PPI and DPI – Sharp Images 101 and PPI Calculator

I have a 4MP Fuji S5100 and love it. I agree with the poster about getting one with full manual control like my fuji. It really helps alot.

Regarding print size if you are interested you can use my ppi calculator at http://www.mattspinelli.com/ppicalc.html or to compare megapixels use http://www.mattspinelli.com/mpcalc.html.

Keep in mind that megapixels aren’t the most important thing regarding cameras Lens quality and sensor size are more important. You don’t want 8 MP on a itzy bitzy chip. IT would produce very noisy images. 4MP on a medium sized chip would probably produce wonderful low noise images. Dynamics, color, and other factors are important to consider as well.

Regarding PPI (or dpi when printing) 300 will give you the sharpest images. A full  frame portait of a person could easily be printed at 125-150ppi+ and look nice, landscapes at 200-225ppi+. The reason a landscape generally requires more PPI is because it will have alot more detail than a persons face ever will.

with 4 mp in 4:3 format you could print at the following PPI:

4 x 6 = 384.83
5 x 7 = 329.86
6 x 8 = 288.63
6 x 9 = 256.56
8 x 10 = 216.5
8 x 12 = 192.42
8.5 x 11 = 203.76
10 x 13 = 173.2
10 x 15 = 153.93
11 x 14 = 157.45
12 x 16 = 144.31
12 x 18 = 128.28
13 x 19 = 121.53
16 x 20 = 108.25
16 x 24 = 96.21
18 x 24 = 96.21
20 x 30 = 76.97
24 x 36 = 64.14
30 x 40 = 57.73

Megapixel Calculator

---

Instructions: This calculator will compare two cameras with different megapixel amounts or aspect ratios. It will tell you the difference in terms of resolution and also of print size.

Simply enter the number of megapixels of the first and second camera, as well as the aspect ratios for each. Normally there are only two aspect ratios “4:3″ and “3:2″ but these have to be entered as a number. Enter 1.333 for 4:3 and 1.5 for 3:2. Of course if the camera produces an image with a different aspect ratio then you can adjust the aspect ratio accordingly.

CAUTION! Please note that this comparison assumes that image quality and things that affect it (i.e. sensor technology, individual pixel size, dynamic range, noise, color accuracy, diffraction, lens quality, internal processing, etc) are comparable for both cameras. In real life this is often not the case. This tool represents only the theoretical maximum gain, or loss, in resolution. Need a better understanding of PPI?
Link to Megapixel Calculator: http://www.mattspinelli.com/mpcalc.html

~ by paragonhost on February 14, 2008.