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"It doesn't surprise me. Speaking from experience, Canon and NIKON DSLRs
shoot RAW at 240DPI. Google suggests Pentax does as well, and if I'm not
mistaken, it's the standard at this point for high-resolution RAW
images. They store far more information than just the visible pixels."
I use a Canon 40D and always shoot in RAW mode, but convert to 350 dpi JPG
for reviewing purposes. (The high resolution allows me to do a "proof" print
for final selections.) I have gone completely through my "owners" manual and
have spent the last half-hour Googling, but can find no reference to "RAW at
240 dpi." If you can point me to the site where you found this information,
I would greatly appreciate it. (I like to know all about my cameras.)
"Furthermore, DPI actually has no meaning in the digital photography
world."
You are right there. My camera has an effective 3888x2592 pixels (10.1
megapixel) resolution. The output however is dependent on whether I am
shooting RAW, sRAW, or JPEG. (I only shoot RAW.) I can select TIFF or JPG
for my conversions and virtually any resolution; although, I have found that
anything over 4,000 dpi results in a HUMONGOUS file.
"It's technically PPI. DPI refers to the printed size. PPI
involves the number of pixels recorded by the camera. Essentially, this
is the print world trying to talk about print to the digital world, and
the language is all wrong."
I disagree. I use both film and digital cameras. My Nikon scanner provides a
4000 dpi from a 35mm slide or negative (according to Nikon specs). It is
rated by Nikon at "true 4000 DPI Optical Resolution. If you dig deeper, you
can find the PPI, but it is not listed as a "feature" because most
photographers and printers know DPI. When I create or update websites I use
both physical size (in pixels) and DPI. I don't see two different languages
at all. Photoshop uses physical measurements and pixels/inch or pixels/cm
for image sizing. If I tell it that I want an 8x10 inch image at 300
pixels/inch, I get a digital 8x10 in image at 300 dpi, or at least my
high-end ink jet printer thinks so and that's good enough for me.
"If you have a 11x14 240 DPI photo, it will print at 8x10, 300 DPI just
fine. My 240 dpi photos print at 20x30 just fine." I don't think you're
going to have any issues. In the future, however, you shouldn't specify
300dpi from a digital photographer."
You don't need a knowledgeable photographer with digital expertise to supply
these photographs. You need a professional photographer who can provide you
the product according to your specifications. I would specify both image
size and resolution in order to avoid confusion and don't get bogged down in
the DPI versus PPI argument.
Al Geist
Technical Communicator, Help, Web Design, Video, Photography
Office/Msg: 802-872-9190
Cell: 802-578-3964
E-mail: al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com
Website: www.geistassociates.com
See Also:
Fine Art Photography
Website: www.geistarts.com
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