Help with image quality

[letthewookiewin]

I have a question that I hope y'all can help me with. I ended up buying a Fujifilm FinePix S3280 at a Black Friday sale late last night. I thought it would be a good starting place for a better camera before I jump into the better ones that have different lenses. The only digital cameras I have ever owned were the tiny fit in your pocket kind, and I never really paid any attention to any of the settings. I bought it thinking I could use it to take better pics of our DS playing football since it has a 24x optical zoom (which was just a little better than the 3x zoom I had). Plus we are taking a WDW trip next November and I figured that almost a year is enough time for me to get really good at taking pics with it. My question is what setting is the best for image size? I have searched the web and the book that came with it and really can't find an answer.
The options are:
L 4:3 - 4288x3216 (14M)
L 3:2 - 4288x2864 (12M)
L 16:9 - 4288x2416 (10M)
M 4:3 - 3072x2304 (7M)
M 3:2 - 3072x2048 (6M)
M 16:9 - 3072x1728 (5M)
I don't know if it matters, but I don't forsee any of the pics being actually printed. They will all either just be put onto a hard drive and on FB. Some might be used for desktop backgrounds, but that's it. A few might possibly be printed, but the likelyhood is not high.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me in taking better pictures.

 

[disneyboy2003]

This was a question I used to grapple with when I bought my first digital camera years ago. Here are a few things to think about:

1. Largest size / most megapixels. Presumably, you bought this camera because of its large 14 megapixel resolution. Why settle for a 5 megapixel picture when your camera has the full potential of 14 megapixels for each picture? In a way, that's like buying a sports car, but restricting your speed limit to 25 mph every time you drive. You bought the best camera for your budget, why not use it at its best resolution?
   
2. Memory. If you're worried about large pictures taking too much memory, rest assured that these days, memory is very very very cheap. For a few extra dollars, you can purchase a much larger memory card. If you're worried about hard drive space, large external USB hard drives can be purchased at very reasonable prices. Don't let a lack of memory hold you back from letting your camera take the best pictures it can.
   
3. Printing pictures. You're probably right that you may not print any pictures in the near or foreseeable future. However, you really can't guarantee this, can you? What if you had your camera at the 5 megapixel setting, and you happen to capture a once-in-a-lifetime photo (ex. your son crossing the end zone making the crucial game-winning touchdown, a large extended family reunion with relatives from all around the world, a couple's first kiss at a wedding, a chance meeting and photo with a celebrity, etc.)?
   
   At the 3072x1728 dimension that you quoted and if you printed at the recommended 300 dpi (dots per inch) resolution, then the best picture you can get from this 5 megapixel image is 10" x 6". While a 10" x 6" photo may sound large enough for you, perhaps you wanted to crop some extraneous parts of the photo. If you don't have enough resolution in your cropped picture, your enlarged printed picture runs the risk of being not so clear, or perhaps even "pixelated".
   
   On the other hand, if you had the original 14 megapixel picture (creating an optimal 14" x 10.7" print), if you then cropped a lot of extraneous parts of your photo, you may still have enough resolution to print a high-quality 8 x 10" photo, 5 x 7" photo, etc.

In the end, I figured that I bought the best camera I could afford. Why not use the camera to its full potential, especially when there are few to no risks of using the camera at its highest resolution?

Just my thoughts. Hope that helps.

 

[ukstitch]

If you're not planning on printing, I'd recommend the highest setting (14M) because that gives you the best options for using the pictures later on.

The only time I'd be tempted to move away from that was if you're taking some pictures you know you're going to print, in which case I'd go for 12M (purely because certainly here in the UK, the standard size of pictures is 6x4, so setting the camera to a 3:2 sizes means there's no cropping required).

 

[photo_chick]

I always use the highest quality settings. Should you decide to print or edit those images later you will want all the pixels you can get because you really can't add them back in later. It's better to have the highest quality image you can get from the start.

Now the other question is a matter of aspect ratio. You have 4:3, which is a standard definition TV aspect ratio, 3:2, which is the same as 4x6 prints and 35mm film as well as what most DSLR's use by default, and 16:9 which matches widescreen monitors and HDTV's. I'd go with the 4:3 probably if it were me, just because it is the highest resolution file and I know I can crop later if I need to.

Have fun with the camera. I'm a fan of Fuji point and shoots myself (I got my DD the S1000 when it came out a few years back and have a few older ones) and have been very happy with them.

 

[mom2rtk]

If you're not planning on printing, I'd recommend the highest setting (14M) because that gives you the best options for using the pictures later on.

The only time I'd be tempted to move away from that was if you're taking some pictures you know you're going to print, in which case I'd go for 12M (purely because certainly here in the UK, the standard size of pictures is 6x4, so setting the camera to a 3:2 sizes means there's no cropping required).

Disneyboy isn't talking about cropping because it's necessary. He's talking about cropping because it's desired.

Say you take a photo at the zoo and the gorilla in the distance sticks his tongue out at you. With enough megapixels, you can crop down to a composition where the gorilla is close up and the star of the photo. Start on a lower setting, and your odds of doing this successfully are much lower.

One thing I do know. Turn it down to the smallest setting and that's when you're sure to get the keeper you want to enlarge!

 

[wbeem]

Just another point from your title that wasn't mentioned here. Image quality doesn't have anything to do with image size. More megapixels don't equal more quality, at least with relation to color, sharpness, etc.

I agree with everyone else here regarding size, though. Go for the big puppy. It gives you much more flexibility later to edit your images, even if you don't print them.

 

[ukstitch]

Disneyboy isn't talking about cropping because it's necessary. He's talking about cropping because it's desired.

Say you take a photo at the zoo and the gorilla in the distance sticks his tongue out at you. With enough megapixels, you can crop down to a composition where the gorilla is close up and the star of the photo. Start on a lower setting, and your odds of doing this successfully are much lower.

One thing I do know. Turn it down to the smallest setting and that's when you're sure to get the keeper you want to enlarge!

Sorry - my mistake for not being clear in what I was saying...

I'm well aware of the idea of cropping because it's desired to get a better picture and how important it is to start out with as many pixels as possible to allow for the best looking image after cropping.

But - the reason I mention using the 12M if you're printing is because the pixel density is the same at 12M as 14M - it just effectively auto crops the top and the bottom. This means I'd still be able to crop down to get the gorilla with his tongue sticking out and the picture would look absolutely identical to the one arrived at if I'd started at 14M because the 12M picture is identical to one that started as 14M and had it's top and bottom edges cropped off. But - it would also save me the time and effort of having to crop all my snapshots when I get home and want them printed.

 

[boBQuincy]

L 4:3. It is the best available from the camera and gives you the most options later.

 

[letthewookiewin]

Thanks for all the advice. I've been sick and haven't had a chance to touch the camera or the boards since I posted this. I have it set for the 14M. Now I just need to play around with it. Luckily, I have a year before our trip to become really good at using it. Now the hard part, finding a place to hide it so my 12 & 13 yr old DSs and 10 yr old nephew don't use it for "paranormal investigation". They're obsessed with that right now, and they seem to think that is the sole purpose for this camera.