DPI I make so far with an FZ3 have all the same resolution of 72 DPI despite of the image size in pixels. Do you have any suggestion on how to derive a bit more from an FZ3, e.g. 96 DPI?

It depends on the physical size of the images. Size and resolution are related to each other. Let me explain:
You have an original, say, 2 inches by 2 inches.
You scan it with resolution of 300dpi (dots per inch).
You will get a file that's 600 by 600 pixels, right?
Then you look at it on screen, which has a resolution of 72dpi - if it's displayed without magnification, what size the picture will be? 600 divided by 72 = 8 and 1/3 of an inch, so on screen it will be 8 1/3 by 8 1/3 inches.

So, there's no such thing as a picture file's "real" resolution - we can talk about a resolution at a given size, because it's the horizontal and vertical size in pixels what's "real".

Therefore you have to ask what size the scanned picture is, and then look at the file you receive; in it's properties you will find it's number of pixels horizontally and vertically, and from that you can easily calculate (dividing the height in pixels by the height in inches) the actual resolution the file has been scanned at.
Then you'll know for sure if need to complain to the friend ot not :)

A couple of things - I don't think you mean 500 megapixels (that is a lot!) but I assume you mean you expected a high resolution image. You may have it! The dpi setting is largely irrelevant (for photographers) as it simply relates number of pixels to a (notional) print size. Thus an image that is 3000 pixels wide (say) would print out to 10 inches at 300 dpi (3000/300) or 40 inches (approx) at 72 dpi (3000/72). the image has the same information /resolution - it's just "spread" further on the larger print. You can easily change the nominal dpi in e.g. Photshop Elements but it won't affect your image quality.
If however you are getting low resolution images when setting the camera differently that's something different. I would need extra info to help there but pssibly check if the camera was set to RAW and maybe you were looking at the (small) JPEG usually saved with it?

Hi - When talking about resolution in digital photography there are two main meanings.
One is the "pixel count resolution" and the other "embedded resolution". So for example your camera could record 2272*1704 as the actual pixel count resolution and set 72 as the embedded resolution that tells other software (for example photoshop) what the intended use of the picture will be. 72 ppi is the default for web pictures. You can change this in photoshop by going to the "Image" tab & select image size. The window that opens will show you the pixel dimensions i.e. pixel count resolution and the document size & resolution 72. You just change it in your software to 300 for printing. In Photoshop you can change the default to 300 by going "edit", "preferences", "units & rulers" and setting the values for "new document preset resolutions".

So for your camera the embedded resolution is 180 which you can only change in your PC software.

This is a complex subject, I recommend looking at the following web page:

http://www.fotofinish.com/resources/centers/photo/resolution.htm

Please take a moment to rate this solution & let us know if the information given was useful to you - Good Luck!

Informatica

The 5D has a 12.8 mega pixel sensor.

2 x 4 ft. is 24 x 48 inches, so you have to cover 1152 sq. inches using 12.5 million pixels.

Spreading 12.5 million pixels over 1152 sq. inches means 10,850 pixels per sq. inch. Taking the square root gives you a maximium resolution of 104 pixels per inch (or 'dpi')

Photoshop will allow you to increase the resolution by a process known as 'interpolation' .. increasing to 300 dpi using Photoshop before printing will give a better result.

NB. Depending on your printing process, you may end up dealing with files up to 500Mb in size ....

Many cameras will take pictures at only 72 dpi. Changing the resolution causes the camera to change the size of the picture in terms of pixel dimension (ie 800x600 vs 640x480) but always at 72 dots per inch. A photo editing program like Photoshop can change the resolution to whatever you need.

What you are seeing is the difference between "pixel count resolution" and "embedded resolution". So in your example 2272*1704 is the actual pixel count resolution as recorded by the camera & 72 is the embedded resolution that tells the software (in this case photoshop) what the intended use of the picture will be. 72 ppi is the default for web pictures. You can change this in photoshop by going to the "Image" tab & select image size. The window that opens will show you the pixel dimensions i.e. pixel count resolution and the document size & resolution 72. You just change it to 300 for printing. You can change the default to 300 by going "edit", "preferences", "units & rulers" and setting the values for "new document preset resolutions". This is a complex subject, I recommend looking at the following web page: http://www.fotofinish.com/resources/centers/photo/resolution.htm

Select image>image size, make sure that the 'resample image' box is unticked and change the resolution to 300 dpi. This will automatically change the image size.

2.2 MB is the size of the file on your hard disk. Being a .jpg, it is a compressed file. The file size does not reflect the size of the image stored inside the .jpg. Yes, the size sounds about right. It will increase or decrease depending on how much detail there is in the picture. If, for instance, your picture is made up of nothing but uninterrupted blue sky, the disk file will be quite small - as the .jpg does not need to store much information (the more repetitive information, the smaller the file). On the other hand, if your photo consists entirely of nothing but blades of grass, the disk file will be comparatively large. When you see "DPI", that refers to print resolution. So, since you're not printing, but rather, viewing onscreen, Photoshop "assumes" a convenient "screen resolution", as though you printed on the screen (don't ask!). If you look at the other settings, you'll note that Photoshop also thinks your photo is 36" wide!!! You adjust the DPI (or photoshop will) when you print. Till then, it doesn't mean much. Let me give you an idea of your image's possible DPIs. Assume you really want to print a 36" photo: 2592/36" = 72 DPI If you make the picture 12" wide: 2592/12" = 216DPI At 10": 2592/10" = 259.2 DPI At 8" 2592/8" = 324 DPI How do you get my photos above 200 DPI? By printing the picture small enough, less than 12.96" on the wider side. See calculations above. The resolution at which you shot the image (2592X1944), will not cause blurriness. As for the cause? There could be any number. Was the subject moving? Were you? Did you shake the camera while shooting? Is your shutter speed too slow? Should you have been using flash? Is the camera autofocusing correctly? Are you waiting for the autofocus to lock before pushing the shutter the rest of the way? Etc. Hope this helps somewhat...

Do not be too bummed out. The DPI reported in the EXIF data does not mean all that much. What does matter is the total number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image and how this relates to the output size. For instance, your camera is capable of producing a 2304 by 1728 pixel image. This works out to about 220 DPI when printing an 8 by 10 inch picture. If you look at this the other way around, image editors will indicate an image size of 32 by 24 inches for an image taken by your camera (2304/72 and 1728/72). It is doubtful you will print at this size. Image software will take advantage of the full resolution when printing an 8 by 10, or 11 by 14.

This resolution doesn't matter to most software. It doesn't change the image at all, just occasionally the size it is displayed (only if the software scales the image according to the resolution, which most don't). This having been said, I doubt there is a way to change it in camera. But you could certainly change the XResolution and YResolution meta information with any good EXIF editor. Also, Photoshop can do this too, but it will mess up other things in the meta information. You should be able to script either to apply this change to a number of photos at once.