enlarging to 11x14 or bigger, question...

[nqk77]

Hi all, I have a question about enlarging pics. I have a Sony DSC F-828 camera that is 5 years old. 8.1 mega pixels. I mostly take pics of nature and my 5 year old, but there are some pics that I want to make really large, and they just won't get bigger than 8x10 without getting grainy.

Can anyone suggest the proper settings to get larger images? I changed it to raw once, but everytime I took a pic, it took 20 or so seconds to process the image, and I wanted to snap faster than that. Is that just how it goes when it's set to raw?

Thanks, Kelly

[jetrim]

With a 5 yr old camera, sometimes that's how it goes (my Fuji S-2 is snail slow too). RAW won't really help to give you bigger images though - just better quality at the same size. You could go with a software solution like OnOne Software's Genuine Fractals which will enlarge the photo far beyond the capabilities of photoshop alone.

[SmartWombat]

Yes, that's how it goes.
If you've got it set for less than the best quality, the number of megapixels doesn't matter.
I can get 20x30 from my 8mp Canon. But I shoot raw.

[nqk77]

Thanks y'all. I'm pretty much less than an ameteur. I'll look into that software to enlarge them! Thanks!! Kelly

[Canuck935]

Use the lowest ISO you can. Tripod helps.

[Taraboom]

You image size is determined by your camera's chip, that is 8.1 megapixels, the largest image you can get would be 8.1 megapixels, this can not be changed. Grain is likely related to high ISO settings rather then the size. Apart from lowering ISO value grain could be reduced by software.