I have a new Canon PowerShot and don't know what to set my recording pixels and compression at. I'm getting ready to leave for a trip to Ireland and I just need to take regular pictures...I have a 2 gb memory card in it. I have the following choices for recording pixel settings: Large, medium 1, medium 2, medium 3, small, postcard, widescreen. For compression I have the following options: superfine, fine, normal. Thanks
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32219 posts
Kathleen,
I suppose everyone has different preferences in this regard, but I ALWAYS set my Camera for the best resolution possible (ie: Large & Superfine). While the larger files do reduce the number or shots per card, that's not normally a problem. Memory is cheap right now, so take at least two large (2GB?) cards and don't forget at least one spare battery!
I feel that especially while travelling, I'm spending a lot of money for the trips, so I want the best quality images (some might be good for enlargements).
Like the previous post, I also travel with a larger dSLR.
Have a great trip to Ireland - I'll be heading there are the end of the month.
Cheers!
Posted by
Newport Beach, CA, USA
769 posts
Hi Kathleene - I have a powershot 1000 myself 0 just used it in Swiss Alps along with a larger DSLR. - unless youre making giant prints set your camera to "Large" size , and "fine" or "normal" resolution. If you only make 4x6 prints - or even a few 8x10 - then fine or normal is good enough and lets you get double the picts on your card as superfine. You will notice when you change it - the number of remaining picts will change - so experiment - right now you probably have room for 500 with large/fine. If you realize youre taking a lot more - en route and dont have an extra SD card (which id recommend taking along - even if its a cheaper 1gig) - then set it to Large & Normal - or Med & Fine. I havent used wide screen - but I assume its like panarorama - so try it once before you go - you can always change these settings on the fly! (the manual is small so pack it along if you feel you need to for quick ref)!
Posted by
Union, Maine, USA
95 posts
Hi Kathleen,
I can understand Tom's point if cost/memory is an issue. However, I'm with Ken and Kent. Memory is cheap. You never know when you'll get that shot that is so perfect, so beautiful, you'll want to enlarge it. What a pity if you didn't have your resolution set high enough. If you can afford it, go for the higher resolution, and bring along an extra SD card. How much more simple can you get? Have we all forgotten the days of film (ooohhhh 36 shots per roll) plus developing time/costs even if they didn't come out? Capture your beautiful memories as best you can. You may end up with a gorgeous 11 x 14 for your living room that's not only beautiful, but a constant cherished memory. If storage is a problem, you can always reduce the size once you get back home.
Posted by
Baltimore
104 posts
I agree with the previous posts - if you are concerned about filling up the memory, buy another to bring with you. My first trip to Europe, we ended up buying an extra CF card there, for quite a bit more money than we would in the US thanks to the exchange rate. I also have a Canon PowerShot (just bought the SD850 to take on my upcoming trip instead of packing the bulky DSLR) and set mine at Superfine compression with Large resolution.