Sony Prints Sizing and IQ

adam

Regular
Location
Birmingham UK
Name
Adam
Hello Everybody,

I am currently using a Sony RX1 and a mac book pro non retina ( 13" ) for processing.

I use L/R 5 for processing.

I sharpen etc at 100% - The images look good at 100%

My images are 24 mpx in size

Can I please have your advice on the following :

An image when viewed at 100% on my mac book pro ( 13" ) takes around 4 + 1/2 screen widths to scroll across it completely and around 7 screen depths to scroll downwards.

This measures around 52" by 42" approximately.

The question is this : -

If I were to print an image around the dimensions ( 52" X 42" ) or say 48" x 30" , is it likely to look similar to that of the image , as viewed on the mac book at 100% in terms of sharpness / details etc , assuming of course that I use optimum printing processes ?

Thank you much for your time.

Adam.
 
You should be pretty close in terms of resolution (115 dpi) but prints look different than LC displays. Before you do that large print make sure to print a small set of representative sample crops (postcard size or larger) of your image on the same printer and adjust sharpness and the usual suspects to taste. I've done a good number of large prints, up to A0 from images I've shot with my 24MP NEX-7 and they look just fine, even if you get a little closer than the usual viewing distance.
 
You would typically require some extra sharpening, as prints usually look a bit less sharp than on screen, even if the resolution is the same. But other than that, printing at 50 inches shouldn't pe a problem with a 24mp image. So long as you only intend to take in the image as a whole, leading to a viewing distance of about 1.5 times the image diagonal, 10 to 12 good sharp megapixels are enough for any print size. Anything over that gives you the ability to inspect a smaller and smaller part of the image up close to discover more detail.
 
Last edited:
Hello Everybody,

I am currently using a Sony RX1 and a mac book pro non retina ( 13" ) for processing.
I use L/R 5 for processing.
I sharpen etc at 100% - The images look good at 100%
My images are 24 mpx in size
...
If I were to print an image around the dimensions ( 52" X 42" ) or say 48" x 30" , is it likely to look similar to that of the image , as viewed on the mac book at 100% in terms of sharpness / details etc , assuming of course that I use optimum printing processes ?

Thank you much for your time.

Adam.

The print will likely seem a bit softer, though a lot depends on the software used to make the print and the print media used. A key factor to consider is the final viewing distance relative to the final print size, as bartjeej correctly mentioned.

I print for a photographer's gallery and print a lot of images in that size range, 5-10 per week, an order prints from other printers in that size range several several times per week. My in-house printing at those sizes is usually on canvas and the originals vary from scans of 35mm transparencies to 16mp digital files to 36mp digital files. The 16mp digital files are from a small sensor camera (Nikon P7100) and the 36mp are from a 35mmFF sized sensor (Nikon D800). I never print from Lr. All print files are resampled to the final print size at 300ppi in Photoshop. Those files previewed in Ps on a 24" monitor at 33% (1:1 to the final print size) resemble the final print sharpness well. I often add a small amount of additional "print sharpening" to the file after it has been resampled on files that I print in-house. Those I send out, either for printing on aluminum or for printing on canvas at sizes beyond what our 44" printers can deliver, don't get that final sharpening. I leave that to the lab that makes the print as they know their printer's needs.

Whether the image will be printed in-house or sent out, I never rely on the printing software to do the resampling. I always resample to size in Ps.

BTW, the largest I've had printed from a scan (35mm Velvia scanned with a Imacon 848) is 94"w x 144"h. The largest I've done from the little P7100 files is a 45"h x 96"w on aluminum and a 38"h x 108"w on canvas. Both were simply stretched to produce the wide aspect ratio shape. I regularly print on of the P7100 images at sizes between 29"h x 44"w and 48"h x 72"w, the latter often being done as a 3 panel triptych.
 
Back
Top