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What aspect ratios do Pentax users like?

Started Oct 5, 2020 | Discussions thread
(unknown member) Regular Member • Posts: 204
Re: 3:2 for landscapes, 3:4 for portraits
2

LightBug wrote:

chessov wrote:

Interesting, we share the same view. Have you always felt this way, or only after using the 645Z?

I always thought 3:2 in portrait orientation looked disturbingly tight and elongated but I was not sure why. Then I read that magazines mostly prefer 3:4 aspect ratio thus making 645 and 4/3rd size sensors/films more desirable for print. I tried cropping my 3:2 portraits to 3:4 and have found 3:4 more pleasing for portraits.

Indeed, when one starts to print (single prints or photobooks), then 4:3 vertically is a lot more natural. A vertical 3:2 would look a bit odd, but works horizontally. As you say, a lot of magazines are exactly 4:3, but individual print sizes aren't usually, and that's always puzzled me.

The good thing about 4:3 and 3:2 is that they "marry well". On a vertical 4:3 you can exactly fit two 3:2 images in landscape mode, and on a horizontal 3:2 you can exactly fit two 4:3 images in portrait mode. Of course this is more than just a coincidence, it's how the 3:2 format for photography came about from 4:3 film used for movies.

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