Question about cropping and editing

[mojer]

I am new here and about to take the jump from point and shoot to SLR. I will be using photoshop to edit most of my pics. Most of my photos will be 4x6, some will be 8x10 and a very small few will be larger sizes like 16x20 or even 20x30. What specs should I look for in a SLR in order to be able to edit and crop pics of the sizes I have listed (mega pixel, ect)? Thanks

 

[ponyboy4130]

i went through this for awhile, and settled on the nikon D40, i liked the nikon interface a lot, so i chose nikon, but the cannons version the rebel xti is a great camera. I bought into the whole Megapixel debate, but the more i read, i went with the nikon d40, 6 MP VS the d40x 10 MP, because you can get great print quality from bigger then you are looking for, and the MP has little do do with it. (so i read) im no pro, but love my d40, as most people on here do, great camera, great price. GOOD LUCK

 

[davebmck]

Most any of the entry level DSLR's will give you that capability.

 

[mojer]

So would a 6MP SLR allow me to edit and crop pics that are 8x10 in size?

 

[davebmck]

Yes, I would think that would be no problem. When you get your camera, you will set your default resolution and based on that value, you will get a certain picture size in Photoshop (if thats what your using to do you edits). For instance, I have a 10 mp camera and I have my resolution set to 300ppi. My photos come in at about 9x13.

Now you can crop the picture or you can resize it. Cropping is normally done to improve the composition, not to resize it. In photoshop, you have several options for resizing. Some options will change the resolutions while others do not. If you need to upsize your photo and maintain your resolution for printing, there is a process called resampling that is used. It can get a little complicated, so you should do some reading on this based on the photo editor you chose.

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Generally, megapixels in a camera has very little to do with how large you can print photos. There are so many other things like colour noise (grain), JPG quality, blur, etc that camera salesmen don't touch on.

I have the Nikon D40, and it is great. Even though it has "just" 6mp, the image quality is simply superb. To cut a long story short, the D40's 6mp photos will print stunning A4 prints and great A3 prints. It will even do slightly larger if pushed, but only beyond A3 will you notice a real difference.

Any entry-level DSLR will do for pretty big prints, but I, personally, love the '40. Try out some alternatives at your local camera shop.

And if you do go with the D40, don't be drawn in to the "AF-D lenses won't work on the D40" discussion. Basically,
1) The lenses will work, but you won't get Autofocus.
2) There are alternatives for basically all of Nikon's lenses (apart from the 50mm F1.8) that you'll need.

Good luck!!!

P.S. 300 DPI (dots per inch) is the standard for pro-quality prints, but you can get away with far, FAR less than that.

 

[mojer]

Generally, megapixels in a camera has very little to do with how large you can print photos. There are so many other things like colour noise (grain), JPG quality, blur, etc that camera salesmen don't touch on.

I have the Nikon D40, and it is great. Even though it has "just" 6mp, the image quality is simply superb. To cut a long story short, the D40's 6mp photos will print stunning A4 prints and great A3 prints. It will even do slightly larger if pushed, but only beyond A3 will you notice a real difference.

Any entry-level DSLR will do for pretty big prints, but I, personally, love the '40. Try out some alternatives at your local camera shop.

And if you do go with the D40, don't be drawn in to the "AF-D lenses won't work on the D40" discussion. Basically,
1) The lenses will work, but you won't get Autofocus.
2) There are alternatives for basically all of Nikon's lenses (apart from the 50mm F1.8) that you'll need.

Good luck!!!

P.S. 300 DPI (dots per inch) is the standard for pro-quality prints, but you can get away with far, FAR less than that.

How about as big as 20x30 - can the D40 do this?

 

[TamiyaGuy]

How about as big as 20x30 - can the D40 do this?

Well, the image resolution is approx. 3,000 by 2,000, so you'll get 100DPI. So, yes, this will do absolutely fine provided the original image is good enough

If you want to make absolutely sure, try printing out a 600 x 400 GOOD photo on a 6 x 4" size. Yes, it might look slightly pixellated, but you'll only really notice it if you're really up close. Either way, I'd much rather have the D40's 6mp images printed out large than a 10mp DSLR for the same price's photos printed out large.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Good point - usually a 20x30 is something you'd look at from 6 feet away, so if you print up a sample, look at it from that distance.

By the way, more pixels does not mean better pictures. Most little P&S cameras with 8+ MP have them so densely stacked that the images become "noisy".

 

[Socrates]

So would a 6MP SLR allow me to edit and crop pics that are 8x10 in size?

An 8X10 is probably the most difficult to merge with a 2:3 sensor. Think of it this way... An 8X10 is really an 8X12 with two inches physically cut from the long dimension of the print! It's absolutely essential that you keep that thought in mind when you're shooting.

A 5X7 isn't too bad because it's really 5" X 7.5" with a half-inch cut off the short dimension.

Of course, a 4X6 is perfect.

 

[TamiyaGuy]

A 5X7 isn't too bad because it's really 5" X 7.5" with a half-inch cut off the short dimension.

Of course, a 4X6 is perfect.

Actually, I recently found out that 5x7 is pretty tough to get "right". I took a few photos that JUST managed to fit an entire building into the photo at 18mm, but when I got it printed out, they cropped it AND scaled it (to make sure there wasn't a white border), so it cut some of the building off the sides

 

[andrew99]

Actually, I recently found out that 5x7 is pretty tough to get "right". I took a few photos that JUST managed to fit an entire building into the photo at 18mm, but when I got it printed out, they cropped it AND scaled it (to make sure there wasn't a white border), so it cut some of the building off the sides

I learned the hard way to always crop to the correct aspect ratio before printing, this way you can control what is cropped instead of leaving it up to the lab!

 

[Rand0m411]

I learned the hard way to always crop to the correct aspect ratio before printing, this way you can control what is cropped instead of leaving it up to the lab!

I was having similar issues, especially with online ordering. Then I found that with Photobucket you can do the usual scale to paper, but you can also scale to photo. So you can get your print with no cropping and the white lines.

 

[andrew99]

I was having similar issues, especially with online ordering. Then I found that with Photobucket you can do the usual scale to paper, but you can also scale to photo. So you can get your print with no cropping and the white lines.

Actually I just had a bit of a revelation (don't laugh, this is probably obvious to most). When you are formatting a photo for 8x10, you can just add space at the long side and put some text of the photo's title and your name, etc, that way you don't have to crop your photo at all!

For example, this photo is in my camera's default aspect ratio (3:2), which is the same as a 4x6 photo. But when I add the title at the bottom, now it becomes 5:4, which is the same as 8x10! So if you have a photo you really don't want to crop, you can try this.

 

[Rand0m411]

Actually I just had a bit of a revelation (don't laugh, this is probably obvious to most). When you are formatting a photo for 8x10, you can just add space at the long side and put some text of the photo's title and your name, etc, that way you don't have to crop your photo at all!

For example, this photo is in my camera's default aspect ratio (3:2), which is the same as a 4x6 photo. But when I add the title at the bottom, now it becomes 5:4, which is the same as 8x10! So if you have a photo you really don't want to crop, you can try this.

Being the newb that I am, I hadnt thought of that. Thanks for the advice though, that will indeed make things a little more simple.