Intro + camera resolution question

[FarmerDan]

Hi everyone, I've found various forums helpful before so this should be too. This iPad3 is a great tool for most everything. I hardly ever break out the laptop and use the desktop for limited functions too. I'm a guitarist @ my church so I can easily find needed music on it as well as store songs on the OnSong app. I love the camera over my regular camera which is 12 MP. I can easily post pix to FB with it. But I'm wondering what the resolution is. I'm trying to create a banner using pix off the iPad and they tell me the res is low. I thought it was hi-def. it looks super crisp on the iPad but really I don't know what res hi-def is either.

 

[J. A.]

Hi everyone, I've found various forums helpful before so this should be too. This iPad3 is a great tool for most everything. I hardly ever break out the laptop and use the desktop for limited functions too. I'm a guitarist @ my church so I can easily find needed music on it as well as store songs on the OnSong app. I love the camera over my regular camera which is 12 MP. I can easily post pix to FB with it. But I'm wondering what the resolution is. I'm trying to create a banner using pix off the iPad and they tell me the res is low. I thought it was hi-def. it looks super crisp on the iPad but really I don't know what res hi-def is either.

Hi, welcome to iPF!

The iPad 3 has a 5 megapixel camera on the back. There's a lower resolution face time camera on the front. (0.3 megapixel)

 

[SparkyScott21]

Hello Dan and welcome to our forum!

 

[scifan57]

Welcome to the iPad forums FarmerDan, the largest and best iPad forum anywhere, with over 295,000 members worldwide. Many of our membership volunteer their time to help their fellow members with answers to their questions and solutions to their problems. If a search of the forums doesn't provide the answer you need, don't hesitate to post your question in the appropriate forum. We also have this tutorial to help you get full use from the iPad forums app. http://www.ipadforums.net/new-membe...sistance/107524-ipad-forums-app-tutorial.html We ask that all members take the time to review the Forum rules before posting.

He front camera on the iPad 3 has a 1.2 megapixel resolution. The rear camera is 5 megapixels.

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Hello and welcome to the forum Dan!

 

[col.bris]

Welcome to the forum. The camera on the iPad is fantastic for taking photos and using it on any media such as on line face book. Slide shows on a computer or iPad, printing 5x4 pictures and viewing on a TV. I personally would not recommend enlarging any photo taken on an iPad to create banners because the quality will be poor. Creating a banner requires a much higher resolution camera so that when enlarged the quality is fine.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[giradman]

........... I love the camera over my regular camera which is 12 MP. I can easily post pix to FB with it. But I'm wondering what the resolution is. I'm trying to create a banner using pix off the iPad and they tell me the res is low. I thought it was hi-def. it looks super crisp on the iPad but really I don't know what res hi-def is either.

Hi FarmerDam - as already stated, the rear camera of your iPad is 5 MP, which is fine for a 5x7" print (see chart below suggesting maximum print sizes for the number of available MPs - from HERE) - I have a 14 MP Panasonic camera and make 8x10" prints that I frame myself - excellent quality. Now, if the banner you are planning to make is at or above the height & width (not sure of the length needed) of an 8x10" print, I would suggest using your regular camera - Dave

 

[FarmerDan]

Camera resolution

Thanks to all who responded. Unfortunately I'm under the proverbial time gun. The photos look so sharp on the iPad that I was sure it was a higher resolution than 5MP. Vista Print said I needed at least a 2MP print to make a banner. Well I knew that was pretty poor. And I figured the iPad was far superior to that so I used the prints from it. So I guess I'll see how badly I wasted my money. Also I was confused in referring the quality to hi-def. Didn't really realize that only refered to video. Thanks again.

 

[giradman]

Thanks to all who responded. Unfortunately I'm under the proverbial time gun. The photos look so sharp on the iPad that I was sure it was a higher resolution than 5MP. Vista Print said I needed at least a 2MP print to make a banner. Well I knew that was pretty poor. And I figured the iPad was far superior to that so I used the prints from it. So I guess I'll see how badly I wasted my money. Also I was confused in referring the quality to hi-def. Didn't really realize that only refered to video. Thanks again.

Hi again Dave - below are the specifications for the retina display of the iPad 3 - quite impressive w/ a 264 ppi (also equal to the standard 300 dpi on standard printing) - SO, yes your 5 MP photos taken w/ the iPad camera will look outstanding especially w/ the screen size of the device; BUT, you're still dealing w/ a camera that is providing a 5 MP image w/ the considerations described in my previous post; NOW, I don't understand your statement that 'Vista Print' needed @ least a 2 MP image to make a banner - you should have much more than that resolution; SO, what is the size of the images stored on your iPad and when uploaded, what size is being sent to 'Vista Print' - something is wrong here - please respond - Dave

• Physical size: 9.7 inches Resolution: 2048 x 1536 pixels Pixel density: 264 ppi

 

[FarmerDan]

Thanks Dave, they recommend "a res of 300ppi at the dimensions your image will be printed. To achieve sufficient res for 1of our photo products, you'll need at least a 2 MP camera set to the highest resolution (a 1600 x 1200 pixel setting is perfect)." I'm told the outbound camera res is 5 MP or 2592x 1936 . The banner I ordered is 8ft x 2.5ft. So now my question is what if I took a picture of the photo (displayed on my HD screen that the iPad 3 has) with my 10MP camera. Wouldn't that improve the end result?
Of course I've already ordered the 2 banners which I won't get and see till next Wed. And they're needed next Sat the 27th, but for future if I need to use a photo already taken with the iPad would that work?

 

[giradman]

Thanks Dave, they recommend "a res of 300ppi at the dimensions your image will be printed. To achieve sufficient res for 1of our photo products, you'll need at least a 2 MP camera set to the highest resolution (a 1600 x 1200 pixel setting is perfect)." I'm told the outbound camera res is 5 MP or 2592x 1936 . The banner I ordered is 8ft x 2.5ft. So now my question is what if I took a picture of the photo (displayed on my HD screen that the iPad 3 has) with my 10MP camera. Wouldn't that improve the end result?
Of course I've already ordered the 2 banners which I won't get and see till next Wed. And they're needed next Sat the 27th, but for future if I need to use a photo already taken with the iPad would that work?

Hi again FarmerDan - OK some more useful information, i.e. the actual size of your banner which is crucial. Now, your 5 MP camera is outputting an image in a 1:33 aspect ratio (just divide the numbers above); now if a portion of your banner is selected to maintain that ratio, the size would be 2 1/2' x 3 1/2' (i.e. 30 inches x 40 inches); NOW, if you want to place an image on that sized print @ 300 dpi, your would need 118 MPs - YIKES! So, if you are offering 5 MP images for the banner, the dpi will be drastically reduce to fit the size and produce a poor quality print.

Please see the chart attached (from HERE) - look @ the 10 MP line which would match your good camera - the resolution even for a low detailed print is not even the size mentioned in my first paragraph, but would obviously be much better that using the 5 MP images. Bottom line - providing 10 MP images (or larger) and printing at a reduced dpi would provide your 'best' appearance but still not the same as a pic in a magazine (BUT for a banner of that size, a lower resolution would be acceptable from a distance). Good luck & let us know what happens - Dave