Will the Quality of image Decrease if i shoot in SMALL image size (1.5MP) rather than Large (6MP) I got D40?

Question

I know that i wont be able to do much cropping if i shoot in Small, but will the quality of an image itself suffer if i shoot in SMALL at 1.5 MP rather than LARGE at 6.0 MP???

Answer 1

The reason you might want to use that small resolution (1.5) is for web posting. The smaller your mp the smaller prints you can print to get the best prints. It's better to go high and print small than the other way around.

Answer 2

Shooting in SMALL is one way to get more images on your memory card, but it really limits your ability to print or crop.

I'd only use SMALL if the images are going to be used for webpages, email, or such.  A 1.5mp image won't produce a very satisfactory 4x6, much less an 8x10.

If you're concerned about storage, get more SD memory cards as they're very inexpensive now.  Currently, you can get 2gb cards for under $20.  

I never go out without at least two cards, myself.

Answer 3

you notice the image quality difference either when you zoom in or make big prints. you can make resonably good 4x6 prints with 1.5MP but that's about it.

if you want to make like a 10x8 you need at least 7MP to get a good quality print.

jani

Answer 4

The quality won't suffer, but the maximum size will. I would suggest using 3MP as it will allow a 5X7 or MAYBE 8X10 print. Set to 4MP for the absolute best compromise between file size and image size.

EDIT--Anticitizen, The reason it looks ok on the TV is TVs use a lower resolution, but larger size than most computers.

Answer 5

Always use the highest resolution your camera supports.  That would mean shooting using Image Size Large and Image Quality Fine.

Then buy a couple of 2GB cards to start with (two packs of 2GB cards were under $20 on sale this weekend)

You can always resize the images you want to a smaller email friendly size (remember to save the new smaller file as some other name so you do not overwrite the original), but you can NEVER make a small file larger.

Answer 6

i have a 8 MP digital camera that allows shooting between 2MP to 8 MP , honestly speaking i have noticed no image quality difference between 2 MP and 8MP

i have viewed the images on the camera LCD, on my PC monitor, and even on my TV screen which has bigger display than PC

Answer 7

Here's a quick formula for calculating file size for printing...

L x W x DPI x DPI x 3(for colour) / 1,048,576 = File Size for Printing.

By my calculations if you had a 300dpi file you aren't going to print larger than 2" x 3" without some degradation...

If it's just for viewing on a computer you probably wont notice much difference. I shoot everything in RAW mode simply because you never know when you might get that cover shot for National GeographicI If it's a tiny little jpg...too bad...so sad...

Answer 8

Here is another way to think about it. You paid for 6 megapixels why wouldn't you want to use everything you paid for?

Frankly, everything looks good on a computer monitor or a TV screen but again you aren't getting your money's worth. Even an HD TV screen has only about 2MP of resolution. The screen on the back of your camera has about the equivalent of 1/3 MP resolution.

The point is, these devices aren't the best way to get the most out of your images. If you want to actually see what you've captured, you gotta make the prints.