The original image (with a size of 6048 pixels x 4032 pixels) was captured hand held with the full frame 24.6 megapixel Sony A900 camera, using the Sony 70-300 mm G SSM lens, at a focal length of 300mm. The above image is a crop, and has an image size of 3024 pixels x 2016 pixels, which is exactly half the width and height of the original image. Note that the above image has been saved at a low quality and is displayed at a relatively small size. Therefore, a 20 inch wide print of the above image looks a lot better and shows a lot more detail than can be seen above (as shown in the next image on this page).
If the above image is printed at 150 pixels per inch (ppi), it will give a print size of 20.16 inches x 13.44 inches. The ability to obtain a large 20 inch wide print from an image that is only half the width and height of the original, is one of the advantages of filming with a 24 megapixel camera. To obtain a full-sized 6048 pixels x 4032 pixels image with the above field of view, the photographer would need to use a 600mm telephoto lens.
Note that, in this example, the total area of the original image is 24,385,536 pixels (6048 pixels x 4032 pixels), and the total area of the cropped image is 6,096,384 pixels (3024 pixels x 2016 pixels). Therefore, the cropped image represents just 25% of the total area of the original image.
Below is a 100% crop, saved at a low quality, of just the tiger's chin and whiskers.
The above 100% crop has a size of 542 pixels x 320 pixels, so it has a width of only 9% of the size of the original image. If the above image is printed at 150 pixels per inch (ppi), it will give a print size of 3.6 inches x 2.1 inches. In addition, the above image has an area of only 0.7% of the total area of the original image. You can see quite a few whiskers and hairs that are not easy to make out in the image at the top of this page!
Below is a reduced size copy of the original image, before making the crops shown above.
Sumatran Tiger at Wellington Zoo, New Zealand : Panthera tigris sumatrae
Note that the original size of the above image was 6048 pixels x 4032 pixels. If printed at 150 ppi, the print width of an image that is 6048 pixels wide, is 40.32 inches (6048 pixels divided by 150 ppi).
The above image has been saved at a low quality and is displayed at a relatively small size. Therefore, a 40 inch wide print of the above image looks a lot better and shows a great deal more detail than can be seen in the above image.
Click here to see another image of a Sumatran Tiger.
Click here to see further pictures that demonstrate the amazing amount of detail in images taken by the Sony A900 camera.
Click here to go back to "Nature" Page 1.
