I've been working with my photo software today that came with my canon rebel XTI and Im having a bit of a problem. Im trying to downsize my picture to fit the 200KB size to post on the forums but whenever I do it comes out smaller than I would prefer. I usually do this through photobucket, but I'd really love to learn on my own. Can anyone send me through a crash course on how to do this? Im using "Digital Photo Professional" software. Thank you for your time!
If the image is a vertical, then flip those Height/Width numbers around, keeping the height of the image at 700 pixels. I've forgotten whether DPP will automatically hold the aspect ratio size when you choose 700 pixels for the long end, as PS does. If so, then let it choose the short end length of the image.
You really don't need any larger size than 700 pixels on the long end to post here, IMO. If that's incorrect, I hope someone will correct me.
The 72 ppi output resolution is close to ideal for monitors, whereas 300ppi is close to optimum for prints.
Always work with a copy of the original when resizing, and note that you may need to slightly resharpen the image again after resizing.
Experiment with the Image Quality setting to get your desired 200kb (or less) final output resolution.
David - What you should be doing is changing the image size to what you want, like 720x480 (or whatever size you want within the 720 pixel NPN limit). Then, when you save the JPG, adjust the quality number to shrink the file size. In Photoshop, I can usually use a quality number of at least 8 (out of the maximum 12) which isn't usually noticable when posted.
If you find that the quality you have to save at drops very low, like 4 or 5 in Photoshop (or maybe 50 or 60 percent in other programs), then I would consider using dimensions smaller than 720 on the long side.
Note that the ppi setting has absolutely no effect on your image. It's only used for output to printers, or other devices that use inches or centimeters to display things. A computer screen doesn't care about it at all. The pixel dimensions are what is really important. A 720x480 image will appear (and be) exactly the same whether you set the file at 72 ppi or 300 ppi or 32000 ppi. The only difference in the file is the number stored for ppi, which something like a printer driver would read.
As far as sharpening for web, Marc Adamus has posted a great technique that can be found on this page.
If you still have questions feel free to ask, or search on here - a lot of people go through this at first and you should be able to find some threads.
Discussion
2 replies--David Holt
Image Quality: 7 Output Resolution: 72 (Check Resize option) Width = 700 Height = 467(+/-)
If the image is a vertical, then flip those Height/Width numbers around, keeping the height of the image at 700 pixels. I've forgotten whether DPP will automatically hold the aspect ratio size when you choose 700 pixels for the long end, as PS does. If so, then let it choose the short end length of the image.
You really don't need any larger size than 700 pixels on the long end to post here, IMO. If that's incorrect, I hope someone will correct me.
The 72 ppi output resolution is close to ideal for monitors, whereas 300ppi is close to optimum for prints.
Always work with a copy of the original when resizing, and note that you may need to slightly resharpen the image again after resizing.
Experiment with the Image Quality setting to get your desired 200kb (or less) final output resolution.
If you find that the quality you have to save at drops very low, like 4 or 5 in Photoshop (or maybe 50 or 60 percent in other programs), then I would consider using dimensions smaller than 720 on the long side.
Note that the ppi setting has absolutely no effect on your image. It's only used for output to printers, or other devices that use inches or centimeters to display things. A computer screen doesn't care about it at all. The pixel dimensions are what is really important. A 720x480 image will appear (and be) exactly the same whether you set the file at 72 ppi or 300 ppi or 32000 ppi. The only difference in the file is the number stored for ppi, which something like a printer driver would read.
As far as sharpening for web, Marc Adamus has posted a great technique that can be found on this page.
If you still have questions feel free to ask, or search on here - a lot of people go through this at first and you should be able to find some threads.