digital camera resolution

They have: 2,390 posts

Joined: Nov 1998

alright guys, i'm back if anyone remembers me Wink

got a questions about resolution.

i work a lot in print media and have to admit to being confused to hell about resolution. can anyone explain it?

for example. i take pics on my digital camera (3 mega pixels) but they end up in photoshop at 72ppi which seems low. if i expand that in photoshop to say 200ppi does that mean image quality goes down? if i print a 200 ppi and a 72 dpi pic wil the quality be different? what is the difference between dpi and ppi? confusing!!!!!

help greatly appreciated!!
J

He has: 1,016 posts

Joined: May 2002

Hi JP,

I don't remember you but welcome back Smiling

Digital cameras have a "mega pixel" rating, which describes the camera's ability to capture resolution (or pixels) for an image. This resolution (in pixels) is always referenced in terms of the number of pixels (in millions of pixels) that the camera can capture when the photo is taken. A 3.3 mega pixel camera, for example, provides 3.3 million pixels total for the image that is captured. Cameras with higher mega pixel values produce more pixels and larger images.

Dots and pixels are not the same thing: dpi is a measurement of printed dots per inch on a paper and ppi refers to the number of picture elements (pixels) gathered by a scanner or viewable on a screen. There is no correlation between the resolution of digital data (ppi) and the reslotion of a printed image (dpi).

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

JP! Long time no see! What have you been up to?

(JP is the founder of TWF BTW)

I'm sorry I can't really answer your question - don't know much about digital camera's but zollet seems to have done a good job here.

Busy's picture

He has: 6,151 posts

Joined: May 2001

Save the photos at the camera in .bmp or .tiff (or any other high resolution format - not .jpg), most cameras have settings for this.
Also if you don't intend using it for the web don't resize or change formats.
Paper can increase the output as well but can get expensive.
Idealy you want a 5+ mega pixel camera for print, where as 3 and under is ideal for the web

Mark Hensler's picture

He has: 4,048 posts

Joined: Aug 2000

This is the digi I want: http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/EOS1DS

I've got a Canon EOS Rebel-G (paid $400 USD). I've got a 30-75mm lense (came with camera), and a 70-300mm lense (paid $300 USD). The Canon EOS digital cameras can use the same hardware as the Rebel series, which makes them very appealing to me. The only problem is the very very hefty price tag... The model I linked to costs about $8,000 USD :eek: )

Mark Hensler
If there is no answer on Google, then there is no question.

They have: 2,390 posts

Joined: Nov 1998

cheers guys much appreciated.

Roo's picture

She has: 840 posts

Joined: Apr 1999

I remember you! I joined TWF way back when it was an infant! Though I don't get to posting much here, I still check posts almost daily. Smiling

Check your image quality in your camera.

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but the Photoshop 7 upgrade opens my Photos at 300 ....it seems to me that previous versions did as you say.....it was 72.

Roo

Want to join the discussion? Create an account or log in if you already have one. Joining is fast, free and painless! We’ll even whisk you back here when you’ve finished.