first time uploading my pictures and they are saying the resolution is not good. why?

[jmosery]

i got a Nikon D3100 yesterday

I spent the day playing around and shot about 500 pictures. I LOVE IT. didn't miss anything with the kids

I used a 55-200 lens outside taking pictures of my kids and around the yard

I uploade the pictures to print today on kodak.com and some of them(the ones pretty close up) say that the resolution is low and may print blurry

why is that?

i am just starting to read things online and learn about cameras. I dont even know what aperature is yet LOL(i see that term in the manual a lot and i'm like huh?)

thanks

jaime

i got an 18-55 lens and 55-200 lens with the camera

i was told to use the 18-55 inside and the 55-200 outside. is that right?

 

[TheBiles]

Are you cropping them?


--
Sent from my HTC Pyramid.

 

[investmenttechnology]

you can adjust the image quality in your camera, there are three levels for jpeg and two sizes I think. You should shoot in raw if your D3100 has that option.

 

[jmosery]

no just uploaded them into my computer and then onto kodak gallery

INVESTEMENT- what size should i shoot in if I want to print 4x6, 5x7 or 8x10's later?

what is raw? i'm sorry i am very very new to all of this

 

[Big Mike]

Why Raw -- Part I

 

[Alley]

You may not have the correct 'pixel' size for the pictures to print large.
My Nikon, I believe the largest my camera can shoot is a 4288x2848 pixel which translated to inches is about 14x9 inches.
If I printed the picture any larger than a 14x9 inch print(and sometimes even if I print near that size) the picture will become blurry because the pixels are being stretched beyond what forms the picture(or the picture is blurry to begin with due to either poor light or something).

I have the same 55-200mm lens, and I found that when I took pictures with it fully zoomed(200mm) they did overall appear a little blurry despite being completely in focus. I think this may be because the lens is a cheap lens, not exactly a high end of anything and not to be used for close up portraits. I didn't think I was going to get a lens as good as I wanted to for the price I paid for it, and now I know to not spend cheaply for Nikon cameras.

Nikon is known for their 'good glass', but I think this is only applicable with lenses that don't zoom over 100mm(I know that the standard lenses with no zoom/whatever are extremely sharp) or lenses that cost above $250 USD.

Although, I'm no camera expert. This is just me putting in my two cents.

As for having the two different lenses for inside and outside, it's a lie really... you can use lenses anywhere, teleophoto or not. It's just that the 55-200 is more useful for landscapes, nature photography, and other such things. I got a teleophoto lens so I could take pictures of the marshes, where I couldn't walk physically. Otherwise I prefer my kit lens.

 

[KmH]

You may not have the correct 'pixel' size for the pictures to print large.
My Nikon, I believe the largest my camera can shoot is a 4288x2848 pixel which translated to inches is about 14x9 inches.
If I printed the picture any larger than a 14x9 inch print(and sometimes even if I print near that size) the picture will become blurry because the pixels are being stretched beyond what forms the picture(or the picture is blurry to begin with due to either poor light or something).

Lets clear up some mis-information.

4288 x 2848 are the pixel dimensions (resolution) of the photo. The size of a print is determined byhow many pixels-per-inch (PPI) are assigned to the print. (Not dots-per-inch, or DPI)

At 100 PPI a 4288 x 2848 photo will be a 42.88 inch by 28.48 inch print. At 200 PPI the same 4288 x 2848 photo will be 1/2 as big or a 21.44 inch by 14.24 inch print.

It's 5th grade math 4288 pixels ÷100 pixels/inch = 42.88 inches (the pixel units cancel, leaving only the inch units). 4288 pixels ÷ 200 pixels/inch = 21.44 inches.
So the OP needs to tell us what image quality setting her D3100 is set to, though it is probably the default setting of JPEG Fine, Large which delives photos at a resolution of 4608 x 3072 pixels.

Of futher note is that the D3100 delivers photos that have an approximate 3:2 aspect ratio which is prints that are 4x6, 6x9, 8x12, 10x15, 12x18, etc where the long side of the photo is 1.5 times longer than the short side of the photo.

5x7 and wallet sized prints have a 7:5 aspect ratio and 8x10 photos have a 5:4 aspect ratio, requireing the D3100's 3:2 aspect ratio photos be cropped, either by the OP or by Kodak.

 

[KmH]

I have the same 55-200mm lens, and I found that when I took pictures with it fully zoomed(200mm) they did overall appear a little blurry despite being completely in focus. I think this may be because the lens is a cheap lens, not exactly a high end of anything and not to be used for close up portraits. I didn't think I was going to get a lens as good as I wanted to for the price I paid for it, and now I know to not spend cheaply for Nikon cameras.

In part, but the anti-aliasing filter in front of the image sensors has a lot to do with it too.

Nikon is known for their 'good glass', but I think this is only applicable with lenses that don't zoom over 100mm(I know that the standard lenses with no zoom/whatever are extremely sharp) or lenses that cost above $250 USD. Although, I'm no camera expert. This is just me putting in my two cents.

Nope. First, the term standard lens refers to a narrow range of focal length of around 50 mm.
Nikon makes 3 grades of camera lens; Consumer, Prosumer, Professional. The price and quality at each level is commensurate. Consumer lenses generally being the least expensive.
As an example Nikon's Prosumer grade, AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 lens retails new for about $1200, while the Professional grade AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8 retails new for about $2400.

As for having the two different lenses for inside and outside, it's a lie really... you can use lenses anywhere, teleophoto or not. It's just that the 55-200 is more useful for landscapes, nature photography, and other such things. I got a teleophoto lens so I could take pictures of the marshes, where I couldn't walk physically. Otherwise I prefer my kit lens.

It is very true that either lens can be effectively be used both inside and out, though the 55-200 when zoomed out much requires the camera be further from the intended subject.
Landscape lenses are usually wide angle lenses having focal lengths of 10 to 24 mm. Nature photography is a very broad genre that includes a sub-specialty called Macro that entails doing extremem close up photography of small things, like insects and anothe sub-specialty that requires a lot more magnification than a 200 mm lens can provide. Some amateur photographers that specialize in shooting birds in flight use 600 mm prime lenses that cost in excess of $10,000 each.

 

[jmosery]

ok, so the camera is set to jpeg fine and large

the camera gives the option of doing

RAW+JPEG fine
RAW
JPEG fine
JPEG normal
JPEG basic

i am in the process of making a 12x12 photo book on shutterfly which is what i print out of my familys pictures every 6-12 months and lots of the pictures say that the image isnt clear even when i crop it small or put it in a small frame on the page

so what setting should i have?

the reason i got a DSLR is because i love taking pictures and i was missing all the important moments of my kids events. my sons pre-k graduation, i didn't get a single photo because my little canon powershot couldn't focus in time

i just would like to take family photos and either print them in no larger than 8x10's and use them in my photo books

i hope to soon find a class and get more into photography but right now, i'm just learning to use the camera and get good photos that I can use

thank you all for your help

jaime

 

[KmH]

Please make the appropriate capital letters when you post, like just about everyone else on TPF, and that are trying to help you, do.

When you crop, you are discarding pixels and reduce the photo resolution. What image editing application are you using to crop?

Reading this tutorial might be helpful; Basics of Digital Camera Pixels

Many of the other tutorials on that wb site might also be helpful: Digital Photography Tutorials