[iKwak]

Goal: Trying to figure out which setting I should have the digital camera set to - printing out a 4x6 photo at best quality.

Users have the option to take a photo at:

2272 x 1704 Super-Fine JPEG
2272 x 1704 Fine JPEG
2272 x 1704 Normal JPEG
1600 x 1200 Super-Fine JPEG
1024 x 768 Super-Fine JPEG


Is 1024 x 768 fine for a 4x6 photo printout (main concern)?
I have no clue. Or should I go with the 2272 x 1704 Super-Fine?

Going to shoot photos and print out at Walmart. Would be aweful to see a 'Kodak-Moment' photo that does not come out to well.

[godzookie2k]

bigger is always better.

[dampeoples]

Shoot at the highest res you can, no sense in shooting smaller unless you are planning to put it on the web, unless you have a tiny memory card.

[scottiB]

What ^ he said. You've paid for the resolution you might as well use it--and shoot at the lowest compression (Super-Fine, in this case).

A good rule-of-thumb is to assume printing's at 300 dpi (dots per inch). So, 1800x1200 would result in a good 6"x4" print (1024x768 would yield a good 3.41"x2.56" print).

While it'd be tempting to shoot at your camera's mid setting, your extra pixels allow you some room for cropping.

[dlefebvre]

Alway shoot at the highest resolution possible. It's better to scale down a picture then to scale up a picture. Plus you have extra room to crop or reframe your picture for printing. Actually in some cases, scalling down a picture will sharpen it.
My camera takes 2048x1536 and it produce decent 8X10, just don't look at them too close. But for 4X6, it's perfect.