How to have product images be native resolution?

[heavyharmonies]

From what I can tell, the thick_box product images have to be a specific size across the board. If the uploaded image is larger than that static resolution, the uploaded image gets scaled down to fit on the longest edge, and if the uploaded image is smaller, it gets padded by whitespace to meet the static resolution.

This is a problem as my product images vary widely in resolution and aspect ratio. For example, one image might be 400x800 pxels and another might be 3000x3000 pixels.

I need the ultra-high res for certain items because they are collectibles and buyers need to be able to see a high level of detail.

I realize that the category thumbnails need to be of an equal size, but is there any way to disable image conversion for the actual product page images and have them used exactly at their uploaded size?

If not, is there a zoom module that would allow this?

Thank you.

UPDATE: After considerable scouring of this forum via Google I found a way to do what I need. In product.tpl I removed 'thickbox_default' from the image calls in several locations, and the product page now uses the originally uploaded images rather than the resized images. Works like a charm!

Edited January 5, 2015 by heavyharmonies (see edit history)