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Digital cameras (usually) take pictures in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Princess AlicePrincess Alice
in General
It's kinda funny to me.

4:3 isn't a traditional aspect ratio for still photography. Your typical 35 mm film camera took pictures in a 3:2 aspect ratio.

The only reason digital cameras used 4:3 was because that was the native aspect ratio of electronic displays at the time...but it's not anymore! So the 4:3 format of still photos is a relic of the computer monitors made before 16:9 ruled the world. Weird, eh?
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Comments

  • QuipQuip
    Father shall be swallowed by the son, and brother shall be swallowed by brother.
    well, in the age of smartphones, we've increasingly begun to see camera shots that match up with the ratios of the screens they have on the phone itself
  • TreTre
    image
    so, by default the older iPhones take pictures in 3:2 while newer ones do it in 16:9

    it's all user-editable though, so there's nothing really keeping one from doing pictures in other ratios
  • CalicaCalica
    Sup bitches, witches, Haters, and trolls.
    inb4 glennmagusharvey laments the end of 4:3 displays
  • Princess AlicePrincess Alice
    You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Tre said:

    so, by default the older iPhones take pictures in 3:2 while newer ones do it in 16:9


    it's all user-editable though, so there's nothing really keeping one from doing pictures in other ratios
    Personally, I always choose to use the native aspect ratio of the camera.

    Like, my phone's camera is natively 4:3, in that those are the physical dimensions of the sensor. So I can set it to take pictures in a 16:9 mode, but it will just crop off the top and bottom and I end up not making use of the full possible resolution.
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