right out of the box. If you're looking to buy a new digital camera, you don't really have to be an expert in pixels and mega pixels and all that kind of stuff. Removing a Textured Pattern from a Scanned Photo - 5 Minute Digital Fix One of the most common problems when dealing with scanned photographs as part of a digital restoration activity is that after scanning, the digital image appears to have a textured pattern to it.This is often caused by the fact that the photograph in question has been printed on textured photographic paper. Tame Those Memories Family vacations, summer weddings and family reunions are in full swing, and the warm memories and envelopes of photographs are ever growing! You certainly intend to organize them -- but the boxes in the attic are full of intentions, and now the photograph CDs are being to pile up! What can you do to stop the madness?Step 1: Decide why you are saving the photographs. My mother- in-law, for example, wants to ensure them for future generations, which means acid-free paper and detailed labeling. Selecting Good Stock Photography in the Age of Digital The business of stock photography has drastically changed over the last few years. Ten years ago, selecting photographs for your brochure or newsletter meant spending hours pouring over stock photography catalogs and ordering photo research to find the exact image. Removing Cracks and Creases when Restoring Old Photos - 5 Minute Digital Fix A common problem with old photos is that they often have un-desirable cracks and creases.These can be removed quite easily using the Clone, Healing and Patch tools found in Adobe Photoshop. How To Become A Digital Photography Pro Being a professional digital photographer is a dream many people have but most lack the ambition to follow through. Still, you want to take the best digital pictures you can without forking over the cost of a photography degree. Infrared Photography and Big City Crime One of the major problems of the larger cities of the word these days is crime. It appears that the larger the city the more-acceptable serious crime seems to be. The Truth About Pixels, Part 2-1: Printing 4x3 Inch Photos Why is a 3 megapixel camera better than a 1 megapixel camera? It really depends on how you intend to reproduce the picture. The reason cameras produce pictures at 72 pixels per inch is that this format is standard in video uses such as television and DVD. Canon Digital Camera - from Humble Beginnings to World Class Company Started in a single-room by three Japanese men in the year 1933 under the name of Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, Canon has come a long way today. It all began with the phantom prototype camera called the 'Kwanon'. Digital Camera Memory Cards A digital camera accessory you should purchase is a spare memory card. Most cameras are sold with a 'starter' memory card that is usually a low capacity card that's enough to take a few sample photos on, but not enough for day-to-day use. Diffusion & Softening of Digital Photography Images Like many people who've made the switch from film cameras to digital, I've discovered that the lens tools I once used so effectively on my cameras to soften, diffuse and vignette my images for quality "finished" professional results won't do for digital what they did for film.I'm sure it's arguable by some that their diffusers still work fine, and I too have discovered that some tools still work okay under some circumstances; my Ziess Softar #1 seemed to offer decent results when photographing a single subject in the studio but I knew that the black netting diffuser that I used with my Lindahl Bell-o-shade no longer worked on the Nikon D70 zoom lens at the wider angles without showing lines in the image. Top 10 Digital Cameras - What You Need To Know About Them There are a large number of top 10 digital camera lists available on the Internet today. Each one of them is different and they all have different sets of criteria, on the basis of which these lists are compiled. Take Spectacular Nighttime Photos with Your Digital Camera - Part II Night photos can take on a somewhat magical quality you may find lacking in normal daytime photography. Amazing night pictures certainly can attract attention. HP Digital Cameras - History and Beyond HP has started making digital cameras only recently. However, the firm provides a one-stop-shop for all digital facilities. Home Run Baseball Photography Tips Strike one! Strike two! Strike three!Baseball! America's Pastime, and a sport growing in popularity throughout the world, where the Boys of Summer slug it out. A baseball game is the perfect way to spend a lazy summer afternoon, plus it provides opportunities to take photos that last a lifetime. Digital Camera Reviews and Ratings De-Mystify the Choices Shopping for a new digital camera can be quite frustrating with the hundreds of choices available. Digital camera reviews clarify this confusion by comparing camera features and options, then rating how each camera compares with similar models. The Benefits of Disposable Cameras Disposable cameras are cheap and easy to use. If you just want to take some snapshots and have fun then this is the camera for you. Selecting Your First Digital Camera Purchasing a digital camera is a wise decision, particularly if you take a lot of pictures and you want to control how they are developed. Camera prices continue to plummet and Americans are exchanging their 35mm cameras for digital devices at a record pace.
|
|
Powered By: Free Work At Home Business Opportunity! |
| © 2006 |
