DPI

Anybody out there that can solve a small problem? I have a 10D and I'm sure that when I uploaded my images in Elements2 with a card reader (sandisk imagemate) they were 300 dpi. Now when I use CS file browse and upload they are 180 dpi. I dont remember changing anything in CS so what have I done and can I fix it?
Thanks in advance.
Shaun

This thread from the post-processing FAQ sticky should be worth a read.

The bottom line: It's highly doubtful that you have any reason to care.

Dear Shaun,

The real issue is whether or not your images have become resampled. Are they still showing total pixel dimensions of 3072x2048? So long as they are still at those dimensions, you haven't lost anything.

Thanks for the link.
Pixel dimension still reads 3072x2048, just wanted to be able to upload at 300 dpi rather than create an action to resample open images as I do at the moment.
Just curious if CS had a way of doing this? And to make sure I had not missed or changed somthing.
Cheers
Shaun

The dpi setting is just a number that means very little. Change it in the raw convertor or in the resize image dialog (turn off "resample image").

Dear Shaun,

The dpi tag in an image file is of no importance when uploading. It changes neither the quality of the image nor its size. Sooner or later you have to realize the full significance of the dpi tag in image files. It is meaningless. When you want to know how how the pixels are spread out in a "rendered" image (i.e., a real image that you can see as opposed to a virtual image which is just data in a file), then all you have to do to obtain the actual dpi is divide the number of pixels (width or height), by the physical size of the image (width or height) and you've got it. The number stored in the file is meaningless.

The dpi setting of a file is meaningless as long as you are veiwing/editing your image. It is not meaningless when you send it to an output device.

That's going to depend on the output device. Last week I had a bunch of files printed. Some were 3520x2346 pixels. Some were cropped down to 1800x1200. They all had the same DPI setting. I ordered 4x6 prints. Guess what ... they all came out 4x6!

You can change the DPI setting to get a certain print size, or you can tell the output device to print a certain size and ignore the DPI setting. Usually the second option is easier, but either will work if you know what you're doing.