Wallpaper

[Nazgulero_0]

Hello,

I am looking for a digital camera that allows me to enlarge my pictures to wallpaper format (1024 x 685 pixels), what are my options ? Obviously I want to keep an extremely fine resolution, even with a picture of that size. I have been looking at the EOS Digital Rebel XT 8.0 Megapixel SLR Digital Camera, but I am not sure in how far megapixels and high resolution in larger format pictures are related...

Thanks a bunch in advance for your help.

[smc1377]

Quick lesson on resolution.

Resolution is simply a result of multiplying the pixels across and image by the pixels down an image. Meaning, your example of 1024 x 685 has a finite resolution of 701,440 pixels. That's not even 1 megapixel (1,000,000 pixels). What will matter is how compressed these pixels are.

Technically, if you had a 1 megapixel camera that has great optics and great algorithms in saving the image, you'll have more than enough of an image to be able to make nice wallpapers. But good luck finding such a camera.

The Digital Rebel XTi has a max resolution of 3888 x 2592, which is far bigger than your wallpaper size of 1024 x 685. When you are scaling it down to wallpaper size, make sure you choose the appropriate compression level. A highly compressed image will lack that "fine resolution" that you're looking for. You'll want to save the image with very little compression.

[Nazgulero_0]

Hello,

thanks for your reply, your tips, and your technical explanations. Interesting to learn that a 1024 x 768 picture actually takes less than 1 megapixel, I never thought about that calculation. I think I am going to try and play around with the compression, that might be exactly where the problem is.

Take care,

Georg Pauwen

[smc1377]

This is the picture I had open in photoshop at the time.

Here's the picture saved at 500 x 333 using very high quality (very little compression)...




Here the same picture, 500 x 333 using low quality (a lot of compression)...



As you can see, both images technically have the same resolution of 500 x 333, but there are huge differences in the two and it all comes down to compression.