Canon XSi 72 dpi?!

[mybabyblessings]

My sister owns a Canon Rebel XSi and we are stumped as to why her photos are 72 dpi (at apparently the 'best' setting)??

I have searched all over the internet and I'm not getting much help. Most seem to think the 72 dpi has nothing to do with anything. That it's the computer screen or editing program...not really the image the camera is shooting.

So, my question is: WHY then, have we both gotten caution-type messages when trying to order prints, that the resolution is too low.

She can't let people pay for 'good' pictures that are low print resolution! Is there a way to change this?? We are both extremely frustrated, especially with the $$ paid for such a 'good' camera!

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

This question gets asked on a fairly regular basis.

I have searched all over the internet and I'm not getting much help. Most seem to think the 72 dpi has nothing to do with anything. That it's the computer screen or editing program...not really the image the camera is shooting.

Firstly, it's not DPI (dots per inch), it's PPI (pixels per inch)....and what it does, is tell the computer how big to display the image on a monitor. So in Photoshop, you could change your PPI from 72 to 600 (without re-sampling) and all that would change, is the size of the display (or just the zoom level).

72 PPI is just the default, because that is a typical monitor setting.

The important number to know, is the size of the image, in pixels. If you have enough pixels, then you should have enough resolution.

So, my question is: WHY then, have we both gotten caution-type messages when trying to order prints, that the resolution is too low.

Maybe because you're ordering from 'consumer' labs and not pro labs.
The cheaper labs put these safe guards in so that Joe Public doesn't try to get prints from low resolution files.
The good news is that it's easy to change the PPI from 72 to 240 or 300 (whatever they want).

 

[mybabyblessings]

Sorry...explain as if I know nothing. Because, obviously, I don't get it! ;-)

Dots or pixels...aren't they the same thing? If it's my monitor, why is my other camera giving me a 230 ppi AND better looking photos?

I still just don't understand!

Why would it matter if an '72 ppi' image is a bigger 3 million miles by 2 million miles versus '300 ppi' smaller 20 inches by 18 inches??? An inch is an inch, right? So, wouldn't an image with 300 ppi be better than 72 ppi???