[20 Comments]

Michael

05 Jul 2006 10:15pm

"Nice guide, I got a 7 Megapixel Camera and it makes beautiful 8x10s. Even though 7 is not on the chart it is not difficult to see where it would fit. I haven't tried anything larger than a 8x10. Nice chart, one of many reasons why I opted for the 7 megapixel camera over the 5!"
 

Daniela

17 Jul 2006 11:44am

"Thanks for bringing some light into the megapixel mistery!"
 

mike berry

07 Oct 2006 8:43pm

"When you go from 8x10 to 16x20 aren't you quadrupling the area? Therefore it would make sense that you would need 24 to 30 megapixels for a 16x20 if you could produce a 8x10 with 6 to 8 megapixels because 6x4=24 and 8x4=32.

[Reply from Rob G]
Strictly speaking in terms of pixels per inch, with no post editing, an 8x10 @ 300ppi is (8x300) x (10x300), or 7,200,000 pixels (7MP). A 16x20 is (16x300) x (20x300), or 28,800,000 pixels (28.8MP). This chart is only about the math and does not take into consideration the subject matter of the image, the media it will be printed on, the amount of post editing that will be done to it, or the viewing distance of the final output."
 

Randy

07 Oct 2006 11:47pm

"The critical part that is being left out which needs to be tied into this information is sensor size. And also the work done in post has more to do with achievable print size than megapixels. The 300dpi mark is indeed "true photo quality" in print terms, but it isn't always needed to get good prints. I have 20x30" prints on Fuji Crystal Archive hanging on my wall that turned out wonderful from an 8mp APS-C sized sensor (Canon 350D). And perfect 20x30"s from the full-frame 4mp Canon 1D.

[Reply from Rob G]
Randy, I totally agree but I'll have to make a different chart on a new page. A larger 6MP sensor will of course produce better images than a smaller 6MP sensor of the same type. From there, it gets very complicated. For one, making an inkjet print is different than producing a print ad where you need 300ppi for a 150 line screen. I've made great looking 16x20 inkjet prints from my 6MP Nikon D70 but the same image didn't quite cut it for a full page magazine ad. There are a number of factors to consider including subject matter, exposure, focus, and post processing. How does one begin to make such a chart? The chart on this page is purely for a mathematical overview. As the table underneath the chart shows, I can shoot 35mm film, scan it, and have at least a 19 megapixel image. In reality, I shoot digital 90% of the time, and use my 4x5 film camera if I need to go big. =)"
 

smartie

08 Oct 2006 1:33am

"nice, nice, you just forgot to mention that bigger pictures are meant to be looked from farther... eg if you design a billboard, you'll need only a resolution of 18 or 20 dpi.

[Reply from Rob G]
Yes, you are correct. For the sake of simplicity, I have selected the "photo quality" standard of 300ppi as a constant."
 

all wrong

08 Oct 2006 2:07pm

"try telling that to this guy: http://www.grafphoto.com/articles/printdogma.html

[Reply from Rob G]
What's funny is I agree with what he says. He explains that he made a 24 x 36 print from his 4MP Nikon D2H. Yes, 4 megapixels at 72ppi will give you roughly a 24 x 36 image. Actually the D2H gives you 2464 x 1632 pixels which is 34.22" x 22.66" @ 72ppi. He says he used USM (Unsharp Mask) at 500% and 0.1R to "correct for digital capture". The thing is, he started with a top of the line, $3000 USD camera and a high quality lens. He captured a RAW image file (not a jpeg) then he did some post processing in Photoshop. Finally, he sent the file to a print shop, where the image was most likely processed again in the RIP software. A consumer with a $200 4MP camera who has no idea how to use Photoshop, is not going to achieve the same results.

In the table below the chart, I've listed print sizes at 200ppi and 150ppi as alternatives to the 300ppi standard. The chart simply serves as a visual comparison of various megapixel areas."
 

all right

08 Oct 2006 5:33pm

"Great chart, and handy too. You're spot on about the link above - the guy is using top quality gear and the photo was sent to a printer who obviously applied interpolation either in Photoshop or through the RIP (more likely). Sending the image to a different printer would produce a different result. Another point is that resolution is fast becoming less important than it has been to date. As sensors become more detailed, so lenses, sensor size, lag time and other functions become more important"
 

M Needham

09 Oct 2006 7:50am

"Nice chart, although there is definately something to be said about the absolutes of mathematical analysis vs. real life. The best way to decide on maximum print size is to look at actual prints. To give some hope to those who would push the 300dpi limit, when I purchased my 8mp APS-C DSLR I thought max size would be 8x12. Recently with simple Photoshopping and a good printer (meaning a person who prints rather than a machine) I took them up to 16x24. It really surprised me how good they looked!"
 

good chart, but IRL....

09 Oct 2006 5:16pm

"This is a good reference chart. But the fact is that I have made high quality 11x14 prints from my older 4mp point and shoot. THese are as good, if not better, in quality as some of the 11x14 35mm prints I have made in the darkroom with ISO 100 film. They were not pixelated, blurred, or distorted. Granted they have to be high quality images to start with. In real life the numbers are a good guide, but only experience can tell you for sure what your camera will actually do for you."
 

Yeah I guess so, but...

10 Oct 2006 4:15am

"If you use a simple trick in photoshop you can easily get great looking prints beyond the "maximum" size. Basically you increase the size by 110%. You can repeat it 5-7 times before you start to notice any real image loss. Of course results vary depending on photographs but I have started with a photograph at 300dpi 10.02x6.67 and gone up to 300dpi at 19.5x13 inches and gotten great results. For the full explaination: babibubebo.com/2006/10/10/photography-travel-tip-04-give-it-110/"
 

Mark Bowman

10 Oct 2006 12:36pm

"Your chart is misleading IMHO in that beyond certain types of Professional publishing most photographers and printers consider 250dpi to be acceptable for high quality prints. Any digital camera from 3MP on will satisfy the average user printing at 4x6 through 8x10. The only time the rule doesn't hold is they happen to need to do extensive cropping. I know you put in the fine print about inkjets working at 200dpi but I just wanted to emphasize that 3MP-5MP digicams is all most people need."
 

Beckie

13 Dec 2006 7:03pm

"This was a great article! It gets confusing with all the dimensions and things like that, but over all it was really helpful."
 

megapixels

03 Jan 2007 2:05am

"Very Well Explained information."
 

Upsizing

03 Jan 2007 9:28am

"Yes you can try that 110% trick but I’m not sure there is much point. I found I could achieve the same effect by using Bicubic Sharper in the Image Size dialogue box in Photoshop. I simply selected Bicubic Sharper and entered in the pixel dimensions I wanted. I tried doing the 110% thing with a 1500 pixel square image. It took it to 2925 after a number of 110% up sizes. Using Bicubic sharper in one hit achieved exactly the same result."
 

35mm film

25 Sep 2007 7:48pm

"In the chart it says 35mm film. What ISO is it? Thanks

[Reply from Rob G]
I was just including 35mm film as a reference, probably 100 ISO transparency film. Film has grain, not pixels so you could use 1600 ISO film and it still wouldn't become little square pixels no matter how much you enlarged it. That being said, there are many other differences between film and digital. Each has its advantages and disadvantages."
 

Ed Silva

18 Oct 2007 3:51pm

"This is a great chart. The link to the tiger print is also great. It also confirms the old saying "the proof is in the pudding" or something like that. From this chart how do you print smaller ? By doubling the DPI ? Print still a mistery to me...:( since I am an amateur photog like many...:) Great chart! and allowing feedback makes it even better!"
 

Your page

31 Oct 2007 7:50am

"I'm looking for my first digital camera and this site has provided much useful information to help me. Thank you Peter Kidd Wales"
 

1-step is the way to go

14 Nov 2007 12:06am

"I've heard about the +110% trick from a few different sources. I experimented within photoshop and found slightly better results using the one-step "bicubic smoother" setting. I found it to be smoother AND sharper. I also found two things that haven't been mentioned yet...increasing by 110% 5 times gave me slightly more apparent chromatic abberations, and a dramatic color shift towards yellow. The one-step approach is just a better way to resize in my opinion."
 

Dave

23 Mar 2008 8:54am

"Your chart seems to be close to the truth. My 8MP Canon 20D can make a good looking A4 (8.3 x 11.7"), but doubling the size to A3 gives clearly inferior results."
 

Kim Letkeman

23 Mar 2008 9:50am

"Excellent chart. Well done. You are correct that, in the strictest sense, to get an image that looks good to any pair of eyes from any distance one should be printing at 300ppi at native resolution. But things are not quite that simple. The average pair of eyes is less acute, and the average viewing distance is further away. Skill with interpolation software can double native resolution while retaining unpixelated edges and all details. Which is why the D2H can do posters with certain subjects."
 

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