Different aspect ratios produced by digital cameras are one of the main reasons people have cropping issues when printing digital photos, or film photos as well. The majority of compact digital cameras take an aspect ratio of 4:3 which translates to a size 4.5"x6.0"(11.43x15cm). This translates into losing a half inch (1.27cm) when printing on the 'standard' size of 4"x6" (10x15cm), an aspect ratio of 3:2. Similar cropping occurs when printing on other sizes as well, i.e., 5"x7", 8"x10", 8"x12" etc. Most digital SLR's take pictures in a 3:2 ratio, the same as 35mm film, Olympus and Panasonic digital SLR's are notable exceptions as they use the 4:3 ratio. The aspect ratio 3:2 does not crop the standard 4"x6" or 8"x12" print but will crop 5"x7", 6"x8", 8"x10" etc The aspect ratio can often be chosen in many compact camera when the choice between 4:3 or 3:2 is an option. However, as the new cameras emerge many new aspect ratios are becoming options with the choices including 4:3 (most compact digital cameras), 3:2 (most digital SLR's and many digital compact cameras), 16:9 (standard HDTV format- some digital SLR's and many compacts). To offer greater choice, many manufacturers are offering ratios 7:4, 6:6 and possibly more to come. The easy way to see if the aspect ratio you want will fit is to divide the length and width. If these match there will be no cropping off the original image. For example, an 8"x12" has the same aspect ratio as a 4"x6" or a 12"x18", because 12 divided by 8 is 1.5, the same aspect ratio as a 4"x6", which is also 1.5 which corresponds to the 3:2 Digital SLR aspect ratio. A compact digital camera at 4:3 ratio using the same formula above is 1.33, the same ratio as a 8"x6" print.
If you scroll to the very bottom of this page there is an attachment named 'Why are my photos cropped?'. If you open this up it will give you a very good understanding of using different images and how the cropping affects the different ratios.
Search the Knowledgebase
Browse by Category
The article has been updated successfully.
