what aspect ratio do you shoot as default?

what aspect ratio do you shoot as default?


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Thanks for the good advice. It make sense to use a different camera if you are not shooting 4:3.

From everyone's feedback, I realize now what is important to me.

I do not print and if I do, it is no bigger than 8x10. So theoretically, 5MP is plenty.

That was what I used for 10 years, a 5MP FZ35. If it wasn't noisy high ISO, I would still use it. It's such a perfect camera.

Now that I got a GX7, shooting in 3:2 is still 14MP which is way more than I start with.

Now that I shoot so much, I hope it will last another 10 years before my next upgrade.

Best
 
Since this is the MFT forum, I will assume we are all using cameras with native 4:3 ratio sensors. This is the ONLY aspect ratio that will provide the full resolution of the sensor for every MFT camera made. All the other aspect ratios are just crops of this.
Setting your camera aspect ratio to anything but 4:3 simply means you don't want to bother with cropping later in post processing. You prefer some other aspect ratio, and want to make it your default setting. And if this is the case, then perhaps you should have bought a camera with a different default aspect ratio.
That seems like a silly reason to not use a camera you otherwise enjoy. You end up cropping when printing anyway.
I shoot using 4:3 as my default setting, and also shoot using the raw+jpeg setting, so I can have any aspect ratio I want when I am post processing.
I do this too. However, I can certainly see the logic in setting your camera to your intended output aspect ratio so you can frame properly for it as you are shooting. Why crop later if you can crop while taking the photo? What if you shoot 4:3 and frame too close to the edge for 3:2 later? Then you can't crop it without destroying the composition.

I know where you are coming from, I just don't agree that it is 4:3 or the highway.
 
From another member, pannumon, questioning why 4:3, I am more curious as to what aspect is the most popular among m43 users. Poll please.

Let me know if there is another aspect to add.
When I first switched from DSLRs I would shoot 3:2 out of habit, but at some point I tried out 4:3 and realized it was a much more natural aspect ratio for portrait orientation shots (3:2 is very narrow in portrait to me).

I frequently crop to 1:1 or 16:9 or sometimes even 24:10 but rarely ever 3:2 anymore.
 
From another member, pannumon, questioning why 4:3, I am more curious as to what aspect is the most popular among m43 users. Poll please.

Let me know if there is another aspect to add.
When I first switched from DSLRs I would shoot 3:2 out of habit, but at some point I tried out 4:3 and realized it was a much more natural aspect ratio for portrait orientation shots (3:2 is very narrow in portrait to me).

I frequently crop to 1:1 or 16:9 or sometimes even 24:10 but rarely ever 3:2 anymore.
Same here. I've only been shooting 4/3 for a few months and already I can't stand 3:2 portraits. Looking back at all my Canon portrait shots they look way to crowded and narrow.

4:3 also crops to 8x10, 5x7 and 11x14 prints a easier than 2:3 does.

I miss the extra width and horizontal FOV with 2:3 for landscapes, though.
 
Good point. For portrait, I will try 4:3. Thanks for the tip.

But for scenery, I still prefer 3:2.
 
Years of shooting a DSLR made me accustomed to the 3:2 aspect ratio, although I used to have a Panasonic LX2 compact as well. I thought the aspect ratio switch on the camera was brilliant, and I enjoyed experimenting. Still, when I bought my first m4/3 camera in 2010 I set it to 3:2 most of the time. Eventually I adopted 4:3 as my default aspect ratio, but I shoot with all of them depending on the photo. I like composing with a specific aspect ratio rather than cropping in post. 1:1 is one I shoot a lot. I use 16:9 the least, but I do use it.

Sean
 
I know where you are coming from, I just don't agree that it is 4:3 or the highway.
I did say "for me" didn't I?

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Well, your message was "And if this is the case, then perhaps you should have bought a camera with a different default aspect ratio".

Like tkbsic, I feel that is nonsens, there are many aspects why I chose m43, but the 4:3 sensor format was not even on my mind when I made that decision. So to state that if you don't should 4:3, you should not buy a m43 is a bit bold.
 
16:9 can exaggerate that even more, but it is too much for me.
 
4:3 also crops to 8x10, 5x7 and 11x14 prints a easier than 2:3 does.

I miss the extra width and horizontal FOV with 2:3 for landscapes, though.
Why not change to 2:3 when photographing landscapes, and print 8x12, 12x18, etc?

- Richard
Because I don't gain the extra horizontal FOV that I would have with a 3:2 sensor and that is what I notice is different.

A 24mm equivalent lens will have the same diagonal FOV on any aspect ratio, but with a 3:2 sensor you get greater horizontal FOV. It's not just a wider aspect ratio, you actually capture more width of the scene (at the expense of height). If I set my GX7 to 3:2, it takes a 4:3 shot and crops it do 3:2 which means I don't gain anything, I just threw away some height for no reason.
 
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If I set my GX7 to 3:2, it takes a 4:3 shot and crops it do 3:2 which means I don't gain anything, I just threw away some height for no reason.
OK, I understand.

Option: purchase a Panasonic FZ1000 for landscapes. Its native format is 3:2!
  • [3:2] 5472x3648 (20M)
  • [4:3] 4864x3648 (17.5M)
  • [16:9] 5472x3080 (17M)
  • [1:1] 3648x3648 (13.5M)


0295f9250f9548f1b3a1c5f4e66affd0.jpg



- Richard

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I tend to go with the native aspect ratio. Rarely anything but 4:3 with m43 cameras. But, even though I've used 3:2 cameras for most of my photo-taking life I've never particularly liked the 3:2 frame. Most of my 35mm format negatives have been cropped to 4:3 or 7:4 (close to 16:9 but used by me prior to HD TV) for printing, and were usually shot with that cropping in mind too. With electronic 3:2 cameras I tend to opt for 16:9 when available in-camera, otherwise I frame & crop as with 35mm film cameras. For me 3:2 is almost always not square enough or not narrow enough. YMMV of course.

-Dave-
 
I shoot 3:2 with my G6. Like to compose in camera. And also since most screens are much wider than 4:3.
However, I'd really like a setting which aitomatically switches between 3:2 in landscape mode and 4:3 in portrait.

An: off topic question: how do I jump to last post in threads while using mobile view? Is that possible?
 
You can click "next unread".

I know it's not the past, but closer enough.

Best
 
I use 3:2 most of the time as it provides the best ratio of height to width for most print formats. The exception is when I know that the pictures will be used to produce 8x10 prints at which time the 5:4 format is a real time saver - no need to crop and I can batch process the files in Photoshop.
 
Cinema, television, and digital photography aspect ratios are given with the longer side listed first (4:3, 3:2, 16:9, etc.), while photographic prints are listed the other way around, with the short side first (8x10, 16x20, and so on). Anybody have an explanation?
 
Cinema, television, and digital photography aspect ratios are given with the longer side listed first (4:3, 3:2, 16:9, etc.), while photographic prints are listed the other way around, with the short side first (8x10, 16x20, and so on). Anybody have an explanation?

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I thought it was X axis listed first, Y axis second.

rd
 

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