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100% Crop


frankie_frank1

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My take: if you post an image in this thread, say 500 pixels square, and no resampling has ever occurred to this image, then it is 100% crop.

 

200% crop? I suppose it could mean if you cropped (say) 250x250 pixels from an image, then upsampled it to be 500x500 pixels, and then posted it thus.

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100% crop is best mode for pixel peeping because one camera pixel (computed by your RAW converter software) is mapped to one monitor pixel.

 

If you have bad eyesight a 200% crop can help when pixel peeping. Be aware though that up-sampling can sometimes introduce artifacts and you conclude from your pixel-peeping you see new problems of your camera^^. Same is true for pixel peeping of jpg files - make certain you do not blame your camera or lens on jpg effects (same for sharpening).

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Take a print. Put a piece of paper over it that covers half the print. Bingo, 50% crop. Take another sheet of paper, cut out a mask equivalent to half the area of the print, again, 50% crop. Now take a magnifying glass. Examine the cropped photo closely. It's magnified and easier to see, but still a 50% crop.

 

But when used in reference to dSLRs, it doesn't mean a thing.

 

The notion that the 35mm film format is the one and only is not just an outmoded paradigm, it's never even been accurate. Fans of large format and medium format would laugh at the notion that 35mm is "full frame."

 

OTOH, most digital cameras, P&S and dSLRs alike, offer the ability to review photos at various magnifications, anywhere from 100% (seeing the entire frame unmagnified) on up. It's useful for checking focus accuracy. I find it handy because, while I don't need eyeglasses when looking through the viewfinder, or at distances beyond 10 feet or so, I do need them for reading. It's a hassle taking off and putting on my glasses. So I'll keep 'em in my pocket and use the magnification option on the LCD screen to check focus.

 

In this context, tho', we're not talking about "cropping." We're talking about magnification.

 

However the little LCD monitor isn't useful for much else. It doesn't give a reliable indicator of exposure or color temperature accuracy. And, obviously, "100%" on a tiny LCD monitor isn't comparable to 100% on a computer monitor.

 

Pixel peeping can be useful for spotting flaws, such as faulty pixels or noise. It's also useful for helping in retouching, such as stray hairs on a groom's tuxedo. And it can help when evaluating subtle differences in sharpening.

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