enlarging 35mm!

Rob A · Feb 19, 2005

hey guys, i was just wandering how much i could enlarge a 35mm with out it losing much quality. i took some photos of a boxing match and i used 3200 film, but the actual boxing ring on it is quite small as i was foridden to use my zoom.

they are not THAT small, but about a quater of a 6x4 print. what i was wandering was, would it still be good quality if i enlarged it and cropped it so that the ring fit nicely onto a 6x4 print, or even a 9x6? or is the grain to large?

thanks for any help!! and sorry if i wasnt very clear!

Hertz van Rental · Feb 19, 2005

The shots will be very grainy with not much detail. Wether or not any prints from them would be 'good quality' - that is only something that you can decide.
The best advice I can give is do some enlargements and see what you think. You never know your luck.
But good or bad you will have learned something from the experience - and that is what a lot of photography is about.

Artemis · Feb 19, 2005

I dont know if 3200 will really go up to much, because 3200 is grainy at normal size, enlarge it and your asking for trouble IMO

spike000 · Feb 20, 2005

Have to agree with the others I'm afraid - you may find that you can do something with a digital scan of the neg. I would recommend getting hold of one of the resolution improving bits of software - I believe Fractal Mosaics is the best. Basically they run a fractal pattern over your image and 'add in' pixels.
Not the best solution but you may find that it works for your image. Ideally - get closer or use a longer lens - I find that mirror lenses are usually good for that type of work as they do not appear to be as long as they look (4" lens that functions at 500mm)

Good luck

Spike

Rob · Feb 20, 2005

You should be able to quadruple the enlargement fairly easily using 3200, but as mentioned it'll be grainy. IMO your best bet is to use a negative scanner to get the best possible neg scan - turn off all the digital enhancement, and then use photoshop, only cropping and adjusting the levels. Then try printing out the image at home on an inkjet. If that works, then get it pro-printed. It'll probably work fine, but at least you'll only spend a bit of time, not a lot of money, finding out.

Rob