Graphic Media Knowledge

With the popularity of digicams, there’s still confusion about how much resolution is enough. Unlike Mies van der Roh’s comment about design, more is always better when it comes to resolution. I’ve seen stunning output from Nikon’s (www.nikonusa.com) D1x 5.47 megapixel camera when printed at 24 X 36 inches using an Epson Stylus Pro 10000 large format ink-jet printer, and fine detail was apparent even upon close examination. At some point, cameras might reach a point of diminishing returns; more megapixels may be provided, but nobody will be able to tell the difference when looking at output.

No matter what their maximum resolution may be, most digital cameras offer more than one resolution option allowing you several choices, depending on how the image will ultimately be used. Changes in resolution can be compared to image formats in traditional film cameras. An image printed at a large size that
would be unacceptable if made with a 35-mm film camera will look much better if it has been photographed on 4 X 5 or 8 X 10 sheet film. The highest-quality digital image settings are made using the camera’s maximum resolution and is your best choice if you want to make great looking 8 X 10 inches prints.
Good quality images are, more often than not, 640 X 480 pixel-sized photographs that are more than adequate for use on the World Wide Web, but may not make the best looking prints.

Just as important as image resolution is what file format is used to store the images. Most cameras store images in the compressed JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, which applies compression to the file. Since JPEG is an inherently “lossy” format, some image data is invariably lost during the process, the best quality will be obtained by using the lowest compression ratios; or even better, no compression. Many digicams let you store images in a RAW format that delivers every pixel that was captured, undiluted by compression. Other cameras let you save images using the TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) that is immediately available for use by an image-editing program without requiring a special, camera-specific RAW interpreter plug-in for importing.

It’s always important to match the resolution of the camera to how the image will be reproduced. Image  resolution can be less critical when printing with an ink-jet desktop printer, and almost any contemporary digital camera will produce acceptable snapshot-sized images. Depending on the compression, a 3.3-megapixel camera will produce adequate quality for an 8 X 10, and maybe even an 11 X 14 inch print depending on other components in its imaging path. They key to making your images look good is matching the image size to how large it will be used in your output.