Well, I'm glad to know that the computer arena isn't the only one all screwed up with aspect ratio problems. The photographic community is similarly plagued by inconsistant sizes and ratios. Traditional 35mm film captures images in a 3:2 aspect ratio (3" wide for every 2" tall). Now, when you take your film in for developing, what are the four standard sizes? Yep, you guessed 'em: 5"x3" (3x5), and 6"x4" (4x6), 7"x5" (5x7), and 10"x8" (8x10). Now, a little math will show that only one of these sizes is actually compatible with the film, and the others are not only incompatible with each other and traditional film, but also with today's digital camera aspect ratios:

• 3/2 = 1.5 (35mm film)


• 5/3 = 1.6666 (3x5 print, incorrect aspect ratio)


• 6/4 = 1.5 (4x6 print, correct aspect ratio for 35mm film)


• 7/5 = 1.4 (5x7 print, incorrect ratio)


• 10/8 = 1.25 (8x10 print, incorrect ratio)


• 4/3 = 1.3333 (typical digital camera aspect ratio)

Notice that of the four "standard" print sizes, only 4x6 prints are the same ratio as the original 35mm film. All the other sizes require that some of your photo be cropped (trimmed off) and/or stretched to fit. Enough to get you riled up, isn't it!

Also notice that I threw in digital cameras into the mix. Why? Because with the widespread acceptance of online developing services like Shutterfly, Ofoto, and Club Photo, more and more people are getting their digital photos 'developed' into prints. Guess what, though? The sizes that these services are offering include the familiar (albeit incorrect) print sizes of 3x5, 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10! Oh, the humanity!

Of the three mentioned above, only Club Photo offers a print size compatible with digital photos: they call it the "4XD" size, which is 5.33"x4" (4x5.33), and therefore uses the correct aspect ratio for digital photos:

• 4/3 = 1600x1200 = 1.3333 (typical digital camera aspect ratio)


• 5.33/4 = Club Photo's "4XD" print size = 1.3333 (correct aspect ratio)

Incidentally, if you choose poorly and get your photos printed on the wrong size paper, how much of your image is lost? More than 10% is being discarded arbitrarily by the photo developer. Choose wisely. Choke on that you danceteria types!