shooting wide

[wmchauncey]

It seems as though most of you guys shoot wide and crop that "perfect" picture.  How much can you crop before you lose that clarity, crispness, sharpness?

I use a Rebel xti with a canon EF 17-85 IS and shoot RAW for landscape and am in the CO Rockies for the summer.  I edit in ACR with CS3.

[peter.doerrie]

It seems as though most of you guys shoot wide and crop that "perfect" picture.  How much can you crop before you lose that clarity, crispness, sharpness?

I use a Rebel xti with a canon EF 17-85 IS and shoot RAW for landscape and am in the CO Rockies for the summer.  I edit in ACR with CS3.
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I would only crop if I somehow "messed up" the composition of a picture (which should not happen with landscape normally - it doesnt move a lot and you should have all time in the world), or if the composition demands any other aspect ration than my camera (also an xti) can provide.

But to answer your question: How far you can crop depends on how big you intend to print your pictures. If you want to make an 10x15cm picture out of a RAW format, you can crop a lot, if you want to print A3, theres not much you can leave. So the best thing you can do is to shoot your picture in a way you think it is perfect. Then (if it is not perfect) you can crop it on your computer to the ratio desired. And then you can have a look at it at a 100% view to judge if it is still sharp enough for your needs.

So long,

Peter

[wmchauncey]

I would only crop if I somehow "messed up" the composition of a picture (which should not happen with landscape normally - it doesnt move a lot and you should have all time in the world), or if the composition demands any other aspect ration than my camera (also an xti) can provide.

But to answer your question: How far you can crop depends on how big you intend to print your pictures. If you want to make an 10x15cm picture out of a RAW format, you can crop a lot, if you want to print A3, theres not much you can leave. So the best thing you can do is to shoot your picture in a way you think it is perfect. Then (if it is not perfect) you can crop it on your computer to the ratio desired. And then you can have a look at it at a 100% view to judge if it is still sharp enough for your needs.

So long,

Peter
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Peter, your last paragraph caught my attention because other advisors have berated me because I insist on checking my images at 100%.  I could never understand their anamosity.  
If I'm happy at 100%, regardless on how much was cropped, do I have to abide by the 300 dpi rule?

[peter.doerrie]

If I'm happy at 100%, regardless on how much was cropped, do I have to abide by the 300 dpi rule?
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I am not sure if I completely understand what you mean with the "300 dpi rule"...

[David White]

It seems as though most of you guys shoot wide and crop that "perfect" picture.  How much can you crop before you lose that clarity, crispness, sharpness?
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I don't know where you got that impression.  Most people here spend time composing their image to minimize the amount of cropping necessary to achieve their vision and to achieve maximum image quality.

If you end of cropping images out of your wide shots you need to spend more time composing, move closer to your subject and/or get a longer lens.

[mahleu]

do I have to abide by the 300 dpi rule?
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If you're not printing your work, ie online stuff then you can use 72 dpi.
Most people can't see the difference between 250dpi and 300 without a magnifying glass, consider that most people view a print from about 1/2 a metre (depending on it's overall size) and figure out what you can get away with.

[bernivd]

My rule of thump and stomac feeling is not cropping to far under 20 MB (300 dpi, 8bit, tiff). So you still can print it at a reasonable size (A3). If you shoot jpg, the upsizing is less before seeing artefacts and alike. With scanned slides it's even narrower - about 20% upsizing, then it starts to become to ugly. If unsure make tests on your printer at home or send a heavy crop to a lab and order a a3/a4 print.

Cheers

Berni

[marcmccalmont]

Your question cannot be answered unless you tell us what size and quality your final prints are going to be?
Marc