Still Photos at DVinfo.net

David Chavarria · January 22nd, 2003, 09:34 AM

I've looked for information about the resolution of the still images taken on the Canon XL1s with no luck.
Can somebody please tell me what resolution it takes and the size of the graphic?

Rob Lohman · January 22nd, 2003, 10:38 AM

Actually it creates a movie of a few seconds that contains a still
frame at normal video resolution (it is not meant to be a digital
photo camera, which the new GL2 is a bit more), so:

NTSC: 720x480 (almost, there will be some little black borders)
PAL: 720x576 (almost, there will be some little black borders)

If you want a good quality digital photo I suggest you get yourself
a digital photo camera, I did. I have a Canon digital ixus v2 which
takes 1600x1200 (2 megapixel) photos. It is very small and sturdy
which I like cause I take it with me everywhere (especially on a
shoot). There is a new version out (v3) with 3 megapixel.

Ofcourse there a zillion other digital photo cameras out there.
One other thing with the XL1(s) is that the photo is just stored
on DV tape as a small movie, so to use it you must capture it
first and extract an image in your NLE (or use single frame capture).
This is more work then hooking up a digital still camera.

Hope this helps you some!

Chris Hurd · January 22nd, 2003, 10:49 AM

The U.S. versions of the cameras Rob's talking about are the Canon Powershot S200 (2 megapixel) and S230 (3 megapixel), also known as the "digital Elph." I have the Elph S200 and it is indeed an excellent, inexpensive, highly portable 2mp digicam.

David Chavarria · January 22nd, 2003, 02:17 PM

ok, i want to ask this just to make sure.

so Rob your camera takes 1600x1200 photos at 72dpi? that makes it 22.222 x 16.667 inches at 72 dpi. when you adjust the resolution to print, then it makes it 5.333 x 4 at 300dpi.
the XL1s takes a still image at 720x480 with 72dpi, which is 10x6.667 at 72dpi, when you adjust that resolution it's 2.4x1.6 at 300dpi.

if this is the case, then the still image is just to use as a background image or something isn't it?
i'm asking because my company wants to save some money and i need to give them some data as to why it's a better idea to just get a good digital camera.

another question, why does canon sell the ef adapter then? just to give you all the other lenses to shoot video? can you do interesting stuff with the different lenses? i was under the impression that it was to help take still images, but i guess that i'm WAY off base there... :)

Chris Hurd · January 22nd, 2003, 05:02 PM

Howdy from Texas,

72dpi is insufficient for achieving adequate photo prints from a digital still camera. In fact, you really can't use the dpi standard to guage a print size (the proper standard is actually ppi). Conventions dictate that a resolution of 1600x1200 yields a photo print of 8" x 10" (and I have some beautiful 8x10 print samples taken with a two-megapixel camera... two megapixels is all you'll ever need to get a nice looking 8x10). 640x480 yields a photo print of about 3" x 5" and 1024x768 delivers a nice 5" x 7" photo.

The 640x480 stills from an XL1 or XL1S are useful for video, as they're the same resolution as broadcast-quality (and DVD quality) digital video. They're not intended for photo prints, although you can get a 3" x 5" print if you're careful.

Remember the XL1/XL1S is first and foremost a digital video camcorder. It was never intended for digital still photography. There's an enormous difference.

Canon EOS 35mm still-photo lenses on the XL1/XL1S provide extremely long focal lengths for super-telephoto applications, such as wildlife videography or surveillance, where you need the camcorder to be at a very long distance from the subject. For more info, see:

http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article58.php#ceos
http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/images/images17.php
http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/images/images09.php

Hope this helps,

David Chavarria · January 22nd, 2003, 05:28 PM

I totally agree that 72ppi is not enough. I'm thinking of print so I used dpi interchangeably with ppi, sorry about the confusion.
Thanks for the info about the EOS lenses and the links!

Rob Lohman · January 23rd, 2003, 02:32 PM

I think my camera is 180 dpi/ppi (whatever it is). But isn't it just
about how much pixels you want to put in a square inch (or
centimeter)? Just calculate how much area you want/can cover
with 1600x1200 pixels. I had that blown up to a full sheet of
paper sized photograph without any problems for my eyes to
detect.

January 22nd, 2003, 09:34 AM	#1
David Chavarria New Boot Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas Posts: 10	Still Photos I've looked for information about the resolution of the still images taken on the Canon XL1s with no luck. Can somebody please tell me what resolution it takes and the size of the graphic?

January 22nd, 2003, 10:38 AM	#2
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Actually it creates a movie of a few seconds that contains a still frame at normal video resolution (it is not meant to be a digital photo camera, which the new GL2 is a bit more), so: NTSC: 720x480 (almost, there will be some little black borders) PAL: 720x576 (almost, there will be some little black borders) If you want a good quality digital photo I suggest you get yourself a digital photo camera, I did. I have a Canon digital ixus v2 which takes 1600x1200 (2 megapixel) photos. It is very small and sturdy which I like cause I take it with me everywhere (especially on a shoot). There is a new version out (v3) with 3 megapixel. Ofcourse there a zillion other digital photo cameras out there. One other thing with the XL1(s) is that the photo is just stored on DV tape as a small movie, so to use it you must capture it first and extract an image in your NLE (or use single frame capture). This is more work then hooking up a digital still camera. Hope this helps you some! __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 22nd, 2003, 10:49 AM	#3
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	The U.S. versions of the cameras Rob's talking about are the Canon Powershot S200 (2 megapixel) and S230 (3 megapixel), also known as the "digital Elph." I have the Elph S200 and it is indeed an excellent, inexpensive, highly portable 2mp digicam. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

January 22nd, 2003, 05:02 PM	#5
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Howdy from Texas, 72dpi is insufficient for achieving adequate photo prints from a digital still camera. In fact, you really can't use the dpi standard to guage a print size (the proper standard is actually ppi). Conventions dictate that a resolution of 1600x1200 yields a photo print of 8" x 10" (and I have some beautiful 8x10 print samples taken with a two-megapixel camera... two megapixels is all you'll ever need to get a nice looking 8x10). 640x480 yields a photo print of about 3" x 5" and 1024x768 delivers a nice 5" x 7" photo. The 640x480 stills from an XL1 or XL1S are useful for video, as they're the same resolution as broadcast-quality (and DVD quality) digital video. They're not intended for photo prints, although you can get a 3" x 5" print if you're careful. Remember the XL1/XL1S is first and foremost a digital video camcorder. It was never intended for digital still photography. There's an enormous difference. Canon EOS 35mm still-photo lenses on the XL1/XL1S provide extremely long focal lengths for super-telephoto applications, such as wildlife videography or surveillance, where you need the camcorder to be at a very long distance from the subject. For more info, see: http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article58.php#ceos http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/images/images17.php http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/images/images09.php Hope this helps, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

January 23rd, 2003, 02:32 PM	#7
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	I think my camera is 180 dpi/ppi (whatever it is). But isn't it just about how much pixels you want to put in a square inch (or centimeter)? Just calculate how much area you want/can cover with 1600x1200 pixels. I had that blown up to a full sheet of paper sized photograph without any problems for my eyes to detect. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 22nd, 2003, 02:17 PM	#4
David Chavarria New Boot Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas Posts: 10	ok, i want to ask this just to make sure. so Rob your camera takes 1600x1200 photos at 72dpi? that makes it 22.222 x 16.667 inches at 72 dpi. when you adjust the resolution to print, then it makes it 5.333 x 4 at 300dpi. the XL1s takes a still image at 720x480 with 72dpi, which is 10x6.667 at 72dpi, when you adjust that resolution it's 2.4x1.6 at 300dpi. if this is the case, then the still image is just to use as a background image or something isn't it? i'm asking because my company wants to save some money and i need to give them some data as to why it's a better idea to just get a good digital camera. another question, why does canon sell the ef adapter then? just to give you all the other lenses to shoot video? can you do interesting stuff with the different lenses? i was under the impression that it was to help take still images, but i guess that i'm WAY off base there... :)

January 22nd, 2003, 05:28 PM	#6
David Chavarria New Boot Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas Posts: 10	I totally agree that 72ppi is not enough. I'm thinking of print so I used dpi interchangeably with ppi, sorry about the confusion. Thanks for the info about the EOS lenses and the links!