Gallery grade pix from a 6mpix SLR?

[Joe Hardesty]

can a 6 mpix body from Canon (10D), Nikon (D-100), or Fuji (S2 Pro), when equipped with a top quality lens (24-70/f2.8 EFL or 28-70/F2.8 IF ED), yield gallery grade prints at 12X18 in. size?

Yes!

[Bobtrips]

2. Does anyone have any sample files

Check the camera reviews at DPReview to see if any of the samples there meet your needs.

(Cameras - Brand - Model - Full Review - Samples)

[dlashier]

Yes, in fact even the 4mp from a 1D makes beautiful, crisp, 12x18 prints.

[BernardLanguillier]

I have to agree with your disagreement.

I am getting very nice 18*27 cm prints from my D100 + Epson 2200, but they could contain slightly more small details already (leaves...) and I am sure that I would feel that even more at 12*18 inches.

On the other hand, I might have become too picky...

Best regards,
Bernard

[mcanyes]

I regularly sell photos around that size made from a Nikon D100. One of my better selling 11x14 prints was made about 2 years ago with a 3MP Coolpix 990.

If you put two identical prints next to each other in a gallery, one made from a 4x5 neg and one made from a 6mp digital camera you would see some difference. However, this never happens and the purchaser buys the print on its individual merit, not on its sharpness. Assuming you are getting the maximum quality from the 6mp camera you should do fine.

Keep in mind that you probably won't just walk out and shoot your best stuff on the first day. It does take a little time to get the workflow down, etc.

Best,
Michael

[pete]

I sell prints shot with the 10D in local stores/galleries, as well as at weekend art/craft markets, and supply images to the shire for use in brochures etc. The largest I go with a 10D file is ~11x17 at 180ppi, i.e. full frame, no res'ing up. The output from my Epson 2100 is certainly acceptable and saleable at that.

At the markets on Sunday a photographer came past and was looking at the larger prints - his first comment was 'so you shoot with large format gear?' He was surprised to hear it wasn't large format at all, but 6mp DSLR  - so there you go!

I've done my fair share of shooting using large/medium format gear and am always reminded of comments by Galen Rowell made is his book 'Mountain Light' - along the lines of approach shooting landscapes with SLRs as if you were shooting with medium/large format gear, and the results can be more than acceptable. Good advice for the dSLR user.

All that said, when a camera like the 1Ds drops to a reasonable price I'll certainly be upgrading - the extra data would be welcomed, esp for cropping.. for now though, working within the limits of the 10D you can certainly do some great, saleable stuff.

pete

[Mats Andren]

I just showed over 2000 pictures to sponsors of an adventure racing team that I follow. To spice up the atmospher (and get them even more intrested..) I also showed several enlargments. Among these were 4 slightly cropped photos that measured 76cm by 112 cm. Among the sponsors there are several experienced image buyers that are used to dealing with high quality photographs from professional photographers. Everybody was really impressed with the detail quality and sharpness of the enlargments and nobody  questioned the origins of the original files. I honestly do not think that they would have believed that they came from my D60 and 10D ( until I printed them I would not have belived it!)
 The enlargments were made from my best digital files with careful work in photoshop and interpolation with the ccd4 feature in PhotoRetouch Pro (twice!!!) They were then printed on a Durst Epsilon to Agfa Laser Glossy paper at 254ppi.
They were so good that I'm afraid that it is just a dream..
I have never managed to make enlargments this good from a 35mm neg either using digital or traditional tools. (I have made better enlarments but they were from medium format negs.
I would not have believed it myself less than 2 weeks ago..

Mats

[smcburnett]

I am a landscape photographer contemplating moving to a digital SLR for my 35mm work. I use scanned 35mm transparencies to produce 12X18 prints (for larger prints I use medium format – 6X6) and have had some modest success in local galleries and shows. Unfortunately I do not have access to the leading SLR contenders in the 6 mpix range to do any evaluative testing under my conditions, so I would like to pose two questions for this forum:
1. can a 6 mpix body from Canon (10D), Nikon (D-100), or Fuji (S2 Pro), when equipped with a top quality lens (24-70/f2.8 EFL or 28-70/F2.8 IF ED), yield gallery grade prints at 12X18 in. size? I typically shoot from a tripod at optimal aperture and print on an Epson 7600.
2. Does anyone have any sample files produced under the above conditions (scenics, tripod, lens and aperture) that they would be willing to share (for evaluation purposes only!)? I would prefer TIFF or PSD converted from RAW with no added sharpening or other manipulation. I have a broadband connection.
Thanks!

[Dan Sroka]

Definitely. I have print around that size from my D100 in a gallery. For my work (not landscape: I do more close subject or macro work), the 6MPs gives me results quite comparable to the scans I was doing from 35mm film. Especially since you are printing on the 7600... that ultrachrome ink gives some beautiful color!

[JeroenM]

1. can a 6 mpix body from Canon (10D), Nikon (D-100), or Fuji (S2 Pro), when equipped with a top quality lens (24-70/f2.8 EFL or 28-70/F2.8 IF ED), yield gallery grade prints at 12X18 in. size? I typically shoot from a tripod at optimal aperture and print on an Epson 7600.

yes.
in fact, I'm using a D30 (3 mpix) and have produced prints of 8*12 without any problem so I'm sure a 6 mpix will make great 12*18 prints.
I'm even confident I can make them with my D30.

[Matthew Cromer]

I'm in disagreement here.

While I think the 6MP cameras make great 12x18 portraits and animal shots, I think you need the 1Ds to make good 12x18 detailed landscapes.

[BJL]

The disagreements here illustrate the hazards of seeking yes/no answers when there is a continuum of outcomes. Taking the question as "can you succeed in getting such prints hung, and even sold?", the answer is apparently "yes". Interpret "gallery grade" as meaning "not perceptably inferior to other prints of that size" and the answer seems to be "no".
   Could people offer responses in other ways, such as how often or how much 6MP DSLR resolution interferes with your goals in making a 12x18" print suitable for gallery display and potential sale? Even mercenary answers would be interesting, like how much is price and salability effected by stepping up from 6MP to 10MP and above.

[Digi-T]

I'll throw in my 2 cents here as well. I think that after a certain (arbitrary) point of quality an image becomes more about the photo itself. I may be awed by the deails in a particular photo but enjoy another photo much more on it's photographic merits even if it is a little softer. In a perfect world we would all take great photos with maximum resolution but obviously that is not the case right now. That shouldn't stop anyone that has a gift for photography from trying to display and sell their photos. The market will dictate how well they are accepted. Some people will need every aspect including resolution to be of the highest quality while I suspect most people are willing to compromise slightly in favor of a great photo that moves them.

T

[Lin Evans]

You had to open a can of worms, didn't you :-)

Actually, the answer is that you will definitely have to do your own prints to see if they match what you are attempting to achieve.

To make a more complex issue somewhat simplified, digital is resolution limited, film is grain limited. What this means is that as you exceed 16x24 enlargement size with 35mm color film prints, you yield quality and aesthetic value to grain. Pro level digital sensors have so little noise that there is nearly unlimited enlargement potential with one very BIG caveat: You absolutely must keep the field of view small enough to not challenge resolution. There are two ways to do this. Shoot a narrow field of view (portrait, a few people, a horse, dog, cat, etc.,) or shoot several overlapping images and stitch them in software so that you maintain sufficient resolution to allow interpolation algorithms to do their jobs properly.

The EOS-1DS will make a dynamite 16x24 landscape print equal to any 35mm film capture. The EOS-10D is significantly below the usable resolution level of 35mm fine grain color film or transparency. With smaller fields of view, you can print beautiful 100" enlargements with the 10D. But, if you push it with distant and detailed landscapes, at 16x24 you will "probably" not be as happy as with 35mm color film.

Take the same shot in four frames and overlap them about 30 percent and stitch them in software (it's easy and works very well as long as the subjet doesn't move) and you have a landscape shot far better than you could get with 35mm color film for enlargement purposes.

Best regards,

Lin

[Jack Flesher]

I don't have a 6MP cam so I cannot answer directly.  But I can tell you I just printed a 16x24 from a 1D that kncked my sox off and  I have also printed 40x prints from slight CROPS out of the frame of my 1Ds which are super.  With proper technique I suspect you could get 20x30 out of 6MP without any great difficulty.  BUT, but, but, you have to know how to rez up the image properly to achieve these results -- you can't just bump the file size once with PS bicubic and expect good results.