Print size and quality Q's...

[get_nick]

Hello all,

I'm a noob to DSLR photography, and I am considering the canon xsi. I don't need professional, just looking to improve photo quality and have more options for shooting manually than i have with my sd600 point and shoot.

1) How large of print can I produce with the 12.2 mpg camera (rebel xsi)and have it be clear. I am interested in decorating my house with my photography and framing large prints as gifts.

2) I have heard of mpix.com for photo prints. Are there any other site suggestions?

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

1) How large of print can I produce with the 12.2 mpg camera (rebel xsi)and have it be clear. I am interested in decorating my house with my photography and framing large prints as gifts.

That depends. You could make prints the size of a billboard...and while they won't look good from a couple feet away, they will look great from 50 feet away. The same principle applies to pictures you hang in your home. You don't expect to view a poster sized print with your nose up against it...you would probably be standing a few feet back. So as long as the viewing distance is adequate, you can print as big as you want.

For so called 'photographic' quality, the rule of thumb is usually 300 pixels per inch (PPI) of print. So for an 8x10 print, you would want 2400 x 3000 pixels. You can use less, 240 PPI or even 150 as you get to bigger sizes. Plus, you can use software to increase the number of pixels, which does reduce the quality as you get bigger).

Of course, the more you increase the size of an image, the bigger the good and bad parts get. So if your image isn't nice and sharp, that will be more evident as it gets bigger...so it pays to use good technique to maximize your sharpness. For example, use a tripod and remote release (or self timer). Use high quality lenses and use the sweet spot of the aperture range on those lenses.

To answer your question: I think the XSi should be just fine for you uses...especially if you use it with some good lenses. But only you will be able to decide if the image quality is good enough for your own personal standards.

 

[get_nick]

Thank you for the response.

I think the largest I would print would be 18"x24", and that would be the max. I don't expect to upgrade the lenses. The kit lens is probably the extent of what i will want to invest. since it is of course only a hobby. I think the 18-55 and 55-250 are probably going to be good enough. i may get a 50mm eventually.

 

[Jon, The Elder]

At this point in your budding career....you have all the print capability that reality allows.

Put your ego on a shelf for a while and start spending large amounts of money for LARGE prints.

Costco does a very fine job in this area.

Your original questions and many others will be answered quickly.

 

[Sleepy_Sentry]

For making large prints, you might want to look into a film camera. The quality on a decent 35mm SLR will surpass any entry-level DSLR like the XSi.

My Canon Rebel 2000 was only $50 on eBay with lens and can go far past 18"x24" with no problem.

Then again, are there any places that still offer large film prints? And I don't have much room to talk because I just orded a Rebel XSi yesterday.

 

[Studio97]

I have a 12.3 DSLR camera and I own a studio, and all my studio portriats I hang on the wall are 20x24 and they are just fine...they look great.

I would also check into Filmet for photo finishing.

 

[KmH]

Mpix is a great place to get your prints made.
They require image files have a minimum resolution of 100 ppi, JPEG format, sRGB color space.
An 8x10 at 100 ppi is 800x1000 pixels, a 24x36 would be 2400x3600 pixels.