Printing digital pictures... let me know what I can and can't do.

[dwaugh]

Anyway, I want to start printing out some of my pictures. I have a D50 and the pictures are normally 3008x2000 pixles and 72dpi. I know that for picture quality shots I would need to change the resolution to 300dpi. In turn, that makes the actual size print go down to about 6.5"x10". However, I want to print an 11x14" (after cropping some of the image). So, after I make the resolution 300, I resize the print size to 11x14, and in turn the image is enlarged. Will this enlarging have any effect on the quality of the picture, especially in detailed pictures?
Also, let me know if I missed anything.
Thanks.

[jorgemonkey]

Are you sure that the DPI out of the camera is 72? I have a D70 (Never used the D50) and mine come out at 300 DPI. I also shoot at either RAW or JPG Fine, depending on what I'll be using the images for. Hope that helps ya.

[another view]

My Fuji S2 is 72dpi as well. Really, this doesn't matter until you're printing and then yes, 300dpi is a good starting point. You probably can get away with less resolution then that, but stick with 300 for now. My S2 is 6mp and I've been very happy with 16x24 prints from it.

Two ways you can get a bigger print than the 10 x 6.5 at 300dpi. You will have to crop a little bit to get this because the dimensions would have to be either 11x16-1/2 or about 9-3/8 x 14 to get full frame.

One would be to do the math on it and figure out how many pixels you'll get by not increasing the size at 11x14. Divide the number of pixels by the length, and you'll have what's known as the "native" resolution. For the 11x16-1/2 based on 2000x3008 pixels, you'd have about 182dpi. This may or may not be enough resolution but it will depend on the particular shot and your own expectations. It'll look better than you think.

The other thing to do is to increase the file size in a program like Photoshop. This way, you're adding data to the file which really isn't the same thing as higher resolution. Basically, you're stretching the pixels out and the program fills in the holes. This way will work too, but try them both to see which one looks best. I've usually done my 16x24 prints with this method at 240dpi and they're on par with medium format. Remember that different shots might look better with one technique or the other.

[dwaugh]

I looked at my camera and currently I am in the JPEG Normal mode, so I guess I should change that to at least JPEG Fine, and I am going to learn about RAW.
Is there anything you can tell me about RAW and image quality when printing? I heard that RAW is kinda like film negatives...

[dwaugh]

OK, I learned that Fine is slightly better for quality. Now I have a simple question. Why, when I shoot a RAW image, is it coming out on my computer 160x120 pixels?

[another view]

JPEG fine should give you great results assuming the file is clean to start with (as in exposure is correct, mainly). The big advantage IMO with RAW files is higher bit depth which is closer to continuous tone like film. There is more color data in the file - a 12 bit file has exponentially more information than an 8 bit jpeg and this will help a lot if you do a lot of editing to the file in Photoshop. This will result in a higher quality finished product in some cases; in others there will probably be no difference between jpeg fine and RAW.

I don't know why your RAW images are that small - they should be the same 3008 x 2000 pixels. You should be able to fit only about 1/3 (rough estimate) the number of RAW files as jpeg fine files on whatever card you're using - if so, then they're probably being captured at the same resolution.

[dwaugh]

Ok, thanks for the info.

[readingr]

OK, I learned that Fine is slightly better for quality. Now I have a simple question. Why, when I shoot a RAW image, is it coming out on my computer 160x120 pixels?

My Powershot Pro1 in RAW format captures a Thumbnail as well - is this what your looking at?

Roger

[dwaugh]

My Powershot Pro1 in RAW format captures a Thumbnail as well - is this what your looking at?

Roger

Sounds like the same problem.

[readingr]

Sorry I meant to have said it captures a thumbnail and the 8Mpixel picture as well. The first is a .THM (7KB) file and the second is a (8MB).CRW file

Roger