Why Worry? It's the Ratio that's why!

Why Worry about your cameras aspect ratio? In my digital darkroom I can crop to any desired ratio. Why Worry?

Composure!

It looks good on my device doesn't it. Yes it does but it may not print, on your chosen media, what you expected.

It's all about the aspect ratio. My camera sensor has a 4:3 ratio. Yours may be 3:2. The most common printing size is 8x10, 4:5 which didn't fit either.

So why Worry? Because when you compose your image and don't allow for the chosen crop the print may be too close to the frame. So worry about it.

Most modern cameras allow you to choose a ratio. In my Olympus camera I can choose a 1:1. When I review it on the cameras LCD display I see a light white 1:1 frame so I know my print wouldn't chop off important parts.

I use the RAW image so the sensor image is the native ratio not a jpeg crop display.

 Just another reason to use RAW.

This is a good discussion.

I have added this from my facebook Larry's Photography group, 

Camera aspect ratio and your desired print ratio should be considered in your composition. These articles may help.

https://expertphotography.com/aspect-ratio-photography/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/photographylife.com/aspect-ratio/amp

Pixel Peeping and Image Qualify

Which camera, FF, crop sensor, M43, cell/tablet, which lens, what ISO, ...

To me, get the shot is most important. Yeah I read a lot and even understand some of it.

The net of a recent article is,

"A great camera can recover from situations that lesser cameras can’t, while a convenient camera that’s “good enough” can capture shots you would have missed. Pixel peeping is worthwhile, up to a point, but can rapidly become an expensive game with few winners. Finally, the answer is simple: make your clients happy, because a great image you can’t deliver, or that nobody else ever sees, has little value." 

Or, 

"Of course a good photo has to be well exposed and in focus; but among the many things we can learn from even a casual examination of the history of photography, is the fact that some of the greatest photographs ever recorded are hardly perfect according to any technical metric. If you can create a photo that boasts a pleasing (or intriguing) composition, is beautifully lit, features an interesting subject and evokes a particular thought or emotion in the viewer is, then you’ve done something worthwhile. And you don’t need to pixel peep to validate that — the people who see your photo will do it for you."

Or,

"Let’s face it

If we were to walk up close to a famous painting in a museum and study it pixel by pixel, you’d find irregularities in the brush strokes, problems with color and skewed lines. So why do we do it with photographs? Similar to paintings in a museum, photographs are meant to be viewed as a whole, and from a certain distance. Hence I have learned to never go beyond a 50 percent crop when judging the sharpness of photos on my monitor."

https://www.slrphotographyguide.com/pixel-peeping-why-you-shouldnt-do-it/

https://macprovideo.com/article/photoshop/pixel-peeping-why-you-should-care-about-image-quality

UPDATE: How large can you print on your MFT camera? I've often wondered how big. The answer 3 to 4 for wide. No I didn't try it. I watched this video. 

The big take away is if your photos are on the web resolution isn't that big a deal. That said extreme crop will rears it resolution head. 

Print to see where the rubber meta the road.