Steve'sDigicams

tommy122 · Jun 27, 2005, 5:53 PM

I have read that it is always better to set your camera to the highest resolution. This makes sense to me if you are going to print a 8X10 or crop and enlarge a picture. If I set my camera to its highest resolution which is 2592X1944, this creates about a 2M file. If I'm taking a picture that I know I will be attaching to an email, do I get a better picture by setting the camera to the highest resolution and then resizing it to 640X480 with software or just setting the resolution to 640X480 to start with?

slipe · Jun 27, 2005, 6:21 PM

I almost always shoot at best quality and size. But there are times when a smaller shot is appropriate. Like when you are absolutely sure you aren't going to get a shot you want to keep.

My mother in law starts looking at Florida condos every time it gets really cold in New York. I have to go over and take a few dozen shots to e-mail to her. I absolutely know I will have no use for the things after I send them and the camera cycles a lot faster with the smaller shots.

Another time I use smaller size is when I am doing a Pixaround 360 – the kind you can use your mouse to navigate around in. Maximum height is 800 pixels for one of those and I shoot with the camera held vertically. So I shoot at the lower resolution to cut the stitching time.

If you are on vacation and don't have any way to store the images other than the memory card I think I would prefer to go down a notch in quality and keep the full resolution. That probably varies from camera to camera.

But I think one would be sorry they skimped on resolution if they got a shot they really liked.

Monza76 · Jun 27, 2005, 6:43 PM

I also shoot at high resolution, you can downsize images for email but you cannot restore detail that is not there. If I absolutely know that the image will never be used for anything but email I will shoot at low resolution, but I am usually afraid of missing out on a great image by shooting this way.

As for travelling, if you must deal with limited memory space keep the resolution at 2MP (1600 X 1200) or higher since this will still yield excellent 4" X 6" prints and give acceptable 8" X 10" (viewed at normal distance). Anything lower is not very useful for prints.

Ira

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Jun 27, 2005, 5:53 PM	#1
tommy122 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2	I have read that it is always better to set your camera to the highest resolution. This makes sense to me if you are going to print a 8X10 or crop and enlarge a picture. If I set my camera to its highest resolution which is 2592X1944, this creates about a 2M file. If I'm taking a picture that I know I will be attaching to an email, do I get a better picture by setting the camera to the highest resolution and then resizing it to 640X480 with software or just setting the resolution to 640X480 to start with?

Jun 27, 2005, 6:21 PM	#2
slipe Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Indian Rocks Beach, FL Posts: 4,036	I almost always shoot at best quality and size. But there are times when a smaller shot is appropriate. Like when you are absolutely sure you aren't going to get a shot you want to keep. My mother in law starts looking at Florida condos every time it gets really cold in New York. I have to go over and take a few dozen shots to e-mail to her. I absolutely know I will have no use for the things after I send them and the camera cycles a lot faster with the smaller shots. Another time I use smaller size is when I am doing a Pixaround 360 – the kind you can use your mouse to navigate around in. Maximum height is 800 pixels for one of those and I shoot with the camera held vertically. So I shoot at the lower resolution to cut the stitching time. If you are on vacation and don't have any way to store the images other than the memory card I think I would prefer to go down a notch in quality and keep the full resolution. That probably varies from camera to camera. But I think one would be sorry they skimped on resolution if they got a shot they really liked.

Jun 27, 2005, 6:43 PM	#3
Monza76 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,154	I also shoot at high resolution, you can downsize images for email but you cannot restore detail that is not there. If I absolutely know that the image will never be used for anything but email I will shoot at low resolution, but I am usually afraid of missing out on a great image by shooting this way. As for travelling, if you must deal with limited memory space keep the resolution at 2MP (1600 X 1200) or higher since this will still yield excellent 4" X 6" prints and give acceptable 8" X 10" (viewed at normal distance). Anything lower is not very useful for prints. Ira