What Resolution To Use???

[kvnband]

I own a Sony Cybershot DSC-T1 camera, and it is a good piece of equipment for various pictures of family vacations, etc... However, I am having trouble deciding which size picture to use. 1 megapixel, 3 megapixels, or 5 megapixels. Please keep in mind that I am using this for shots of my friends and family doing their own things. Right now I am taking the pictures in 3 megapixels, because it seems like a nice median between quality and size. I am saving up for the 512 mb card, but it is just so expensive that I don't know when I'll be getting it.

So my question is just basically asking what resolution should I be shooting in for the types of pictures I'm taking.

Thanks,
Kevin

[another view]

More than anything, it depends on what you plan to do with the shots. If you want to make the best quality prints, you should use the largest file size (5mp, highest quality). 4x6 and 5x7 (possibly 8x10) will be fine from 3mp, but too much resolution is never a problem as far as image quality goes - unless you run out of card space! BTW, if a shot is for email or web use only it doesn't take much resolution. A monitor set to 1024x768 is less than 1mp. Printing is different because you usually want a resolution of 240-300 dpi. That works out to a pixel size of 1800x1200 for a 4x6 at 300 dpi.

Sounds like 3mp would probably be fine for you in most cases and switch to 5mp if it's something important.

[kvnband]

More than anything, it depends on what you plan to do with the shots. If you want to make the best quality prints, you should use the largest file size (5mp, highest quality). 4x6 and 5x7 (possibly 8x10) will be fine from 3mp, but too much resolution is never a problem as far as image quality goes - unless you run out of card space! BTW, if a shot is for email or web use only it doesn't take much resolution. A monitor set to 1024x768 is less than 1mp. Printing is different because you usually want a resolution of 240-300 dpi. That works out to a pixel size of 1800x1200 for a 4x6 at 300 dpi.

Sounds like 3mp would probably be fine for you in most cases and switch to 5mp if it's something important.

Thanks a million. My thoughts were also that if I saw something really worth having large to just switch to 5 MP for that picture.

thanks for the help
Kevin

[92135011]

In all EDP (electronic desktop publishing) only use images that are 300dpi and above.

For the screen, set it at 72 dpi.

[Clemmie]

Keep an eye on eBay and Pricewatch.com for deals on the 512mb cards. Typically going in the $40-$50 bracket now (delivered cost). Be sure to read the fine print carefully though, as some sellers try to pad a lowball price by charging high shipping fees.

You may actually get a better deal, on a 'cost per megabyte' basis, by grabbing a pair of 256's, which are going in the $20 bracket. You'd have to swap cards more often, but if something went wrong you wouldn't lose as many pictures.

I just got some fresh exposure myself to the 'card wars'. My little Kodak digital bit the dust this week, and I replaced it with a Minolta Z-10, which writes twice as large a file (and man, what an improvement!) My 128's suddenly don't seem half as 'big' as they used to be (72 shots instead of 198) - so I have a 256 on order ($25 w/shipping, via eBay), and am watching the market on 512's.

Did you realize that the 'going rate' on hard drives is about 1/10 of a cent per megabyte these days (based on 80GB for $80) - vs. 10 cents/mb being an 'exceptional deal' on these cards? That's 100x the cost per megabyte! I believe there's definitely room for the prices to drop further.

Thanks to mp3 players and such, the highest premiums will always be on the largest capacity cards - 512's and up, and especially the multi-gigabyte cards.