I'm using a Panasonic lumic DMC-F3 and in the menu, i can change the picture size settings. Here are my options:

4:3 12M
4:3 8M and theres a square that says EZ
4:3 5M with square that says EZ
4:3 3M EZ
4:3 0.3M EZ
3:2 10.5M
16:9 9M

I don't get what these mean and how would I know when to use which? can anyone help me? thanks

4:3, 3:2, and 16:9 are aspect ratios of the image. A 4:3 aspect ratio image is 3 pixels high for ever 4 pixels wide it is. That's the same aspect ratio as older televisions and computer monitors. The 3:2 aspect ratio is the same as a 4x6 print, and 16:9 is the same as current widescreen televisions and computer monitors.

The numbers following the aspect ratios is the total resolution of the image. The "4:3 12M" is the setting that will capture the most detail, and will require the most storage capacity. The smaller sizes (i.e.: "4:3 8M", "4:3 5M", etc.) will contain less and less detail.

In general, you're better off with the highest resolution images, which would be the "4:3 12M", but if you're just taking photos that you'll end up reducing so you can post them on-line or view them on a TV or computer screen, then the extra resolution will be wasted.

wow, okay thanks a lot! =D

And the EZ stands for Extra Optical Zoom I believe.

if that is so, under which circumstances (if any) should i be using 4:3 8M EZ over 4:3 12M?

Pretty much never. Only if you get something like faster/more images with burst or some other situation specific to your camera.

Any time you take a shot which uses less memory, you have lost information. It might so little that it does not matter, but you cannot be sure when you might want to blow up the shot to poster size.

thank you everyone, i just won't touch the picture settings menu then

While there's no good reason for selecting the smaller file sizes, there are good reasons for selecting the different aspect ratios, if you know where you're images will end up.