Another newbie question...

TelePaul

Sorry for all the silly newb stuff guys...but I was wondering, and I know it aint an exact science, but how big can you print an 8 mega pixel shot and still keep the definition? There's the picture below.

mathias

Quality print is considered to be 300 dpi , however you can get away with quality as low as 200 to 300 dpi with a Dslr but for the purposes of your question we'll take the standard top quality of 200 dpi or more ,


DPI is generaly taken as 1 pixel per dpi , but this can vary , see the links ,

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/learnmore/bestquality.mspx

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-pixel.htm

So taken at 200 dpi for a quality print with a 8mp dslr you can get away with 11.5 inches by 7.7 inches , at 300 dpi its bigger but it depends on the viewing distance , you can go to A3 size without any noticable degrading but it really does depend on the subject.

Note that this only applies to a dslr as the sensor size on these is much bigger than a point and shoot , point and shoots with smaller sensors cannot gather as much light and so the print size for these at equivalent dpi is much smaller.

But like I said and according to the links , it depends on the situation and viewing distance.

ladgie353

dpi means dot (pixel) per inch.
To see the maximum size for your print with good quality, take the image size (ex: roughly 3500*2300 for an 8MP picture) and divide it by the dpi you want (for 200dpi, 17*11 inch).
You can go larger but on an inkjet, I wouldn't go below 180dpi.

Shiny

Blow up the image size using photoshop or Genuine Fractals and
mabe increase the size by 50%.
This would make it a 12mp image.

Then zoom into 100% of the image and check if the image
has been badly affected by the size increase.

Also, the bigger the print/poster you make, the further away
you will be looking at it from. (if you know what i mean)

If you dont have those programs, email it to me and I will make
it bigger for you.

I have to do it for every image I send to Alamy so I am used to it
at this stage.:) I'm 8mp too.

TelePaul

Oh okay thanks guys... I wont be printing it myself as I havn't the means. But is dpi up to me? Like the dpi number is down to my discretion? Or is it more concrete, like 200 or 300?

5uspect

Good idea Shiny, Telepaul, those programs use bi-cubic interpolation to maintain the image clarity as you blow them up but this is just a glorified curvefit so it will soften sharp edges etc.
This may be an option too, but it probably not what you're looking for.

Borderfox

I have enlarged an 8mp picture out of a 350D up to A1 with little loss of quality.

B0rG

Normally half of A4 - A5.
The rest depends on a picture and your skill in photoshop.

Kittiesmacrosunsets can be printed up to A3 I guess.
Your sample has a lot of micro objects which you would want to keep, so I'd say A4 max.

However it will depends what you wanna use it for: hang it in your bedroom or use for on street advertisement or the gallery.

As you can see everything depends: where you want to put the picture, what's the distance you'd be looking at it, what's the printing method etc etc etc.