Digital Photography Help Sheet

Resolution (Size vs. Image Quality)
Every digital or printed image is made up of pixels or tiny dots that are packed tightly together to make form and color. An image's resolution or crispness can be measured as either pixels per inch (ppi) or, more commonly, dots per inch (dpi). The diagram shows a digital image and a small section scaled up to see the square pixels. The more pixels per inch there are, the higher the resolution and the better the image quality.

The Texas Film Commission's digital location images have a dual purpose. We either make high-quality digital printouts or downsize the digital images for emailing to film or television productions.

File Format
The Texas Film Commission accepts two types of file formats for digital images: TIFF and JPEG. Some digital cameras have both options.

File Size
High-quality images required by the Texas Film Commission generally run between 1-5 megabytes (MB). TIFF images will be larger in file size than JPEG images, because they are of a higher quality. Determining the file size of your images will help you make sure that they are of a high enough quality.

On a PC using Microsoft Windows, the image file size can be determined by right-clicking with your mouse on the image file and selecting "properties." The size will be listed in kilobytes (KB), which can be converted to megabytes (MB).
On a Mac, the image file size can be determined by clicking on the image file and pressing Command "I" on the keyboard to "get info." The file size listed may also need to be converted from kilobytes (KB) to megabytes (MB).
1024 kilobytes (KB) = 1 megabyte (MB)

Digital Camera Image Sizes and Quality
The charts below compare the five major brands of digital cameras. The first column shows what the different image settings are on your camera. The middle and right columns show the pixel and actual sizes of an image at each camera setting. PLEASE NOTE: When taking digital photographs to send to the Texas Film Commission, use the recommended settings (which are underlined and bold) to produce the highest quality.

Canon - (Fine or Superfine Image Quality)
Camera Setting	Camera Image Size (72 dpi)	Actual Image Size (300 dpi)
L (Large)	2272 x 1704 pixels	7.6" x 5.7"
M1 (Medium 1)	1600 x 1200 pixels	5.3" x 4"
M2 (Medium 2)	1024 x 768 pixels	3.4" x 2.6"
S (Small)	640 x 480 pixels	2.1" x 1.6"

Epson - (Image Quality = Image Size)
Camera Setting	Camera Image Size (72 dpi)	Actual Image Size (300 dpi)
*HyPict ( * H)*	2544 x 1904 pixels	8.5" x 6.3"
*Super Fine ( * )*	2048 x 1536 pixels	6.8" x 5.1"
Fine (* *)	1600 x 1200 pixels	5.3" x 4"
Standard (*)	640 x 480 pixels	2.1" x 1.6"

Hewlett-Packard - (Best or TIFF Image Quality)
Camera Setting	Camera Image Size (72 dpi)	Actual Image Size (300 dpi)
Full Size	1600 x 1200 pixels	5.3" x 4"
1/4	800 x 600 pixels	2.7" x 2"

Nikon - (Normal or Fine Image Quality)
Camera Setting	Camera Image Size (72 dpi)	Actual Image Size (300 dpi)
Full	2560 x 1920 pixels	8.5" x 6.4"
UXGA	1600 x 1200 pixels	5.3" x 4"
SXGA	1280 x 960 pixels	4.3" x 3.2"
XGA	1024 x 768 pixels	3.4" x 2.6"
VGA	640 x 480 pixels	2.1" x 1.6"

Sony - (Fine Image Quality & TIFF or Email Image Type)
Camera Setting	Camera Image Size	Actual Image Size (300 dpi)
2560	2560 x 1920 pixels	8.5" x 6.4"
2048	2048 x 1536 pixels	6.8" x 5.1"
1280	1280 x 960 pixels	4.3" x 3.2"
640	640 x 480 pixels	2.1" x 1.6"

Delivery
Email is becoming more widely used to send digital images, however it is generally used to send low-quality digital images. Please DO NOT email your digital photos.

The best way to give your high-quality digital photos to the Texas Film Commission is on CD, so you can burn your photos to a standard-formatted 700MB CD-R/RW. If you do not have that capability at your home or office, your local photo developer should be able to assist in putting your photos onto a CD. Then, just drop the CD in the mail, making sure to include your contact information.