Lots of questions??????

[LWW]

Having just bought a DSLR for the first time I have a lot of priting questions.

I used to scan phots and do my own enlargements up to 8.5 X 11. Larger I had done at the photo lab. From a Nikon D50 using Nikkor ED lenses how large of a blow up can I do and still maintain a frameable displayaple photo?

Doing the math on online printing vs buying a good 13 X 19 printer it seems that it would take a large number of prints to break even with using someone like mpix.com. Do these people really do good work if you send in a prepared file? Negative enlargements were all up to the skill of the enlarger.

Well so far that's only two questions, so I can add more later, right?

LWW

 

[usayit]

I've shot and enlarged up to 8x10 on a Canon 10D ( 6 mp ) and up to 11x14 with my 8mp 1dmarkII. Both produced excellent results. I have yet to do anything larger but the following link should give you some insight:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/charts/resolutionChartPopup.html

I've had several jobs submitted to mpix and I they have my recommendation. So far, they have produced pretty nice prints on the different papers they provide. As with doing your own darkroom work, I still find it much more satisfying doing my own printing at home on a nice printer.

 

[Johnboy2978]

I would think that you will get arguments both ways, some saying it's more economical to print at home and others saying to send it off. For me, I decided a long time ago that it makes more sense for me to send it off. I don't print everything I shoot, and I have never agreed that you get the same quality from a printer unless you really shell out the bucks. So for me, by the time I bought a nice photo quality printer, photo quality paper, quality achival ink it just isn't worth it.

Mpix prints have always been excellent and I couldn't have gotten anything close to it for the same price at home.

 

[D-50]

I have a D-50 and recently enlarged a photo to 12.5" by 20" and it looks as good as it does in an 8x10 print. In fact at my local camera shop they have a 24"x36" (roughly) print taken with a 6MP D-50 that looks very good. there is a bit of resolution lost but nothing that is too noticable. If you were planning on having a show, maybe its not good enough but if your looking to give out the print as a gift or hang it in your house it would be a shot to be proud of. I know that mathematically speaking a 6mp should not be printed much larger than 11x14 but I have seen a 6MP from a DSLR printed much larger and the prints looks great.

 

[markc]

I think he means the math as far as costs. I wouldn't print at home to save money. The ink is too expensive, though you can get bulk ink systems if you print a lot. They can cut the ink cost to 1/10th. The main reason to print at home is control and quality.