Equipment & Techniques > Beginner's Questions
What kind of camera do I need for 4x7 FT. gallery quality prints? (Newbie here)
1_Beatnikblake:
I am looking to print on canvas. I need gallery quality.(whatever that means) close up viewing? Thats 4x7.1 ft/(16:9 porportion). 100 megapixels as a base start? From my limited understanding the buffer zones include the quality of photo i capture and what can be done in photoshop. Where do i start?!
BradSmith:
Are you new/unfamiliar with cameras and current digital technologies including printing? If so, this is a very ambitious project.
Here's a beginning of thinking about your needs. At least how I would think about it.
You should have at least 150 pixels per inch for a solid looking image on canvas. That means an image that 48" x 150 pixels/" equals 7200 pixels in width. And 84" x 150 pixels/" equals 12,600 pixels in the long dimension. That is approximately 90 megapixels. If you want to produce your image from a single shot, then you'll need a camera with a sensor that has those dimensions at a minimum. I say "at a minimum" to allow for some cropping. There are no Canon, Nikon, or Sony dslr's that meet those specs. That means you need medium format cameras/sensors. The current Phase One, XF 100MP camera gets you close @ 11,600 x 8,700. I just saw an ad for one of these with an 80mm lens for $38,000. As I said, a very ambitious project.
Most of us here would "stitch" together multiple photos (in Photoshop) each with a lower resolution, taken with a much much lower priced camera/lens combo to get the same number of pixels in the final image. If this is your preferred route, post a reply clarifying your path and others may chime in with info on stitching. Remember, Google is your friend. There are many on-line tutorials regarding image stitching.
Brad
1_Beatnikblake:
Yes, unfortunately I don't have 80k lying around for that camera so sounds like its stitching then. Whay camera will get the job done for me and what do I need to do once I have the camera?
pcgpcg:
If you are stitching you will need a camera that allows you to set exposure (set f stop and shutter instead of relying on auto exposure). Most consumer grade cameras allow that, but be sure you check. To be more helpful you need to describe what are you photographing and what you want to show.
Micro photography with lots of depth of field? Portraits with shallow depth of field? Fast action as in sports? No action as in still landscapes? High light as in outdoors on a sunny day? Low light as in a nightclub? Milky way? Northern lights?
Do you require supplemental lighting? Do you need weatherproofing? Do you require light weight?
ErikKaffehr:
Hi,
The largest print I made was 3'x13' and that was stitched from something like 9 images with a Sony Alpha 900 mounted in the vertical position. It was printed on glossy paper.
If you have 20/20 vision and look at the print at 20" / 50 cm, you would need 180 lp/mm to match the resolution of the eye.
Sharpening plays a role, probably more important than extreme quality.
My suggestions would be:
* If possible, stitch
* If you stitch, mount the camera vertically
* Modern stitchers are pretty good, but it doesn't hurt to be a bit careful. Read, you can get a decent image handholding, but tripod, rotation around inlet pupil, manual exposure and focus would certainly help.
* The built in stitching in Lightroom is a pretty decent one. That is always the first I try.
* Use a good external sharpening tool. The one I think works best for me is FocusMagick. Don't sharpen in LR or any other raw converter.
Best regards
Erik
--- Quote from: 1_Beatnikblake on May 01, 2017, 08:18:26 pm ---I am looking to print on canvas. I need gallery quality.(whatever that means) close up viewing? Thats 4x7.1 ft/(16:9 porportion). 100 megapixels as a base start? From my limited understanding the buffer zones include the quality of photo i capture and what can be done in photoshop. Where do i start?!
--- End quote ---
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version