If a camera has a 2Mpixel CCD and 2 resolution modes (2048x1536 and 1024x768 we'll say) will the lower res normally look better at 100% size than the higher res?

ryan

p.s. if you wanna know why i'm asking, e-mail me.

-- Ryan Feeley (ryanfeeley@hotbot.com), March 15, 2000

Answers

What do you mean by "100% size"? A digital image has no size. A pixel does not have a finite size until it is displayed on a monitor or printed. You describe an image size in pixels per inch. At that point, the pixel takes on a fixed dimension.

All other things being equal, the image with more pixels will look better than one with fewer pixels at any given size. A physically small image will cause the pixels to be smaller, giving more detail. As the image gets larger, the pixels get larger. Since a pixel is a single, solid color, the human eye begins to see each pixel at some point. The more pixels you have the smaller they are, and the harder it is to see them individually.

What all this means is that with a small image, you won't see a difference between the two resolutions. But, as the image gets larger and larger, the higher resolution image (more pixels) holds its quality better.

-- Steve (MilwaukeeChrome@aol.com), March 16, 2000.