Maybe I still just don't get this aspect ratio stuff. I don't see how the aspect ratio has anything to do with the lens at all. As I said before this was adjustable with a switch setting on the Sont which uses a very nice Carl Ziess lens. As a Digital only users I could care less about how it was done with film camera's, whats the corrolation?

I believe in the long run, Digital camers will supercede film camera's and film will end up just being onld technology. I see it like adding rewind and fast forward to DVD player because that is how casette tapes have done it for years.

The Canon Digital Rebel is great for E-comerce, becuase of the direct capture to the computer option. It you are photographing hundreds of items like for a Toys-R-US type web site. You still need studion strobes to control shadows and increase detail for items sold on the net. Cropping for web is easy because you are always trying to get things to fit in the frame. But for print, If you could reduce the cropping step by setting this in the camera that would be a huge time savings. Espeacially when I do on-site shots where I could go straight from camera to printer with no computer.

Anyway, I am sure eventually some one will figure this out. Again its only a computer they do what we tell them to do...:-)

minutephotos.com wrote: Well, your Sony LCD and EVFused a live feed from the CCD. It's CCD was already designed for a 4:3 Aspect Ratio, too. So, all Sony needed to do for a 3:2 Aspect Ratio, was not use the entire sensor. This way, you'd see the correct image proportions, regardless of which Aspect Ratio you selected.

In contrast, a DSLR must use an Optical Viewfinder, and it's sensor is designed to a 3:2 Aspect Ratio (which is perfect for 4x6" prints, but not for other sizes). As a result, the only good way for you to have a view of what the Aspect Ratio would need to be for an 8x10" print, would be to change the proportions of the viewfinder.

Now, I did find a forum post somewhere after you mentioned thinking about taping up the lens (which probably wouldn't work). Someone else marked their focus screenfor this purpose. Although I understand that the Digital Rebel does not have interchangeable focus screens.

In any event, the 4:3 Aspect Ratio you could use in the Sony, requires some cropping for an 8x10" print, too. In fact, the only popular Aspect Ratio/Print Size combination (by popular, I mean 4:3, and 3:2) that doesn't require cropping, is shooting at a 3:2 Aspect Ratio for 4x6" prints.

Here is a chart that shows frame utilization at common print sizes and aspect ratios:

http://home.earthlink.net/~terryleed....htm#frameutil

Thank you very much for your research. I am very happy with my Canon Digital Rebel and will just have to learn how to deal with this. Altough, I still never see myself going to a film camera or back to something like the Sony...

It's not so bad now that I have all this new information and understand what I need to do now.

Thank you all

For your help.

By the way none of my customers where complaning it was just me being lazy

Actually, I think the Europeans have the right idea with their "A" sizes. All of these standard print sizes in Europe have the same aspect ratios.

If we would adopt the same standard, and if manufacturers would design the cameras and printers around it, we wouldn't need to worry about cropping no matter what size we choose to print at.

minutephotos.com wrote: Glad we got this all sorted out for ya Bud.



Cheers!