akshay67

Right, I have a 2MP camera which can be set to interpolate to 4MP.

Given I want to print 6 x 4 for an album, am I better off snapping at the 2MP setting or should I keep it at 4MP all the way?

Also, would the interpolation at 4MP give poorer quality than the 2MP or it is unnoticable to the human eye?

Cheers!

lightning101

When the camera interpolates you end up with a blurring effect, if taken at the native resolution it is much sharper.

I tend to find that 300 dots per inch is satisfactory for printing and would base my calculations on that e.g.

6 inches = 1800
4 inches = 1200

= 2.16 megapixels

So you should still get a very sharp image.

Geezer

If you have a Fuji camera, all of the pictures you take will be at 4mp. If you select 2mp, the camera takes it at 4mp and downsizes it accordingly, so all your images are interpolated (unless you have a RAW option, but I doubt it, none of the Fujis at that level do).

I would take them all at the highest resolution possible because it gives you greater scope to crop the image afterwards. Remember, it is easier keep image quality when downsizing than upsizing.

Geezer

Up_North

I agree with lightning. Up to 6x4 2 megapixels will be fine. I've got an old Olympus which is a 2.1 and I've actually printed full A4 and was impressed with the results but that was on a Epson Photo 750 which was a brill printer in its time (it's time being about 2 years ago!!!!)

Ian

akshay67

Yes it is a Fuji Finepix 402

So are you saying all pics are taken at 4MP and then downsized?

How can that be when the camera is only a native 2MP? Or you mean that every picture the camera takes is interpolated?!

Also, is it the MP or the quality of the lens that defines the sharpness of a picture of one size? E.g. would a 6x4 picture with a 6MP cheap camera be better than a 2MP 6x4 print with a really expensive camera??

cheers!

Geezer

The way that the Fuji Super CCD works is to take everything at full res, then size accordingly. The 'native' 2mp you mention is the RAW data, before it is processed to JPEG (or whatever the S402 uses). In normal JPEG mode, it's all interpolated images no matter what the size.

Also, the lens is the biggest factor in image quality. You can get superb 3mp images with the right glass. Think about it, you can see jack **** if the lens in your eye cannot focus the light onto your retina, no matter how many cones and rods you have!

Geezer

akshay67

Cheers geez...all makes sense!!

Lets hope these lenses don't have a 'fovea'