Nikon D70 for large prints

[david_buck2]

Hope the experts can help.

 

I recently switched over to digital with a nikon D70. Have been

pretty happy with it.

 

Except that I love do large prints (size of 40x50cm Approx A3 or even

larger).

 

I shoot in jpg, large, fine mode. I work in Photoshop 6 and that's

all I have. No money to invest in Nikon software to shoot in NEF.

 

My questions :

1) Is 40x50 enlargements possible with my present shootng mode

without pixelation?

2) Is larger than 40x50cm sizes possible without pixelation?

3) Do I have to invest in a special software program and shoot in NEF

to achieve those large print sizes? and then convert and work in

Photoshop?

4) Do I forget about it, live with the limitations and wait for a new

Nikon to come up with these large size possibilities?

5) Or eventually invest in another model that takes Nikon lenses (all

my stuff are Nikon)?

 

Thanks

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

David, I regularly print 13 by 19 inches which is not quite 40 by 50 but close and the results are quite acceptable. I've used JPEG and NEF. Depending on the shot, there can definitely be some grain but not displeasingly so. I'm sure there would be less pixelation in NEF as there should be less compression artifact, but honestly I haven't had a problem printing JPEG (I use as EPSON 1280 BTW). To go significantly larger I think would depend a lot on the picture itself and the viewing distance.

[vatovec]

I made a 40x60cm print from my 10D and was pleasantly surprised - however this was a portrait so i don`t know how other subjects react to such a enlargment - try it and You see for yourself.

The interpolation could be done in PS no problem there but I shoot almost all of my pictures in RAW (your NEF) and i think You should do the same for such enlargments. No need for specialty software PS CS can handle all that.

[lynn_gerig]

I normally scan fine grain professional slide film at 4000 dpi for images about (area inside slide mount) 3500 x 5300 pixels. This yields a 54 MB file size roughly equivalent to an 18 megapixel digital image. I regularly make 12 x 18 inch prints on my Epson 1280.

 

I recently purchased a Nikon D70 and was also concerned about starting with only 6 megapixels. However, I?ve been completely blown away by the high quality of D70 images printed at 12 x 18 inches. I normally change the image resolution from 72 dpi to 240 dpi then resample the image about 150% to get a 12 x 18 inch print size.

 

I have one D70 image (jpg, large, fine mode) that I cropped down to about a 3 magapixel central image, then resampled up to print at 12 x 18 inches. It has more visible detail than anything I?ve ever printed after scanning Velvia, and it is ?smooth? and not pixilated.