page_title: Aspect ratio (image)
section_title: Visual comparisons
hierarchical_section_title: Aspect ratio (image) / Visual comparisons
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration of an image with an aspect ratio of 16:9 (1:1.77) Deutsch: Illustration eines Bildes mit einem Seitenverhältnis von 16:9 (1:1.77) (1:1.33).
context_page_description: The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of its width to its height. It is commonly expressed as two numbers separated by a colon, as in 16:9. For an x:y aspect ratio, the image is x units wide and y units high. Widely used aspect ratios include 1.85:1 and 2.39:1 in film photography, 4:3 and 16:9 in television, and 3:2 in still camera photography.
context_section_description: Comparing two different aspect ratios poses some subtleties – when comparing two aspect ratios, one may compare images with equal height, equal width, equal diagonal, or equal area. More amorphous questions include whether particular subject matter has a natural aspect ratio (panoramas being wide, full-length images of people being tall), or whether a particular ratio is more or less aesthetically pleasing, for example the golden ratio (~1.618).
  Televisions and other displays typically list their size by their diagonal. Given the same diagonal, a 4:3 screen has more area compared to 16:9. For CRT-based technology, an aspect ratio that is closer to square is cheaper to manufacture. The same is true for projectors, cameras, camcorders and other optical devices. For LCD and plasma displays, however, the cost is more related to the area. Producing wider and shorter screens can yield the same advertised diagonal, but with less area.
  The following compares crops of an image at 4:3 and 16:9 ratios, with different dimensions set equal. Note that either image (or both) can be cropped; one aspect doesn't necessarily show more detail than the other.
  Images using the same diagonal size:
  Images using the same area / same number of pixels:
  Images using the same height / same vertical size:
  Images using the same width/ same horizontal size:
caption: 16:9 (1.7:1)
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