More and more it seems one of the main functions of Internet forums is to perpetuate urban legends.
How big is a 'large print'?
300 dpi is
not a standard for high quality printing. 300 PPI is a resolution guideline. Calling pixels - dots, is like calling inches - feet. Pixels and dots are just not the same.
Image content and technical quality have
tons to do with what resolution (PPI) a image can be printed at and still be a high quality print.
Doing some 5th grade math we can see that at some large enough print size, 300 PPI is unattainable without resorting to up-resing a photo and making up pixels out of thin air.
As an example the Nikon D7000 delivers photos that are 4928 pixels on the long side of the image frame and 3264 pixels on the short side of the image frame.
The long side of the largest print that could be made from a D7000 at 300 PPI without up-res then is
4928 pixels divided by 300 PPI (pixels-per-inch) = 16.43 inches.
If you want a non up-resed print that is 30 inches on the long side, then
4928 pixels divided by 30 inches = 164 PPI
But 164 PPI is ok, because the 30 inch long sided print will be viewed from about twice as far away as the 16.43 inch photo is.
Regarding the Nikon D1X -
Nikon D1x Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
resolution CCD (rectangular pixels)The D1X's pixel grid layout is rectangular rather than square (though still uses the Bayer GRGB colour filter array), in camera processing turns the 4028 x 1324 raw pixels (5.33 megapixel) into a 3008 x 1960 pixel image (5.9 megapixel). While it's clear that some interpolation is being carried out in the vertical direction (to get from 1324 rows to 1960 rows) there is also compression in the horizontal direction (reducing from 4028 to 3008 columns), this compression is used to add detail to the vertical data. Nikon argue that because the input and output resolution are almost identical no image degradation will be visible. Something we'll be able to test later in this review...
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[TD="class: tdlabel"]D1X "sees" an image with higher horizontal resolution, 4028 x 1324 (approx. 6:2)
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[TD="class: tdlabel"]D1X produces an image which is horizontally narrower and vertically taller, 3008 x 1960 (approx. 3:2)
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The reasoning behind using a layout is that Nikon have managed to double resolution while maintaining a usable frame rate, by keeping the "readout queue" the same (1324 rows) they have managed to maintain relatively high frame rates (3 fps) while doubling the overall resolution of the camera.