How do i set my new canon T1i to shoot in 300 DPI?

Question

I have just shot something important which they want to blow up into really big posters, and I guess the photos i took are at 72 dpi. I need to change this setting in my camera to shoot at least 300 DPI. I have read several articles online that teach you how to change it in photoshop without altering the image size, but apparently that is not good enough. would appreciate if someone can help. All I keep reading online is stuff like "The dpi you see in the image is really just a number. It has nothing to do with the size / quality / compression / dimensions of the image." or "The short answer is that you don't and you can't. DPI or PPI only means something when you print or display on a monitor. 10 megapixels is 10 megapixels no matter what." Well this has something to do with printing on a very large scale.
this is quite the confusing subject and I am completely lost. I would like to know how to avoid this mess for future reference. thx

Optional Information:
Make: canon EOS
Model: rebel T1i

Already Tried:
I have tried to change the DPI in photoshop without changing the overall image size, looking in the camera settings menu to see if there is an option to adjust.

Answer 1

You should always shoot your photos in your cameras highest resolution.



What I do for cropping and/or printing in Photoshop is to open the photo and +/- zoom to get the entire photo on my workspace. Then I click the "crop" tool (C) and set the photo dimensions I want in the width/height/resolution boxes at the top. (for example, an 8"x10" photo to print: Width: 8 in, Height: 10 in, Resolution:300 pixels/inch). Then just click and drag the crop tool over the image and it will auto size the crop area depending on how far you drag. Once you release the button, you can move the area to compose the image the way you want it. Then just save it as a new file name.

Answer 2

Your camera is supposed to be able to be adjusted. First look for Menu > Setup > Misc ... somewhere in there, is an option to set the default DPI. There was something I read about the Canon DSLR files being defaulted at 180 DPI, Nikon 300 DPI and another DSLR (I think Pentax) 72 DPI. I will look for the reference and get back to you. NOTE: Well the information on the Internet is inconsistent. If you shoot using both RAW and JPEG Basic, you can edit using the JPEG files and then once you have the best of the best sorted, go to the matching RAW files and process them designating the resulting JPEG files as 300 DPI .. that should do it. My guess is that since you are a graphic designer, you have the latest copy of Photoshop or even Photoshop CS3 Extended.

Answer 3

You can't do that. DPI is a print resolution, not a resolution you set your camera to. In Jpeg Large mode you camera shoots at WAY higher resolution. Just shoot in Jpeg Large, and the resolution will be high enough to print about the size of a wall...



Time for you to buy a good book about your camera.

Answer 4

What you tried in Photoshop is the way to do it. You can't change the DPI in-camera.