Is it possible to get 300dpi photos with the Mini?  
Camera settings set to 4:3, getting 4,000 x 3,000 in size, but only 72dpi.   
Disappointing and seems odd, maybe I'm missing or not realizing something.?

dpi means nothing. You can put it in photoshop and change the dpi to any value you want.

You missed something.
DPI is set in post. Not in camera.
The resolution is all the camera can give you. DPI is up to you.

DPI is commonly misunderstood. It's really a very simple concept once you grasp it. The TL;DR is that the only thing that matters is the resolution of the image, and how the camera utilizes it. That "72 DPI" in the file's metadata means absolutely nothing to the quality of the image.

Realistically, DPI only matters when you're physically printing out an image. And in that case, the DPI is determined by the size of the medium of the print (eg. a 8.5x11" sheet of paper) in relation to the resolution of the digital image - not some number attached to the file. Ignore it.

Bjord Posted at 11-18 01:05
DPI is commonly misunderstood. It's really a very simple concept once you grasp it. The TL;DR is that the only thing that matters is the resolution of the image, and how the camera utilizes it. That "72 DPI" in the file's metadata means absolutely nothing to the quality of the image.

Realistically, DPI only matters when you're physically printing out an image. And in that case, the DPI is determined by the size of the medium of the print (eg. a 8.5x11" sheet of paper) in relation to the resolution of the digital image - not some number attached to the file. Ignore it.

True.

I did work with those a lot in one of my previous jobs at a printing company

Here is an interesting table to compare the size of a 12 mpx image in different resolutions, refering to:
- 72 screen
- 144 retina
- 150 print (many modern digital printers work with this resolution)
- 300 professional photo print

https://www.macobserver.com/tmo/ ... -12-megapixel-photo

The resolution is measured in ppi - pixels per inch. So depending on the medium that it will be shown,  it will have one size or another.