Enlargements, from digital format and resolution

crosmill

TPF Noob!
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
Messages
60
Reaction score
0
Location
Bath, UK
Website
www.woolyhat.com
How big can I expect to get a decent print from a 35mm film without comprimising on quality?

I have no experience of printing from digital or scanned images. At what resolution should images be scanned to get a decent print/enlargment?

Obviously the higher the better, but I'd like to know how big my images could be printed from the standard scan resolutions, I think they're 2800 dpi and 4800 dpi.

Thanks
 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; this subject is all about opinion.

People tend to view small prints close up, and larger prints from farther away. Think of how you look at a 4x6 print, a framed 8x10, a poster size print, and a billboard. The billboard is going to suck up close, but from 100' away it's just fine. If the viewer is at the proper distance, then any photo that looks good small (quality wise), should look good enlarged.

I've made 16x20 prints from 35mm Tmax 100 and Royal Gold 25, and they look pretty good. Still, MF and LF start looking better at 11x14, so I usually don't print my 35mm work larger than 8x10. In an art museum or gallery you can often find MF and LF blown up to wall size.

I'm just learning about scanning and digital printing, so I don't have a lot of info for you there, but I already have a question for you. What are you making the scans from? There is going to be quite a difference in the file between a 2800 dpi scan from a 35mm slide/neg, a 4x6 print, or an 8x10 print. If you are scanning a slide at 4800 dpi and need at least 600 dpi to make a decent print then you're going to be maxing out at 8"x12". If you are scanning a good 8x10 print at 4800 dpi, then you should be able to go quite a bit larger.
 
Well I don't actually have a scanner yet. I was thining about maybe getting a neg scanner but I need to research it a bit more. I'm not too sure what the pros and cons are yet.

I'll probably post a question here soon.

Thanks for the advice on prints though. Sort of obvious when you put it like that .

I assume when your enlarging you always make the copy from the neg?
 
Well printing does not resolve detail above 267 dpi really. Most just round up to 300. My slide/negative scanner is 2880 dpi and I can get beautiful 8x10 prints and even print up to 11x14ish without much loss in quality at all. I don't really print 35mm bigger than 8x12.
 
crosmill said:
How big can I expect to get a decent print from a 35mm film without comprimising on quality?

I have no experience of printing from digital or scanned images. At what resolution should images be scanned to get a decent print/enlargment?

Obviously the higher the better, but I'd like to know how big my images could be printed from the standard scan resolutions, I think they're 2800 dpi and 4800 dpi.

Thanks

My photography teacher says that a 35mm negative has about 7 million pieces of silver specks, which is similar to a 7mp digital picture. Of course thats with 100 iso film and the higher the iso, the larger the pieces of silver specks are, and there for less detail.

So using the 3:4 ratio of a 35mm negative, that works out to 763dpi or something like that. Unless I did my math wrong, and some how I think I did something wrong there.

But anywase, once you reach 7mp, your pretty much inventing information, so youll probably want some smart action to do this. Someone posted a link to a site that had a photoshop action that increases a 6mp picture I believe to a 30mp picture I think.
 
Cheers Gerry, that sounds theres some science behind it, which is cheaper than guess work!

Whats the 3:4 ratio and how do you get 763dpi form it? Can you post your sums so I can see.

Thanks
 

Most reactions

New Topics

Back
Top