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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> What resolution do you process your images in
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 01/02/2007 10:26:41 AM · #1
one thing i've noticed is i use the maximum resolution my monitor will allow, which is 1680x1050. it's a 21 in widescreen.

now, an image that's getting hammered of mine is saying "too much neatimage, this and that" which i am not saying is wrong, but when i get through editing it looks fine, and not like a huge plastic mess, like it's being labeled.

now, my question is what resolution is best to process for, seeing as how on my screen, the image takes up about 25% of the screen area right in the middle, while on yours my submission could take up 75% if i'm making sense.

just curious as to others thoughts on this. it could have already been covered elsewhere, but i couldn't find it.

thanks and have a great day :D
 01/02/2007 10:30:28 AM · #2
1600x1200 is the machine I edit on. Then I check them on a laptop running 1024x768 to see how they look there.
 01/02/2007 10:33:28 AM · #3
In my opinion, the best resolution to always use on an LCD monitor is the Native Resolution which means you get the best and closest to actual 1:1 pixel rendering on your screen. The native resolution is usually your maximum resolution. Any time you go below that the monitor has to re-render the image it is displaying much like interpolation and things start to become muddy, especially with text. Hope that makes sense...

Now, you can also look at the comment you are getting in this way...

- Maybe it looks great to you and not to them because you are using Native resolution and they aren't
- Maybe your idea of not to much neat image is not the same as theirs. Personally, I like grain because it reminds me of film.

Just some thoughts. Not sure how much it helps though...

Good luck!
Bill
 01/02/2007 06:12:22 PM · #4
oh, i agree with them about the neat image look. on my entry in particular, i had to shoot it rather dark to expose for sky, and then when i converted the raw file, and edited, it was pixely...so i thought i'd go for a painted look, which is out of my style, but i was trying something different

i had a feeling it would bomb, it's at about a 5.2 right now, not bad, but iw as just curious about the resolution thing. i've been curious for sometime now, just took this opportunity to ask.

thanks for the comments :D
 01/02/2007 06:25:51 PM · #5
I have dual monitors. I post-process in 1600x1200, drag it over to the 1400x1000 monitor and back, and when I'm all done, I walk over to a generic 1024x764 monitor which has not been calibrated to see what it looks like in the "real world representation" of DPC users. This is going on the assumption that the majority of the computers of DPC users are not precisely calibrated.

Viewing it on the uncalibrated screen has really helped. For example, a couple of times my images contained a too dark, clipped dark region that only was evident on that screen, but not on my calibrated ones. This would have surely killed my score had I not seen this. A histogram won't show this, either. I quickly adjusted the image to something that looked decent between a calibrated and non-calibrated monitor and things went well.

I normally have two versions of a photo--one for DPC and the other for personal use (prints, framing, etc)...and I'm not talking about size differences, I'm speaking about tonal ranges and the like.
 01/02/2007 07:18:51 PM · #6
The native resolution of your monitor will give the best image. Finding that resolution can sometimes be a problem as not all monitors list it in their statistics. Most LCD monitors do, but the same can't be said about CRTs.

My current monitor (Samsung SyncMaster 997MB) has a native resolution of 1600x1200, so that is were I leave it. Of course, when I was shopping for a monitor the native resolution was one of the main deciding factors. I made sure to get one that had a native resolution I liked.

David
 01/02/2007 07:34:48 PM · #7
Originally posted by David.C:
The native resolution of your monitor will give the best image. Finding that resolution can sometimes be a problem as not all monitors list it in their statistics. Most LCD monitors do, but the same can't be said about CRTs.

My current monitor (Samsung SyncMaster 997MB) has a native resolution of 1600x1200, so that is were I leave it. Of course, when I was shopping for a monitor the native resolution was one of the main deciding factors. I made sure to get one that had a native resolution I liked.

David


Actually, CRT monitors do not have a native resolutions. CRT's have a maximum capacity in resolution and refresh rate and can actually vary the actual resolution displayed accordingly to the signal transmitted to them within their maximum capacity. This is done by changing the size and frequency of the gun that blast the inside of the screen. If you set your monitor say 1024x768 the actual resolution of your screen is 1024x768.

A LCD is a fixed pîxel display. It means that the pixels exist physically in your screen and so, unlike CRT's, the size and numbers of them can't be changed. This is the native resolution. If your LCD native resolution is 1600x1200 and you set your computer resolution to 1024x768, the monitor have to upscale the image to bring it to is native resolution of 1600x1200, creating upsampling artifacts and losing image quality, just like when we upscale our photographs to match some printing size. But the point is if you set it to 1024x768, you still see 1600x1200 pixels because this is the numbers of pixels your screen have.

A CRT is best viewed at whatever resolution that suits your taste but the more resolution you ask to him the harder it works.

A LCD is best viewed at is native resolution because you skip the upsampling process. The less resolution you ask him the harder it works because it have to upscale more and more.

Hope this help.
 01/02/2007 07:37:02 PM · #8
First question is, when are you running NI? At full resolution, or after resizing? Remember that resizing will decrease the appearance of noise, and you could potentially run NI last and use it at a much lower setting. I don't recommend this though. What I do recommend is to run it before resizing, then do a "trial run" of resizing to see what the image looks like at display size. You'll find that you can back off on the NI strength substantially and still get a relatively smooth result after resizing.
Second, remember that you're looking at it on an LCD, which may accentuate edges and make noise and detail more apparent. Those viewing on CRTs will probably see the image as smoother.
Third, remember that a little bit of grain is usually better than a too-smooth appearance. Be conservative with noise reduction in general.
Finally, it sounds like you are running the monitor at its native resolution, and as others have posted, that's where it should be.
 01/03/2007 04:26:56 PM · #9
I don't know if it is the best way, but when I am working on an image for here or the web, I do my rotation if necessary and crop and then do the resize before I do my processing which I view at actual pixel size on my LCD monitor so I can see what it will look like as a final image. I always double check after I have saved it in case the compression changes anything.
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 01/03/2007 04:30:02 PM · #10
I can't set my resolution, using DVI means the card and monitor are set to maximum efficient resolution that matches both.
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