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which resolution to choose for files with photographs?


T

Tom-75

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Hi,

I wanted to ask how the resolution thing works when creating a new file?

If I create a new file that is for example 1600x1067 px then I have to enter in the new file window also the color mode such as RGB and the resolution in Pixels/Inch but what is this resolution really for and how high or low should I choose this?
What is actually affected if this resolution is high or low?

Also when selecting the color mode as RGB you have to select if the file should be 8, 16 or 32 bit/channel and I am also not sure what to use there so I am normally using 16 bit. If I insert for example a photograph into the file I cannot see any differences between 16 and 32 bit/channel for example.

Am I missing something here or how does this work?

Thanks and Regards,
Tom
 
To put it simply the resolution is the quality of the image. If it's higher it can be sharper and clearer, if it is lower the opposite.

As for color modes, these refer to the amount of colors that your image is able to reproduce. For example 8 bit can only allow for 256 different shades of Red Green and Blue. 16 bit can have 4096 different colors per RGB I think, and 24 bit can have over 16k per RGB. Also choosing higher color modes can affect computer performance significantly so bare that in mind.


Hopefully that makes sense to you.
 
Thanks for the information, I think I got that with the color modes.

Regarding the resolution, is that only affecting printing or also screen quality or quality of digital images when converted to jpg etc?

I'm just asking because I tried hard to see a difference between different resolutions but didn't manage.

Regards,
Tom
 
Resolution affects the overall quality of the image, both virtually and physically (if printed).
It would depend on a few factors, like the quality of your monitor. Most monitors still use 72dpi which means that if you have an image that's 300dpi displayed with the same dimensions, you probably won't see a difference. It's only when you go under 72dpi that you might notice quality differences.
 
Thanks, I think I understand this now better.

So basically it would not make sense to use more than 72dpi if pictures are displayed on the web etc?

Regards,
Tom
 
Well it technically depends on how the web page is coded. If it specifies the width or height in inches then dpi is important. Most of the time this is not the case as the resolution is specified which won't make a difference to dpi. It gets a little more complicated and I don't think I could do it justice by explaining it, so have a search online if you're still interested.

As for the quality of the image (regardless of image format), that solely depends on the entire resolution, not the dpi at all (dpi only refers to how the image will be displayed).
 
RTContent said:
As for the quality of the image (regardless of image format), that solely depends on the entire resolution, not the dpi at all (dpi only refers to how the image will be displayed).
Click to expand...

Thanks anyway for your effort to explain this. The above is really interesting and I think I'm almost getting it.

I guess by "entire resolution" you mean the resolution in pixels such as 1600 x 1064 ? So if I understand you correctly ...... if I have a picture of lets say 1600 x 1064 pixels you are saying that it doesn't matter at all if this picture has a resolution of 72 or 300dpi as long as the entire resolution is 1600 x 1064?

Regards,
Tom
 
Correct. You won't gain any quality by changing the dpi since pixels = pixels on a computer. Dpi is mainly used for physical media such as prints where pixels can only translate to some other type of measurement like inches.

Oh and you might already know but I don't think I've said yet. DPI stands for Dots per inch. PPI can also be used, Pixels per inch.
 
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