4:3 ratio versus 16:9

[Kevin Childress]

What are your thoughts on photos taken at 4:3 ratio versus 16:9? What does one stand to loose or gain either way? Does either ratio benefit one's ability to control depth-of-field or exposure compensation, etc?

I always leave my camera set at 10 MP / 4:3 ratio. If I want 16:9, I have to drop resolution to 7.5 MP. Have I been missing an opportunity by not alternating between these ratios?

Any other thoughts you have are appreciated!

Kevin

[mtngal]

I've seen pleasing pictures in both formats. The one thing I suspect is that the 16:9 format is taking the 10 mp picture and cutting some of it off to give you the aspect ratio. That being the case, you could do that yourself using software, and have the option to crop the way YOU want to. Shooting at 16:9 would be nice if you are going to use your pictures only as a slide show on a wide-screen TV and not do any editing.

[kazuya]

i think it all depends on the subject, some landscapes can benefit greatly from 16:9
but studio & portrait work probably not