Can 3MP Digicams create film-like 4x6 prints?

[Chris Lukowski]

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

 

[Andj P]

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

For a photo your aiming at 300ppi (pixels per inch) for VERY sharp printed photo's. If all your aiming for is 4 x6 then a 2.1 megapixel cam with a decent lens will do just as good as a 5 megapixel cam.

(4 x 300ppi) x (6 x 300) = 1200 x 1800 format.

You will not be able to see any higher res with the naked eye unless your using a magnifying glass. I don't even think photo developers do higher then 300 dpi anyways.

I regularily crop my 4 megapixel pics and resize them to a 4 x 6 format at 1200 x 1800 to get developed by futurephoto.com here in toronto and the prints are indistinguishable from real photo's. Incredibily sharp.

--
Andj
Canon G3 and former S30 Owner
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/andj/

 

[Alf B.]

Hi Chris

I am not familier with the Oly stylus zoom. Is it a pocket clamshell model? I use the Oly C-730 ultrazoom which has 3.2 megapixels. This does not sound a lot but going by some of the threads on here, is capable of taking shots equivalent to many times that. In the manual it says it has a top resolution of 3200x2400, thats 7.7 megapixels! I have NO idea how to set it up to do this though. As you propbably know Oly lenses are second to none in quality and the C-730 uz has an amazing 10x optical zoom (38mm-380mm, 35 mm film equivalent) and yet still has a super macro setting, which goes down to 100mm. It can also offer FULL manual control, if you require it.
Its certainly one to look at if you are thinking of upgrading.

http://www.angelfire.com/film/digital_pics/index.html

Alf B.

 

[Mike Orie]

3mp should be indistingiushable from film up to 8x10

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

--
http://www.pbase.com/agent2099

 

[David A Melges]

...that people keep asking if digital prints can be "indistinguishable" from film prints...interesting because they will be very easy to distinguish, they'll be better.

The Oly Stylus is such a great point and shoot film camera, I loved mine...but film itself except through great effort and expense can't compare with the newer 3mp and up digitals for clarity....and in my opinion for film to surpass a 3mp digital at 4x6 print size is impossible.

d

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

 

[Chris Lukowski]

According to the manual, the 2mp mode captures images @ 1600*1200, so should I still use the 3mp mode vs the 2mp? In a 4x6, is there any discernable difference between the two modes at all? I'm going to be taking this thing on vacation with me, so I'm thinking I could use the 2mp mode to take most of the pics and switch to 3mp or 6mp (thinking of the Fuji F700 again) for the more important pics. Or should I just stick to 3mp for all pics to be on the safe side? Thanks for the advice...

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

For a photo your aiming at 300ppi (pixels per inch) for VERY sharp
printed photo's. If all your aiming for is 4 x6 then a 2.1
megapixel cam with a decent lens will do just as good as a 5
megapixel cam.

(4 x 300ppi) x (6 x 300) = 1200 x 1800 format.

You will not be able to see any higher res with the naked eye
unless your using a magnifying glass. I don't even think photo
developers do higher then 300 dpi anyways.

I regularily crop my 4 megapixel pics and resize them to a 4 x 6
format at 1200 x 1800 to get developed by futurephoto.com here in
toronto and the prints are indistinguishable from real photo's.
Incredibily sharp.

--
Andj
Canon G3 and former S30 Owner
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/andj/

 

[john farrar]

... they don't look as good as prints from film when you examine them closely. This is because the film based image is captured at the molecular level instead of by a very much smaller number of sensors in the same frame. Too, you can get blue sky against roof or clifftop problems and other fringing irritations.

But the ordinary person will not see any difference as long as the images are printed on good paper and with a good printer. They won't even grumble about a 6x4 from a 2mp camera.
Handling and the zoom lens are bigger worries than megapixels for 6x4 prints.
John.
Visitors welcome to browse
http://www.pbase.com/johnfr/galleries

 

[Chris Lukowski]

Wow, I always thought it would be the other way around! I guess that's because the only exposure to digital photography I've had was an intro level Fuji A101 digicam. It takes great pics sometimes but there always seems to be lighting issues, underexposed pics, and other such things. Never had any of the better high end cams to compare with. So you're saying that even midrange digicams (not the prosumers) take pictures as well if not better than a standard point and shoot 35mm? Wow, I'm hooked now Thanks for the insight!

The Oly Stylus is such a great point and shoot film camera, I loved
mine...but film itself except through great effort and expense
can't compare with the newer 3mp and up digitals for clarity....and
in my opinion for film to surpass a 3mp digital at 4x6 print size
is impossible.

d

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

 

[Brian]

If you go for a 2.1 MP camera, I would suggest one with a long zoom like an Olympus C-7XX series. This allows you to frame your picture more accurately without wasting pixels.

As for the 1200X1600 size, to print out at 4X6 size, you will have to trim some of the top, bottom or both from your picture. So you end up with a picture that is 1600X1067 pixels. These prints are still fantastic at 4X6 size.

Without a big zoom lens, I would stick with 3MP+.

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

For a photo your aiming at 300ppi (pixels per inch) for VERY sharp
printed photo's. If all your aiming for is 4 x6 then a 2.1
megapixel cam with a decent lens will do just as good as a 5
megapixel cam.

(4 x 300ppi) x (6 x 300) = 1200 x 1800 format.

You will not be able to see any higher res with the naked eye
unless your using a magnifying glass. I don't even think photo
developers do higher then 300 dpi anyways.

I regularily crop my 4 megapixel pics and resize them to a 4 x 6
format at 1200 x 1800 to get developed by futurephoto.com here in
toronto and the prints are indistinguishable from real photo's.
Incredibily sharp.

--
Andj
Canon G3 and former S30 Owner
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/andj/

--
Brian

• C-7OO, and some other stuff

 

[Alice_61]

I'd go with the larger file size to allow room for cropping.

 

[Chris Lukowski]

I'm not sure what you mean by a "big" zoom lens, but the cam I'm looking at has a 3x optical zoom lens and can take pics up to 6MP (interpolated I'm assuming) with native 3MP pics and a 2MP and 1MP mode.

As for the 1200X1600 size, to print out at 4X6 size, you will have
to trim some of the top, bottom or both from your picture. So you
end up with a picture that is 1600X1067 pixels. These prints are
still fantastic at 4X6 size.

Without a big zoom lens, I would stick with 3MP+.

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

For a photo your aiming at 300ppi (pixels per inch) for VERY sharp
printed photo's. If all your aiming for is 4 x6 then a 2.1
megapixel cam with a decent lens will do just as good as a 5
megapixel cam.

(4 x 300ppi) x (6 x 300) = 1200 x 1800 format.

You will not be able to see any higher res with the naked eye
unless your using a magnifying glass. I don't even think photo
developers do higher then 300 dpi anyways.

I regularily crop my 4 megapixel pics and resize them to a 4 x 6
format at 1200 x 1800 to get developed by futurephoto.com here in
toronto and the prints are indistinguishable from real photo's.
Incredibily sharp.

--
Andj
Canon G3 and former S30 Owner
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/andj/

--
Brian

• C-7OO, and some other stuff

 

[Chris Lukowski]

I just checked out the cams you mentioned, and while the huge zooms they have sound cool, I'd rather not carry around a big ass camera like that. Thing's 3 inches thick, and I was looking for something I could just throw in my pocket and have it not be a burden to carry around. They are cool though...

As for the 1200X1600 size, to print out at 4X6 size, you will have
to trim some of the top, bottom or both from your picture. So you
end up with a picture that is 1600X1067 pixels. These prints are
still fantastic at 4X6 size.

Without a big zoom lens, I would stick with 3MP+.

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

For a photo your aiming at 300ppi (pixels per inch) for VERY sharp
printed photo's. If all your aiming for is 4 x6 then a 2.1
megapixel cam with a decent lens will do just as good as a 5
megapixel cam.

(4 x 300ppi) x (6 x 300) = 1200 x 1800 format.

You will not be able to see any higher res with the naked eye
unless your using a magnifying glass. I don't even think photo
developers do higher then 300 dpi anyways.

I regularily crop my 4 megapixel pics and resize them to a 4 x 6
format at 1200 x 1800 to get developed by futurephoto.com here in
toronto and the prints are indistinguishable from real photo's.
Incredibily sharp.

--
Andj
Canon G3 and former S30 Owner
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/andj/

--
Brian

• C-7OO, and some other stuff

 

[Captain Obvious]

Because Frontier pics have been shown time and time again to be superior to both the Epson 2200 and the Canon 9000. Yet, I have Frontier pics, and they don't compare to the stuff I've had printed at a lab from film.

I have NEVER seen a 4x6 inkjet print that even resembled 'good'.

The Oly Stylus is such a great point and shoot film camera, I loved
mine...but film itself except through great effort and expense
can't compare with the newer 3mp and up digitals for clarity....and
in my opinion for film to surpass a 3mp digital at 4x6 print size
is impossible.

d

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

 

[David A Melges]

I have NEVER seen a 4x6 inkjet print that even resembled 'good'.

The Oly Stylus is such a great point and shoot film camera, I loved
mine...but film itself except through great effort and expense
can't compare with the newer 3mp and up digitals for clarity....and
in my opinion for film to surpass a 3mp digital at 4x6 print size
is impossible.

d

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

 

[Lin Evans]

Because Frontier pics have been shown time and time again to be
superior to both the Epson 2200 and the Canon 9000. Yet, I have
Frontier pics, and they don't compare to the stuff I've had printed
at a lab from film.

I have NEVER seen a 4x6 inkjet print that even resembled 'good'.

Then your experience with inkjet prints is severely limited....

Fuji Frontier pictures are not even close in quality to good injket prints - I'm not sure where you are getting this information, but you need to do some more research........ LightJet images are another issue altogether....

Lin
--
http://208.56.82.71

 

[Brian]

I'm talking 6X+

The there are several from Olympus with 10X
Minolta has the 7i with a big zoom
Fuji has several with a 6X+ zoom
Nikon's 5700 has one
Canon Pro90

As for the 1200X1600 size, to print out at 4X6 size, you will have
to trim some of the top, bottom or both from your picture. So you
end up with a picture that is 1600X1067 pixels. These prints are
still fantastic at 4X6 size.

Without a big zoom lens, I would stick with 3MP+.

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

For a photo your aiming at 300ppi (pixels per inch) for VERY sharp
printed photo's. If all your aiming for is 4 x6 then a 2.1
megapixel cam with a decent lens will do just as good as a 5
megapixel cam.

(4 x 300ppi) x (6 x 300) = 1200 x 1800 format.

You will not be able to see any higher res with the naked eye
unless your using a magnifying glass. I don't even think photo
developers do higher then 300 dpi anyways.

I regularily crop my 4 megapixel pics and resize them to a 4 x 6
format at 1200 x 1800 to get developed by futurephoto.com here in
toronto and the prints are indistinguishable from real photo's.
Incredibily sharp.

--
Andj
Canon G3 and former S30 Owner
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/andj/

--
Brian

• C-7OO, and some other stuff

--
Brian

• C-7OO, and some other stuff

 

[Brian]

I would go for a 3x zoom with 3-4MP then. There are a lot of cameras in with these features and many will do you well.

I just checked out the cams you mentioned, and while the huge zooms
they have sound cool, I'd rather not carry around a big ass camera
like that. Thing's 3 inches thick, and I was looking for something
I could just throw in my pocket and have it not be a burden to
carry around. They are cool though...

• C-7OO, and some other stuff

 

[David A Melges]

...your reply was much more mature than mine!

My reply should have been:

Fuji Frontier does an acceptable job, but I've shown comparison prints from the Frontier and even my old Epson 880 to dozens of professional photographers and have yet to find even one that picks the Frontier.

And on the original topic, the prints made from digital files, sometimes even the files I captured with my old Canon S100 equaled or exceeded the film prints at 4x6.....and amazingly enough once or twice at 8x10. My 5mp Sony F707 kicks films butt routinely.

dave

Because Frontier pics have been shown time and time again to be
superior to both the Epson 2200 and the Canon 9000. Yet, I have
Frontier pics, and they don't compare to the stuff I've had printed
at a lab from film.

I have NEVER seen a 4x6 inkjet print that even resembled 'good'.

Then your experience with inkjet prints is severely limited....

Fuji Frontier pictures are not even close in quality to good injket
prints - I'm not sure where you are getting this information, but
you need to do some more research........ LightJet images are
another issue altogether....

Lin
--
http://208.56.82.71

 

[Chris Lukowski]

I never planned on printing pics at home, but rather at a place like Ritz Camera where they have Fuji Digital Photo Processing or something similar. They said they even adjust the brightness settings if pics come out too dark.

I have NEVER seen a 4x6 inkjet print that even resembled 'good'.

The Oly Stylus is such a great point and shoot film camera, I loved
mine...but film itself except through great effort and expense
can't compare with the newer 3mp and up digitals for clarity....and
in my opinion for film to surpass a 3mp digital at 4x6 print size
is impossible.

d

Hi guys,

I know this is very subjective, but I was wondering if today's
newest digicams (such as upcoming the Fuji F700) can take pictures
that are practically indistinguishable from 35mm point-and-shoot
camera pictures on 4x6 prints. I'm looking to ditch my Olympus
Sylus Zoom entirely, and was wondering if a new 3MP digicam would
do the job good enough so that your average laymen can't tell them
apart on a 4x6 level. I've never seen them side by side so I was
wondering if you could lend some insight. What differences, if any
are noticable for a photographic novice, should I expect?

Thanks,
Chris Lukowski

 

[Alf B.]

Hi Chris

Did you check out the C-730 ultrazoom? Its the smallest camera in the world with a 10x optical zoom. It CAN fit in your pocket and it weighs only 400g with the batteries.

http://www.angelfire.com/film/digital_pics/index.html

Alf B.