Question for crop sensor users...

ChrisMClark

ChrisMClark

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Just a quicky, do you crop your images to the full frame aspect ratio, or leave it as it is?
 
DX and FF aspect ratios are the same! 3 x 2
 
ChrisMClark said:
Just a quicky, do you crop your images to the full frame aspect ratio, or leave it as it is?
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Isn't that a bit like asking medium format users if they crop to 35mm ???

In other words, a daft queston IMO

Why would you ever through away some of those expensive pixels unless they don't add to the image :shrug:

DD
 
I think I've got this all mixed up in my head. The shots from my D40 seem rather wide and not very tall.

Think maybe I need to do some more reading on all this balls!
 
Aspect ratio's always confused me.

It was only recently that I got by TV to show the full picture. The thing that confused me is you here of people offering 8x10s, but the D40 size would come out as 10x7.

It's all a load of balls :D
 
I tend to leave mine the way they are taken i.e. the same ratio as the aspect ratio of the the screens you are all looking at now... :) no cropping required.
 
theMusicMan said:
I tend to leave mine the way they are taken i.e. the same ratio as the aspect ratio of the the screens you are all looking at now... :)
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16:9 widescreen laptop :D
 
ChrisMClark said:
16:9 widescreen laptop :D
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Hehe... there's always one eh! :):thumbs:

Come to think of it Chris... I haven't though of what my Macbook aspect ratio is...?:thinking:.

Just looked, it's 1280 by 800 which is... errmmm??:shrug:

16:10....???
 
Well if I was on my desktop you'd be right John :D
 
ChrisMClark said:
Aspect ratio's always confused me.

It was only recently that I got by TV to show the full picture. The thing that confused me is you here of people offering 8x10s, but the D40 size would come out as 10x7.

It's all a load of balls :D
Click to expand...


The normal aspect ratio is 3:2 so scaling this up gives 6:4 and then 12:8 (or if you've got an Olympus or Panasonic then you might have 4:3 but that's just confusing things...) - however once you start getting larger prints then 6x4 this is a problem and you will have to crop.

The next size up is normally a 5x7 which loses a little from the sides, and 8x10 which loses even more from the sides. These are just popular print sizes and you'll have to live with it. Just make sure you don't get too close in on your shot so that you've got some room to crop the edges.

There's some demonstration crops at this site.
 
incapete said:
The normal aspect ratio is 3:2
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Don't agree... it all depends how you define 'normal' :)

incapete said:
(or if you've got an Olympus or Panasonic then you might have 4:3 but that's just confusing things...)
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Again, I don't agree, it's not confusing at all. What is confusing is the 16:10 aspect ratio of my Macbook monitor!! ;)

incapete said:
...however once you start getting larger prints then 6x4 this is a problem and you will have to crop.

The next size up is normally a 5x7 which loses a little from the sides, and 8x10 which loses even more from the sides. These are just popular print sizes and you'll have to live with it. Just make sure you don't get too close in on your shot so that you've got some room to crop the edges.

There's some demonstration crops at this site.
Click to expand...

But is not such a problem for 4:3 eh.

Great link, that clearly shows one of the benefits of the 4:3 sensor when relating to having to crop for larger prints. I particularly like the following extract;

"However, there's a real benefit to a 4:3 sensor when it comes to enlargements: while portions of your image will still be left out if you print at 5x7 and 8x10, the amount lost is significantly less than if you're using a 3:2 sensor."
 
That's great Pete, thanks. I'll have a shufty at the link.
 
theMusicMan said:
Don't agree... it all depends how you define 'normal' :)
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Of course :) I guess a better way of putting it might have been that a common aspect ratio of 3:2 and people are familiar with this from the volume of 6x4 images they see.

theMusicMan said:
Again, I don't agree, it's not confusing at all. What is confusing is the 16:10 aspect ratio of my Macbook monitor!! ;)
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Just confusing for my example.... was trying to keep it simple.

Isn't the widescreen standard 16:9? So your screen allows a widescreen movie to be shown but with a little space at the bottom for player controls etc? I don't know, just a thought.

theMusicMan said:
But is not such a problem for 4:3 eh.

Great link, that clearly shows one of the benefits of the 4:3 sensor when relating to having to crop for larger prints. I particularly like the following extract;

"However, there's a real benefit to a 4:3 sensor when it comes to enlargements: while portions of your image will still be left out if you print at 5x7 and 8x10, the amount lost is significantly less than if you're using a 3:2 sensor."
Click to expand...

I deliberately skimmed over that paragraph ;)
No, not really. I've got no strong views on the subject since you have to crop from either sensor to get the 8x10 prints.

Some people get very heated on the subject though - nearly as much as the Canon vs Nikon debate!
The camera is a tool - you use it to capture the image you want and learn to use whichever brand of tool you happen to have. If you've got a 4:3 sensor then you learn what shot you need to allow for the required crop, similarly with a 3:2.
Any creativity or final quality is down to the photographer and their abilities... otherwise you're back to the dreaded "what great photos, you must have a very good camera" comments :bat:
 
theMusicMan said:
But is not such a problem for 4:3 eh.

Great link, that clearly shows one of the benefits of the 4:3 sensor when relating to having to crop for larger prints. I particularly like the following extract;

"However, there's a real benefit to a 4:3 sensor when it comes to enlargements: while portions of your image will still be left out if you print at 5x7 and 8x10, the amount lost is significantly less than if you're using a 3:2 sensor."
Click to expand...

It depends upon what size "large print" you chose. I rarely print 5x7 or 8x10 for this reason. I compose for a 2x3 so I print at a 2x3 ratio; 8x12, 10x15 or 12x18.

Going much larger; if I want to print at 20x30 I don't have to crop at all unlike a 4x3.
 
incapete said:
Some people get very heated on the subject though - nearly as much as the Canon vs Nikon debate!
The camera is a tool - you use it to capture the image you want and learn to use whichever brand of tool you happen to have. If you've got a 4:3 sensor then you learn what shot you need to allow for the required crop, similarly with a 3:2.
Any creativity or final quality is down to the photographer and their abilities... otherwise you're back to the dreaded "what great photos, you must have a very good camera" comments :bat:
Click to expand...

Top post Pete... totally agree with you.:thumbs:

Uneducated_Rick said:
It depends upon what size "large print" you chose. I rarely print 5x7 or 8x10 for this reason. I compose for a 2x3 so I print at a 2x3 ratio; 8x12, 10x15 or 12x18.

Going much larger; if I want to print at 20x30 I don't have to crop at all unlike a 4x3.
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Sure Rick, horses for courses yeah.

As long as we all do the best we can, and try to make the best use of the kit we have, then it's a win-win no matter what that kit is.
 
...however...remember - almost every picture will benefit from some cropping after shooting!
 
theMusicMan said:
Don't agree... it all depends how you define 'normal' :)
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Normal in this sense means the aspect ratio that the camera produces. In both DX and FF cameras (and 35mm film) that is 3:2
 
awp said:
Normal in this sense means the aspect ratio that the camera produces. In both DX and FF cameras (and 35mm film) that is 3:2
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I think he was making the point that his camera uses a 4:3 sensor so what's normal for Canon and Nikon users like you and me isn't normal for Olympus and Panasonic users.
 
incapete said:
I think he was making the point that his camera uses a 4:3 sensor so what's normal for Canon and Nikon users like you and me isn't normal for Olympus and Panasonic users.
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Maybe I'm getting a bit confused because I recently switched from Olympus to Nikon :lol:
 
I think so, don't want to go off topic, but the Nikon's better in terms of glass prices, availability of accessories and I find the image quality better too.
 
Cheers Chris. Back on topic cropping for print is something I'm still trying to get my head around as well.

I'm info above is making it clearer though.

In my case I think I need to print more shots to see the differences.
 
Igot some prints done direct from my camera, they look alright, but the 10x7 looks weird, as does the 15"x10"
 
weird? Is that because the image is being cropped - or being resized - out of proportion - just to fit the paper?
 
Nope, they came out perfect. I meant the aspect ratio looks weird. It also seems difficult to find frames and mounts for them too.
 
Strangely printing paper sizes/frames/mounts haven't really changed much since the days of plate cameras which often used 10 x 8 - 5 x 4 - 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 and 6 3/4 x 4 1/2 sizes!

You just have to keep in mind when shooting what you want to do with the images and allow sufficient space around the subject for it to be cropped to fit the print sizes. The usual advice of course is to fill the frame with the subject - and for most things this is still best advice. Almost all pictures will benefit from cropping after shooting though - something a lot of people have forgotten how to do - and just expect every picture to work at the ratio the camera shoots at! Just something you get used to doing with practice.
 
I generally just either just have 3:2 ratio's or 2:1 ratio's for some shots as I quite like the look of the wider aspect ratio.

For getting it mounted and framed you can either get a custom mount and mount it up to one of the older standard sizes like 10x8, etc or you can just get a mount and frame made up for the image which will usually look a lot better anyway when compared to mass produced frames.
 
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