3:2 aspect ratio
3:2 is the classic still photography ratio, with a decimal value of exactly 1.5. It comes from the 36 by 24 millimetre film frame and is still the native shape of most full frame sensors.
At a glance
- Ratio
- 3:2
- Decimal value
- 1.5 (width divided by height)
- CSS aspect-ratio
- aspect-ratio: 3 / 2;
- Common pixel dimensions
- 1500 x 1000, 3000 x 2000, 4500 x 3000, 6000 x 4000
- Suits
- Photography, laptop screens that favour vertical space, and print at 6 by 4 inches
- Struggles with
- Video delivery and social feeds that expect square or 4:5
In detail
The ratio is a direct inheritance from film. A 35mm frame is 36 by 24 millimetres, which is 3:2 exactly, and that geometry carried into single lens reflex cameras, then into digital sensors of the same size, and from there into the default output of most serious cameras today. The 6 by 4 inch print exists because it is the same shape.
It sits neatly between the two screen standards at 1.5, wider than 4:3 at 1.333 and narrower than 16:9 at 1.778. That middle position is why a photograph straight out of a camera never quite fits a screen: it is letterboxed slightly on a widescreen display and slightly cropped on a squarer one.
It has had a small revival in laptops. A 3:2 panel gives noticeably more vertical space than 16:9 at the same width, which matters for reading and writing far more than it does for video, and several manufacturers have moved to it or to the adjacent 16:10 for that reason.
The cropper here has a 3:2 preset, and the calculator will give the matching height for any width at this ratio. Rotating it gives 2:3, the portrait form used by pins and book covers, which is a separate page in this cluster because it behaves differently in a feed.
Examples
36 mm x 24 mm -> 3:2
6 in x 4 in -> 3:2
6000 x 4000 -> 3:2, 24 MP3000 wide at 4:3 -> 2250 tall
3000 wide at 3:2 -> 2000 tall
3000 wide at 16:9 -> 1688 tallThings that catch people out
- A camera photograph is 3:2 and almost no screen or feed is, so every publishing workflow involving photography contains a crop decision. Make it once, in a template.
- 3:2 and 16:10 look similar at a glance and are not the same. 16:10 is 1.6, noticeably wider.
- Cropping 3:2 to a square removes a third of the frame. Shoot with that crop in mind if the destination is a square feed.
Try it: Aspect Ratio Calculator
Enter a width and a height, or a ratio and one dimension, and it solves the missing one, simplifies the ratio, counts the megapixels and gives you a copyable CSS value.
Aspect Ratio Calculator
LOCAL · Browser-OnlyCalculate and convert aspect ratios for images, videos, and screens
1920 x 1080px · 16:9 · 1.7778:1
Common Aspect Ratios Reference
| Ratio | Decimal | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| 16:9 | 1.778 | Widescreen TV, YouTube, monitors |
| 4:3 | 1.333 | Classic TV, iPad, presentations |
| 1:1 | 1.000 | Instagram square, profile pictures |
| 21:9 | 2.333 | Ultrawide monitors, cinema |
| 9:16 | 0.563 | Phone vertical, TikTok, Reels |
| 3:2 | 1.500 | 35mm photography, MacBook |
| 2:3 | 0.667 | Portrait photography, posters |
| 5:4 | 1.250 | Large format photography, older monitors |
| 32:9 | 3.556 | Super ultrawide monitors |
| 2.39:1 | 2.390 | Anamorphic cinema, widescreen films |
Related Image and canvas sizes
All image and canvas sizes →2:3 aspect ratio
The portrait form of the 35mm frame at 0.6667, why it is the recommended shape in masonry feeds, and how it compares to 4:5 and 9:16.
4:3 aspect ratio
The 1.333 ratio that ran television and computer monitors for decades, where it still appears today, and how it compares to the widescreen shapes.
16:9 aspect ratio
Where the 16:9 ratio came from, the pixel dimensions that hit it exactly, what it suits, and the places where a widescreen frame is the wrong shape.
5:4 aspect ratio
The 1.25 ratio behind 1280 by 1024 monitors and 8 by 10 inch prints, why it caused distorted desktops for years, and where it still applies.
32:9 aspect ratio
The super ultrawide ratio at 3.5556, exactly double 16:9, the panels that use it, and why a layout at this width needs columns rather than wider text.
2.39:1 aspect ratio
The widescreen cinema ratio at 2.39, why it used to be 2.35, how anamorphic lenses produced it, and what it means for a video framed this way.
Tools for this
- Aspect Ratio Calculator Free online aspect ratio calculator - calculate and convert aspect ratios for images, videos, and screens
- Image Cropper Free online image cropper - crop images with preset aspect ratios and free-form selection