how much does resolution affect prints?

[paulmog]

I am trying to figure out which resolution and compression I should use when shooting in JPEG mode on my Powershot S30. I am getting a Canon S900 photo printer soon and will want the option of printing the most detailed pictures possible.

If I am going to print 4x6 photos, for example, will using an image shot in L resolution give me a better 4x6 than the same image shot in, say, M2? Or should I just shoot in whatever reolution is closest to the size of print I'm going to make? How much does compression factor into the mix?

I probably will run some print tests once I get my printer to see the differences but if someone has already performed such experiments I would appreciate any advice

thx

[Swat2]

Hi, Paul!

My experience sez to use the largest resolution and the least compression on whatever camera you're using all the time, and buy a bigger CF to handle the volume if necessary. This will give you the maximum detail and flexibility for you to work with afterward - you can always scale down, but you can never go back and recapture detail that just ain't there.

It's really heartbreaking when you think you're just going to knock off a few quick little candids, and end up capturing that magical composition of light and color that is so rare -- and there you are stuck with a little 3x4 that you can't do anything with!! In photography, you never know when that moment will hit, so be ready!

Good luck.......Don

[onehotrx7]

When I was on just the 32mb card on the G2, I was using 1600 X 1200, or even the setting just below, and using the medium jpeg compression, and that was giving 6 X 4 just fine... but you noticed the difference on enlargements, even just 5 X 7... Now I've got the 128mb in, and a couple of backup cards (64 & 32mb) I run in the maximum resolution with super fine compression... three reasons, one, as stated by Don, you never know what shot you're going to want to enlarge - and I get quite a few prints at 12 X 18 (local mini lab does them very economically, and they look awesome) and want all the detail and as few artifacts as possible... two, it gives a lot more detail to crop in and still get an acceptable print... I completely skip using digital zoom on the camera, and zoom using my editing software... and three, you can quickly and easily crop the top & bottom of a shot to make an instant panorama, without getting pixelly with your output!!

If you're going to use photo stitch, consider how many shots you want to join - using the max resolution can create huge, unwieldy files...

Cheers,
Stuart Elflett

P.S. Hope you like the S900 - I'm sure you will!!

[paulmog]

you are right. why risk losing the detail of a possible great shot just to save some space?. i just bought a 256 MB CF so i should be fine as far a space goes, plus i have the 16 MB that came with my camera as a backup. i have been taking lots of video so that takes up space but i should still be alright unless i'm not gonna download for a week or so. thanks for the info and advice.
-paul