Digital Camera ?

[Baconbeard]

I am a novice when it comes to using my digital camera and need to develop some pics I took at a wedding. Typically, I just transfer them to my computer and email them, so I have never taken them to a photo lab before.

Do I need to burn them to a disk or can I just take my memory card in? Also, my camera takes pics at 2272x1704 by default, but I usually make them 640x480 for the computer. If I just want regular 5x7 prints, what is the best resolution to use?

Any advice would be helpful. I have a Nikon Coolpix 4300 if that means anything to anybody. Thanks.

 

[Ollie]

Most places have a kiosk that will accept any media. The resolution of your digital pics don't really matter that much, just make sure that you "center" the photo properly after you select the pics you want to print. Most likely, your pics aren't in the 5X7 aspect ratio, so the kiosk will crop your pics to fit the print.

Anyway, just ask the photo tech at the place and (usually) they are very helpful.

BTW- If you go to CVS here's a coupon for 10 freebies

Edit: this post really belongs in Horn Depot Forum

 

[Texas_Rocks]

I just burn them on a CD and than use the KODACK machine at Wallmart. It's incredibly easy to crop and manipulate the pictures the way you want them and it only takes a few short minutes. It's about 23 cents per 5x7 photo. Good quality too.

 

[wherzwaldo]

Why not just print them from your computer? Or do you not have the appropriate equipment?

 

[Baconbeard]

I don't have the equipment to print them myself. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[dustin_c1]

Here is the lowdown:

1. Always print at the highest resolution. Let the printer downsample. Don't do it yourself.

2. 5x7 has a different aspect ratio (ratio of the height of he image to the width) than 2272x1704 (4:3 aspect ratio). That means that part of the picture will have to be cropped to fit a 5x7 fully. Sometimes letting the printer do it automatically results in an important part of the image being cut off. Be aware of the need for this crop and be prepared to crop manually if you aren't comfortable letting a machine do it automatically or letting the clerk do it.

3. The instant print kiosks use small printers that you can actually buy yourself. The picture quality is terrible. A lot of places like Walgreens will have digital minilabs. You can't buy those yourself because they are in the 6 figure range. Those suckers are badass. They will give you the highest quality image possible. In fact, a digital minilab uses the same process to print film as it does to digital. It actually digitizes film then prints it. It is impossible to distinguish a hi res digital image from a film image. Minilab prints aren't instant - most stores have 1 hour development. There can be a preparing time and it takes a few minutes for each photograph to dry. But they tend to be quite a bit cheaper than kiosk prints. Right now, minilab prints look a lot better than kiosk prints. There is no contest.

Oh, there are several online outfits (Yahoo! even does this) that offer a service where you can upload your image to their website then let them print it (using a minilab, of course) and mail it to you.

 

[Baconbeard]

Dustin, thanks for the advice. So do you recommend shooting pics at a different resolution than 2274x1704 to avoid the cropping problem? Or should I print them at a different size?

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

 

[dustin_c1]

Most cameras don't allow you to alter the aspect ratio of the image. Some do. For example, if you shoot at 1024x768, you are still shooting 4:3 (2274/1704 ~= 1024/768 = 4/3 = 4:3). Unless your camera allows you the choice to shoot 3:2, 7:5, 4:3 or whatever, changing the resolution won't do you any good. As a rule of thumb, always shoot on the highest resolution.

The popular print sizes, 5x7, 4x6 and 8x10, all have different aspect ratios. So this is an issue with film too. 35mm film has a 6:4 aspect ratio, so when you take 35mm film shots and print 5x7s or 8x10s, you have to deal with the same cropping issues. You only get the whole image when you print a 4x6. With ditigal images, you can easily do the cropping yourself. With film, you can't.

For most snapshots, the clerk will do a decent job of cropping for you. Like with film, you can just sort of ignore it for your snapshots. If you are particular about it (I am!), do the cropping yourself. You can do it at home on image editing software. You can do it at the store on the computer that you put your memory card in. The online printing shops have web apps that allow you to crop.

 

[BigXIIHorns]

Try this online site


This is the one I use. Highest quality but not the cheapest. I use it for my most important pictures

 

[txzen]

The cropping issues for 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 are quite apparent when you use one of those online sites. I use Shutterfly, and before you actually finalize your order, it makes you adjust the cropping so that there's nothing unexpected on your final product.

For 5x7, I'd still be temped to take them at your maximum size, though 8x10 will look fine at that resolution as well.