Aspect Ratio: I am looking at a 27'' IPS LCD monitor, this being a 16x9 aspect ratio. I was wondering do I have to change the aspect ratio in my canon t4i from 3x2 &4x3 to 16x9 because...

ramblin21 Loc: Sharon,Wisconsin

I am looking at a 27'' IPS LCD monitor, this being a 16x9 aspect ratio. I was wondering do I have to change the aspect ratio in my canon t4i from 3x2 &4x3 to 16x9 because the monitor is 16x9.

It may/maynot be a valid ? but I don't understand this aspect ratio stuff.

Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated from my fellow hogger's and thanks in advance to any and all who help.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

ramblin21 wrote:

I am looking at a 27'' IPS LCD monitor, this being a 16x9 aspect ratio. I was wondering do I have to change the aspect ratio in my canon t4i from 3x2 &4x3 to 16x9 because the monitor is 16x9.

It may/maynot be a valid ? but I don't understand this aspect ratio stuff.

Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated from my fellow hogger's and thanks in advance to any and all who help.

Ramblin, I would only change the ratio under one circumstance, if it's real important to you if for some reason you want to fill your computer screen completely and if you shoot JPEG.
Otherwise, anytime you change the ratio in your camera, you are LOSING pixels. If you print and frame a lot of your work and you frame it at a 16:9 ratio, then you might as well shoot at that since it may help you frame your images in-camera.
Otherwise the images just won't completely fill the screen but to me that's no big deal. I'd rather fill my sensor than my screen!
I would only change the ratio if for some reason I was mandated to frame the finished prints at a particular ratio, otherwise I would not give up the pixels.
Others might have compelling reasons otherwise. Good luck
SS

Whuff Loc: Marshalltown, Iowa

Aspect ratio for viewing is up to the photographers discretion. Where it truly becomes important is when you want to print. Anything you print must be saved in the aspect ratio you want to print to. For an example, you will lose part of the photo if you send a 16:9 to be printed as an 8X10, as they are different aspect ratios.

Walt

Whuff Loc: Marshalltown, Iowa

Aspect ratio for viewing is up to the photographers discretion. Where it truly becomes important is when you want to print. Anything you print must be saved in the aspect ratio you want to print to. For an example, you will lose part of the photo if you send a 16:9 to be printed as an 8X10, as they are different aspect ratios.

Walt

repleo Loc: Boston

Use 16x9 if you intend to display them primarily on a flat screen TV or 16x9 monitor. If you expect to print and frame them stay with the ratio you intend to print at or you may end up having to get custom frames and mats. You can always crop them to whatever ratio you want but that may cut off bits that you wanted to include.

NormanTheGr8 Loc: Racine, Wisconsin

I feel it is better to use the full sensor I paid for all those Mega Pixels and I'm damn well going to use them! If I need an image to fill the screen than I can crop to 16 x 9 . I find myself doing this mostly for my wife ,she likes to make screen savers for her PC at home and at work.

repleo Loc: Boston

NormanTheGr8 wrote:

I feel it is better to use the full sensor I paid for all those Mega Pixels and I'm damn well going to use them! If I need an image to fill the screen than I can crop to 16 x 9 . I find myself doing this mostly for my wife ,she likes to make screen savers for her PC at home and at work.

That's a bit like an artist sizing a picture so he can use all of his paint. Aspect ratio and where and how the subject is located within your frame is one of the most important parts of your composition. Change the aspect ratio and you change the composition. Imagine taking a scissors to the Mona Lisa to get it to fit into a 16:9 frame.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

ramblin21 wrote:

I was wondering do I have to change the aspect ratio in my canon t4i from 3x2 &4x3 to 16x9 because the monitor is 16x9

No.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

My philosophy... you paid for the sensor and should use every sq pixel of it. There is a highly sophisticated tool that is too often overlooked.... CROP

You can change the size of the screen using control and +/- and usually in the editor the photo is not full screen. Now for a slide show on the monitor or better yet on a 55" HD TV the OK change the aspect ratio.

If needed you change the aspect ratio by cheating. Cheating?? yep go into the editor controls [PS and PSP differ] and change the size. No one will notice that the trees are taller and thinner. OR, your favorite model will love you because she not 5-2 and is now 5-6 and the extra pounds melt off!!!

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I have never felt constrained by standardized aspect ratios. Mostly because, now that I'm all digital, I never print anything. My images live on the computer or online, where the aspect ratio can be anything. Even images in the occasional newsletter are not required to be any particular aspect ratio. The aspect ratio of my images is driven by composition, not whether it will fit into a particular frame neatly.

If you send something out to print, they will force it into a standard paper size. If you print it yourself you can adjust the borders to get the aspect ratio you need. If you have to send it out, you might consider adding white space to the edges to force it into the standard aspect ratio so the printer will not crop it to fit the paper.

repleo Loc: Boston

dpullum wrote:

My philosophy... you paid for the sensor and shoul... (show quote)

dpullum - I think this is the worst advise I have ever see here. I hope your imogees mean that you are only pulling our collective leg. Cropping the image is no better than using a 'cropped' aspect ratio at capture - you are still loosing all of those redundent pixels that you never really needed but seem to be precious to you . Stretching or squeezing the image into a different aspect ratio is like putting your image on to silly putty.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

ramblin21 wrote:

I am looking at a 27'' IPS LCD monitor, this being a 16x9 aspect ratio. I was wondering do I have to change the aspect ratio in my canon t4i from 3x2 &4x3 to 16x9 because the monitor is 16x9.

It may/maynot be a valid ? but I don't understand this aspect ratio stuff.

Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated from my fellow hogger's and thanks in advance to any and all who help.

The simple answer is "No!"

You don't need to change anything on your camera, as a result of buying a monitor with a different aspect ratio.

If you ever want to "fill the monitor" with an image, you can simply crop the images from the camera to match (just as you need to crop image to fit various common print sizes or for a wide variety of other reasons).

TheDman Loc: USA

repleo wrote:

dpullum - I think this is the worst advise I have ever see here. I hope your imogees mean that you are only pulling our collective leg. Cropping the image is no better than using a 'cropped' aspect ratio at capture - you are still loosing all of those redundent pixels that you never really needed but seem to be precious to you . Stretching or squeezing the image into a different aspect ratio is like putting your image on to silly putty.

So you don't want to change the aspect ratio by cropping or by distorting. What method would you prefer to use?

SteveR Loc: Michigan

repleo wrote:

dpullum - I think this is the worst advise I have ever see here. I hope your imogees mean that you are only pulling our collective leg. Cropping the image is no better than using a 'cropped' aspect ratio at capture - you are still loosing all of those redundent pixels that you never really needed but seem to be precious to you . Stretching or squeezing the image into a different aspect ratio is like putting your image on to silly putty.

And yet, when all is said and done, at the end of the day you still have all of those redundant pixels to use or not use in the future.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

repleo wrote:

dpullum - I think this is the worst advise I have ever see here. I hope youres imoge mean that you are only pulling our collective leg. Cropping the image is no better than using a 'cropped' aspect ratio at capture - you are still loosing all of those redundent pixels that you never really needed but seem to be precious to you . Stretching or squeezing the image into a different aspect ratio is like putting your image on to silly putty.

HUMM, either best or worse is a significant honor no mush in-between ! Thanks.
But, which part... using sensor to the fullest, crop, or cheat on aspect ratio.... all, or combo??
I think you would be amazed that people do not see what they see.

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"redundent (sic) pixels that you never really needed but seem to be precious to you " Actually, on a 3" screen I are not sure what is there; are you?? Perhaps a murder ... humm. The movie "Blowup" may change your conservative Bostonian mind...."The photographer returns to his studio to find that all the negatives and prints are gone except for one very grainy blowup showing the body. " 1966
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowup

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Yep sort of pulling legs regarding the model, but not on cheating on aspect ratio. When one uses tools like prospective correction it is sorta cheating.... color memory... yikes... humans are blind to minor color differences [ 4 6 8 ink printers in same light in different rooms at specified viewing distance]
http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/17835/how-to-calculate-viewing-distance-for-a-print-size]