wanting big prints for walls

scottydog · Mar 14, 2006

hi there im very new to photography and am learning very slowly,i have a canon eos film slr and have just invested in a fuji s5600 (slr like! 5.1mp digi) camera and am using both cameras at the minute,my question is i am wanting to take some photos and have them blown up big for hanging on my wall at home,would i be better using the film or the digital ?
i think i should have waited and saved for a dslr cos the fuji cam just doesnt feel half as good as the canon slr speed of shutter when taking picture,view through viewfinder etc !
any help would be great cheers scott.

Big Mike · Mar 14, 2006

Welcome to the forum.

I agree that you should have spent a little more for a DSLR. Not that your Fuji is a bad camera...but a true DSLR is much, much better than a digi-cam.

One of the differences, as you have noticed...is the shutter lag. A DSLR has an actual shutter just like your film camera...and the shutter response will be about the same. The trade off is that you can't see the image on the LCD screen before you snap the shot, with a DSLR.

A DSLR will have a sensor that is much bigger than what is in a Digi-cam...this means better image quality and less noise at higher ISO settings.

If a big print is your goal, you would probably be best off shooting a slide film with your film camera. However, it may be expensive to have a large print made and you will have to get the shot right, at the time of shooting.

You could easily make large prints from your digital files...it will be up to you, to decide if the quality is good enough for you. Get one made and test it out.

Remember, viewing distance is a factor in how prints will look. If you hang it on the wall and stand back, the prints from the digital may look just fine.

scottydog · Mar 14, 2006

cheers for fast reply,i do belive i have rushed in also but on the other hand i have learned alot in the last 3 weeks due to being able to see what happens when i make changes to the shutter speed etc.
i think i will sell both and try and get a nice canon dslr !

Big Mike · Mar 14, 2006

Digital is a wonderful learning tool, isn't' it?

Another thing I forgot to mention...when you want to make large prints, you should maximize the sharpness of your image. Use the lowest ISO setting (or film), use a tripod and trigger the shutter without touching the camera. Keep the aperture away from the ends of it's range...try for something like F8 (or smaller (F22) if you want/need a deep DOF.)