Prints from digital

Recently, I was pleased to discover that one can make perfectly good 4 x 6″ prints from photos taken with a 3.2 megapixel camera. With images of just 2048 by 1536 pixels, I was worried that the images would be blocky or would show lots of JPEG artefacts. As it happens, I think it would be very difficult to tell these prints from ones taken with an otherwise identical camera of much higher resolution. The only really problematic images are those shot at a high ISO, largely owing to the small sensor in the Canon A510 with which most of my recent images were taken.

Now that I know that decent (small) prints can be made from my digital files, I may be inclined to make a lot more of them. It is certainly good to have a physical backup accompanying the many digital ones. The only really annoying thing is the need to crop each photo from 4:3 aspect ratio to 3:2 aspect ratio. That works decently for most prints, but those with very geometric compositions can suffer a lot from the conversion. For instance, while a photo like this can be cropped pretty painlessly, one like this is considerably worsened by cropping it into a narrower form.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here. View all posts by Milan