Newbie question about resolution

Rosy

Hi all! I'm just beginning to dabble in the business side of things and came to realize that shooting with a Rebel, 300dpi will only produce an 8x10", and that's with little cropping.

Can you get good print results at a lower resolution? If so, where do you go? I have an account with a digital lab and it looks like they want everything at 300dpi.

Unfortunately, I already have paying clients scheduled...and I'm imagining they're going to want something bigger than an 8x10". What do I do? I'd love to just upgrade to a 7D--that would solve all my problems, right??

crazy7photography

Right

mercphoto

crazy7photography wrote:

Right

What matters more than your pixel count is the quality of the sensor, the quality of your lens, your post-processing of the image. You have enough pixels to make the prints you want to. I have 24x36 prints from 8MP to prove that.

colourbox

What lens are you shooting with? I have a Rebel XT and I once went on a trip with a Rebel owner, a 40D owner, and a 5D owner. When we compared images, what we noticed was that while the camera definitely made a difference, the biggest difference we saw on the Rebels was when using an L lens vs a kit lens. I've got a 16x20 on my wall from my 8-megapixel Rebel and I know it was enlargeable because I shot it with a 24-105L and processed the Raw carefully with Lightroom. My friend shot JPEGs on Rebel with the kit lens and the images don't look nearly as good.

So, if you aren't already shooting with great lenses and you have to choose between buying a better lens for your Rebel or paying almost twice as much to get a 7D, the lens could be a cheaper way to get good enlargements.

(That said, I'm gonna get a 7D soon......)

Rosy

colourbox wrote:

What lens are you shooting with? I have a Rebel XT and I once went on a trip with a Rebel owner, a 40D owner, and a 5D owner. When we compared images, what we noticed was that while the camera definitely made a difference, the biggest difference we saw on the Rebels was when using an L lens vs a kit lens. I've got a 16x20 on my wall from my 8-megapixel Rebel and I know it was enlargeable because I shot it with a 24-105L and processed the Raw carefully with Lightroom. My friend shot JPEGs on Rebel with the kit lens and the images don't look nearly as good.

So, if you aren't already shooting with great lenses and you have to choose between buying a better lens for your Rebel or paying almost twice as much to get a 7D, the lens could be a cheaper way to get good enlargements.

(That said, I'm gonna get a 7D soon......)

I'm using the 50mm/1.4, so not as good as an L lens, but not the kit lens either. I usually shoot JPEGS, mostly because I don't have a good program for processing RAW files.

It's good to know that enlargements are possible from a smaller sensor...thanks for the feedback, all of you!

mercphoto

Rosy wrote:

I'm using the 50mm/1.4, so not as good as an L lens, but not the kit lens either. I usually shoot JPEGS, mostly because I don't have a good program for processing RAW files.

It's good to know that enlargements are possible from a smaller sensor...thanks for the feedback, all of you!

That is a fantastic lens, image-quality wise.

BradfordBenn

One of the best photos I have taken was with a P&S camera, not my Rebel XTi. The key is that a properly composed and processed photo will work regardless of the camera model and specs. You need to talk with your printer and make sure that your output meets their requirements. A good eye for composition outweighs megapixels. Really.

Rosy

Thanks, everyone. I'm in the process of figuring out how to upload (WHCC Pick-a-Pack), but I'm happy with how the pictures turned out, and it sounds like the consensus is that I should get decent prints even if they're not fully 300dpi (they're all pretty close).

Eketelon

Rosy wrote:

Thanks, everyone. I'm in the process of figuring out how to upload (WHCC Pick-a-Pack), but I'm happy with how the pictures turned out, and it sounds like the consensus is that I should get decent prints even if they're not fully 300dpi (they're all pretty close).

I would agree with the consensus as well Rosy! I have several 16x20s from a 6mp Nikon D70 that I ordered with WHCC. They are my lab of choice by the way.

You want to give yourself a large of a file (most data) as you can when you shoot, ie. Raw or TIF (uncompressed) to begin with.

mehampson

Rosy wrote:

I'm using the 50mm/1.4, so not as good as an L lens, but not the kit lens either. I usually shoot JPEGS, mostly because I don't have a good program for processing RAW files.

It's good to know that enlargements are possible from a smaller sensor...thanks for the feedback, all of you!

I assume you have Canon's DPP, which actually has great output. Its workflow, interface, and controls are weak (to put it mildly), but the actual final quality you get out of it is better, in my experience, than Lightroom or ACR.

And the 50/1.4 is fantastic. I've heard people say that it's actually better than the 50/1.2L in some respects, even if it's lacking pro-level build quality.

Rosy

I'll have to give RAW another try then. I shoot a lot of kids, so I like the speed of shooting JPEGs, but I know it's not going to give me the best final product. Mostly it changes my "shoot first and ask questions later" approach...which might be a good thing, but it is a little scary for me having fewer opportunities to get it right.

Did I mention I'm new at this?? lol

nipprdog

BradfordBenn wrote:

The key is that a properly composed and processed photo will work regardless of the camera model and specs. A good eye for composition outweighs megapixels. Really.

No. Good glass outweighs megapixels. Really.

Katie Beth

If you use Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Photoshop CS4 or any of the older pro versions you can upsize the image.

In Elements go into image > resize > image size. Change the file size to the size you desire, set resolution to 360. Make sure the scale styles, constrain proportions and resample image buttons are all checked. Then under resample image select bicubic smoother. Then click o.k.

In CS4 or earlier it's under image > image size.

This method has worked out great for me and for a pro friend of mine. As long as you aren't starting out with a file that is in the mid to low 200's dpi wise.

Also, I have actually read on a photo lab site (can't remember which one) that for prints over a certain size they use a different printer and the resolution for those larger sizes only needed to be 200 dpi so you might check with your printer to find out optimal dpi for the requested size.

Hope this helps.