Does size matter???

moulie18 · Aug 9, 2009

Hi people,
I got my first D-SLR(Nikon D5000) and just wanted to ask what pixels should I use to take photos? (I do not print them)

D5000 got 3 options- Small, Medium and Large.
I am currently shooting with JPEG (Fine). Medium.

Any idea please??

thanks.

epp_b · Aug 9, 2009

You don't print now, but maybe you will in the future. I shoot JPEG fine most of the time and RAW whenever I know I'll need serious white balance or curve adjustments.

UUilliam · Aug 9, 2009

Depends who your asking

Honestly:
MP doesn't matter greatly
More MP Larger file / Larger print size
but most 6mp + cameras can print a standard 8x10" with no quality loss
your D5000 is more than capable
I personally ALWAYS shoot RAW unless im doing a time lapse (lots of images in a series of seconds aka burst mode)

Jpeg small will be for example 1024x768 (not really just an example) and medium will be 2048x1536 and large 3072x2304
Raw is generally the same size as a Jpeg Large (but file size is larger)

Annamas · Aug 9, 2009

Are you talking about the little diagram. One is alot fo blocks, one is a some blocks, and one is a smooth curve?

If that's the case, I always shoot in Large. Never know when you'll get that perfect picture and your going to want to blow it up, or make it your desktop background, or whatever. I'd hate to see a great picture wasted. Remember, you can always shrink a photo, but it's much harder to expand it without loosing quality.

I also shoot RAW all the time. I used to shoot RAW + JPEG, but it ate my memory to fast. So now it's just raw. If your not big into post processing, JPEG will probably work fine for you.

benhasajeep · Aug 9, 2009

If your never going to print. You can use small as that will be large enough file for any view on a computer. You can use a smaller card and take more pics. If you play them on larger LCD tv's or something like that you might want to pick a larger size.

fred0000 · Aug 9, 2009

Shoot in as high as the camera can go (i shoot in JPEG fine, not into the RAW scene yet, but i'm gunna give it a shot soon) why pay for 10mp and only use 6, could have spent half the money and got a D40 same thing but no flip screen and LV....

PhotoXopher · Aug 9, 2009

RAW!

musicaleCA · Aug 9, 2009

^^^ What he said.

moulie18 · Aug 10, 2009

Hi everybody.

Thanks so much for your time and info.

I now have a clue about the size/type of shooting

Thanks again.

choudhrysaab · Aug 10, 2009

isn't that the ultimate question

some women say no, some say yes.
i know i don't have any kind of problem.

oh wait ... you're talking about picture size/quality here. :blushing:

choudhrysaab · Aug 10, 2009

like epp_b said ... i usually shoot in Fine JPEG quality (cuz converting from RAW to JPEG is too much work and i'm a very lazy guy) but whenever I dedicate the day for photography (special occasion) then I shoot in RAW.

Samanax · Aug 10, 2009

N0YZE said:
RAW!

+1!

UUilliam · Aug 11, 2009

choudhrysaab said:
like epp_b said ... i usually shoot in Fine JPEG quality (cuz converting from RAW to JPEG is too much work and i'm a very lazy guy) but whenever I dedicate the day for photography (special occasion) then I shoot in RAW.

Bad routine, I done that once (shiot in jpg) then when i saw a picture i really wanted... shot in jpg... and i couldn't fix the image...

musicaleCA · Aug 11, 2009

Indeed. RAW's great, both for finagling a little bit more out of one's image in post, and for saving your butt when...um...quantum distortions of the sensor cause your WB to be left on fluorescent all day...yeah...

DerekSalem · Aug 11, 2009

benhasajeep said:
If your never going to print. You can use small as that will be large enough file for any view on a computer. You can use a smaller card and take more pics. If you play them on larger LCD tv's or something like that you might want to pick a larger size.

I'm sorry to say this, but I (and most people will) completely disagree.

My monitors are at 1920x1080 and 1680x1050. Small (and sometimes Medium on different cameras) is not high enough quality to actually enjoy the photograph for me. American HDTVs are either 1280x720 or 1920x1080 but either way wouldn't you want at *least* those resolutions in the pictures?

On an 8Gb card at the highest JPEG resolution possible on my XSi (12.2Mp) I can fit around 1800 pictures. In RAW I can fit around 580. If I were to be doing professional work I would put a 32Gb card in and quadruple those numbers. Anyone needing more than that is fooling themselves (since it's easy to have a laptop with me if I'm doing something serious anyway).