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The camera's resolution is the number of pixels of its CCD (chip in charge of capturing the light entering the camera) and it acts as a basic guide for quality. Two mega pixels are enough to make 11.4x17.1 cm copies (SuperPrix size) and, as a general rule, the higher the resolution, the better the images from the camera in comparison with other lower resolution cameras. The CCD is the film replacement device in a digital camera.
However, this is not a set rule. You only have to compare the prices of different cameras with the same resolution to see the important differences that exist.
These differences logically depend on the manufacturing quality of the CCD. With millions of pixels compressed onto a very small surface, it is logical to assume that there may be a certain number of faulty pixels. Quality cameras incorporate processors that detect and correct such "dead" pixels by adapting non-existing information to information from nearby pixels.
As with analogue cameras, the camera's lens is very important. A quality lens on a 3-megapixel camera can give a better quality than a 5-megapixel camera with a lesser quality lens.
As with traditional negatives, a digital image can, in principle, be enlarged to any size you want. However, quality worsens in proportion to the size of the enlargement.
The following table is a useful guide as to the maximum size print you can hope to obtain with good quality according to the number of mega pixels of your camera:
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| Photograph with the correct resolution |
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| Photograph with poor resolution for its size (see table) |
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| SIZE |
7x10 |
9x13 |
10x15 |
11x17 |
13x18 |
15x21 |
20x25 |
20x30 |
30x45 |
50x60 |
| RESOLUTION |
MEGAPIXELS |
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| 320x480 |
0,1 |
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| 480x640 |
0,3 |
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| 768x1024 |
0,8 |
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| 1024x1360 |
1,3 |
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| 1360x1800 |
2,3 |
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| 1800x2048 |
3,1 |
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| 1920x2824 |
5 |
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| 2048x3072 |
6 |
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| 2248x3736 |
8 |
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| very poor |
poor |
acceptable |
good |
excellent |
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| Many models of digital camera allow the user to choose the desired resolution. This decision depends on how the images are to be used. For example, if you want to send your photos by e-mail or simply view them on your computer, you do not need to use a very high resolution that will take up too much memory. Whatever you decide, this choice cannot be modified in the future. You will never be able to improve an image that has already been taken at a lower resolution than required. We therefore recommend that, except in exceptional cases, you take your photographs at the maximum resolution allowed by your camera. One thing you must also remember is not to compress the image you send us too much as this will affect its quality. |
| Resolution in the laboratory |
Fotoprix's online developing works at a resolution of 400 dpi. These 400 dpi are not like those of a conventional printer as each point created by our machinery contains information on every colour in an 8 bit or 256 colour system with a total of 16.7 million colours.
We work with the latest in industrial laboratory machinery and are one of the four most advanced laboratories in the world. You can see the layout of our laboratory here.
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