Please explain ....

[JaneH]

I've looked through my camera manual (Canon 550D) and two digital camera books but can't find the answer. When I take a photo, then open it in Photoshop Elements (v7), the 'resolution' is set to 72 but the file size is huge. How can I set my camera, or can I, to take a smaller photo but with higher resolution?

I can't seem to get an image to work with this....basically the Resize dialog in PSE says:

Pixel Dimensions
Width: 3456 pixels
Height: 2304 pixels

Document Size
Width: 48 inches
Height: 32 inches
Resolution: 72 pixels/inch

It's that last one I want to change, but is it my Photoshop Elements settings or is it my camera settings that need to be changed? I know I can manually enter a new amount in that Resolution field, but it's the default I'm wanting to change.

Thanks.

 

[String]

OK, It's a jpeg, but if you wanted to post in on most forums you would need to resize it so that the longest side is 800 pixels. You can do that in elements under image, size.

The size you mention is the page size
thats pretty big
look above that at image size in pixels

 

[ChrisGilbert]

If you have your camera set on the green square, automatic, then the image resolution defaults to 72 dpi. If you use one of the creative modes and/or create RAW files instead of JPGs then your camera will default to 240dpi. When you've downloaded the images and opened them in a suitable image editor you'll be able to set the dpi and the physical size to whatever you want it to be.

 

[specialman]

Jane - nothing is wrong.

At capture, the image is always going to be 3456 pixels wide at a high setting (or in raw) because that's the long edge of the sensor. At 72 pixels per inch (ppi) which you're are currently shooting at, you get images that would (if you had a large enough piece of paper) print out at 48" wide. The thing is, 72ppi means that when viewed close-up, it'll look pixelated so the viewing distance would have to be increased so that pixelation wasn't apparant to the eye.

Now, change the ppi setting to 300ppi (a common high-res setting for high quality prints) and the physical size now goes from 48" to 11.5"; same pixel dimensions (2456 along the long edge), same image but different output size. Viewed close it'll look boss

Problems arise when you want, say, 300ppi but want more than 11.5" output size: that's where interpolation (the computer adding in pixels) comes into play and that can ruin an image.....

 

[JaneH]

At capture, the image is always going to be 3456 pixels wide at a high setting (or in raw) because that's the long edge of the sensor. At 72 pixels per inch (ppi) which you're are currently shooting at, .....

Now, change the ppi setting to 300ppi (a common high-res setting for high quality prints) and the physical size now goes from 48" to 11.5"; same pixel dimensions (2456 along the long edge), same image but different output size. Viewed close it'll look boss.

Thanks for that info and for the others above. I nearly always shoot using the AV setting. I hardly ever use the P or the auto modes with symbols (flowers, landscape, etc.). I'm trying to learn how to use manual settings more often, but I just find it really cumbersome to try to remember and think through all the possible settings before I press the button! :bonk: Maybe it gets easier if I do it more often?????

BUT... you say change the ppi setting. That's my question: WHERE do I find this setting? Is it in my photo editing software or is it on the camera?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[ChrisGilbert]

BUT... you say change the ppi setting. That's my question: WHERE do I find this setting? Is it in my photo editing software or is it on the camera?

There isn't actually a function in the camera menus to set the dpi but if you change the image quality settings to RAW then you'll get 240dpi when you download the image. Once in photoshop or whatever you can alter the dpi settings to whatever you want.

 

[String]

It's in your photo editing software

 

[specialman]

....... you say change the ppi setting. That's my question: WHERE do I find this setting? Is it in my photo editing software or is it on the camera? ...

Sorry, wasn't clear on that. In Photoshop/Elements it's in the IMAGE SIZE drop-down menu. In Lightroom it's an option that you set when you export.

As far as I'm aware, output settings (i.e. ppi) isn't something you can change in-camera because in all reality, it has no bearing because you are always capturing 'X' amount of pixels. Even if ppi was set to 1 it wouldn't matter' the actual image size in pixels would be 3456

BTW, shooting in raw means you will be capturing at 3456 pixels wide, but as you drop down your JPEG sizes you may find that the pixel count drops by a set number of pixels. I generally shoot in JPEG in the highest (smooth curve) setting, or in raw, to get maximum pixels and/or image info.

 

[hillwalkinggirl]

In Photoshop I go to Edit, Preferences, Units and Rulers.
Then I set New Doc Preset Resolutions as follow:
Screen Resolution to 72 dpi
Print Resolution to 240 dpi (or your own preference)
When you click on View actual Pixels - it will then show photo at low resolution, but when you click on View Print Size you will see how it will actually print out (Document size).
The actual file stays the same its just how you see it.
Hope this makes sense.