Sencor size relative to printer DPI ?

F1.2

F1.2

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Allen
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Hi people ;)

Not sure if anyone can help here

I have a 5D mk2

and a Epson 1290S printer ( http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h462.htm )

At what image size can I print to use the full DPI of the printer ? If you get what I mean

I have not been able to get my head around this conversion ( 21MP to DPI )



:canon:
 
Ok say your image is 6000 x 4000 pixels so at 300dpi thats 20" x 13.3" at 600 dpi 10" x 6.7" depend on how many dpi you print at you can get away with 200 dpi for a large print as usually viewed from a distance. Pixel peeping low dpi prints is about as useful as pixel peeping images :D
 
The 5D MKII produces images 5616 x 3744 pixels.

Normally, 300 dpi is considered normal for printing. In which case, divide these figure by 300 to give the size in inches which in this case is 18.72" x 12.48"

However, I think Epson prefer to use 360 dpi so the size would be 15.6" x 10.4"


Steve.
 
There is no hard and fast answer to this question and I think you should rather just look at the prints and then decide if they are sharp enough.

I too have a 1290 (about to go in the bin through one too many head clogs - but thats another story) and have printed 3MP point and shoot images to A3 that look just fine when viewed at any normal distance.

You will find that the larger the print the lower the DPI you can get away with. Think of an advertising bill board, they are massive but if you look up close the DPI must something like (guesses) 20 DPI.

I have a 40D and well taken images on this camera will enlarger to A2 and look stunning. I had them printed at Photobox whose large printers I think operate at 240 DPI or thereabouts.

As I said ask yourself "are they sharp enough" rather than worrying about the actual settings, I suspect with a 5D MK2 you will have no problems at all at A3.

HTH

David
 
epson native dpi is 180, 360, 720, 1440, 2880 so you can print at 180 and you'll not see any reall difference. set it to 360dpi unless you need to go really big


F1.2 said:
Hi people ;)

Not sure if anyone can help here

I have a 5D mk2

and a Epson 1290S printer ( http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h462.htm )

At what image size can I print to use the full DPI of the printer ? If you get what I mean

I have not been able to get my head around this conversion ( 21MP to DPI )



:canon:
Click to expand...
 
Willid1 said:
There is no hard and fast answer to this question and I think you should rather just look at the prints and then decide if they are sharp enough.

I too have a 1290 (about to go in the bin through one too many head clogs - but thats another story) and have printed 3MP point and shoot images to A3 that look just fine when viewed at any normal distance.

You will find that the larger the print the lower the DPI you can get away with. Think of an advertising bill board, they are massive but if you look up close the DPI must something like (guesses) 20 DPI.

I have a 40D and well taken images on this camera will enlarger to A2 and look stunning. I had them printed at Photobox whose large printers I think operate at 240 DPI or thereabouts.

As I said ask yourself "are they sharp enough" rather than worrying about the actual settings, I suspect with a 5D MK2 you will have no problems at all at A3.

HTH

David
Click to expand...

I agree with David. I've had images from a 20D printed photographically up to 20 x 30 with no problem what so ever. My 5D (Mk1) will happily print A3+ images on my 2880.

How you treat the image has a big bearing on the final print. Over processing and over sharpening can really cause problems. "Don't bruise the pixels" is a phrase I remember from an American photographer when talking about PP
 
I had an exhibition earlier in the year with many images printed slightly larger than A1.
You could walk up to 10" from the print and still feel there was more detail to be seen by going even closer.

However - getting an image that sharp is a whole different problem!
You need top quality glass used at it's best aperture.
Plus a good tripod on a windless day with IS off, mirror lock-up and cable release.
I've produced very few of these!
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
I had an exhibition earlier in the year with many images printed slightly larger than A1.
You could walk up to 10" from the print and still feel there was more detail to be seen by going even closer.

However - getting an image that sharp is a whole different problem!
You need top quality glass used at it's best aperture.
Plus a good tripod on a windless day with IS off, mirror lock-up and cable release.
I've produced very few of these!
Click to expand...

OK

check list

TOP QUALITY GLASS

1 16-35 L F2.8 11 USM
2 24-105 L IS USM
3 70-210 F2.8 L IS USM

Hope those are OK

So what is the best aperture ?

Have a big tripod
The 5D2 has mirror lockup

just need to order some windless days :D

fingers crossed :thumbs:
 
Allen,
I find slrgear very useful for getting an appreciation of where a lens excels and where it is weak.
For example, have a look at their report on the 24-105 - click on the full-frame results tab, then click on the Blur Index plot to open the blur index application.
Play with the zoom and aperture sliders looking for where the pink happens right across the frame.
You can see:
- 70mm and longer is not brilliant
- f5.6 is generally better than f4
- f16 and higher suffers from diffraction
- that the corners are a problem at 24mm.
Hence for ultimate sharpness all you get left with is 35-50mm and f5.6-8 !!!!

The 25-105 is a very good lens - but if you want mind-blowing quality across whole image when printed at A1 then it is worthwhile taking the strengths/weaknesses into consideration.

Now check the full-frame blur index gadget for the 70-200 2.8 (or f4) to appreciate why everyone raves about these lenses :D:D:D

Cue loads of posts about the benefits of prime lenses.... ;)
 
Another 2p - don't bother pixel peeping except for fun!
It's amazing what you can get away with when an image is printed.
With the 5DII, I find a rule of thumb that seems to work for me is that if you can't spot a major sharpness problem at 50% then it will never matter.

But if you get everything absolutely perfect, then it is possible to produce an image that pixel peeping will show that every single pixel is crisp and distinct from it's neighbours!
In practice, this doesn't seem to happen very often!
 
Thanks for the advice , will take a look at the web sites

Cheers :thumbs:
 
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