Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/08/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Lew, You asked about the maximum print size, without interpolation. First, see Ted's response. then check Don's. Both are right. My criteria is 300 pixels per inch. My reason? When you take your negs to a modern one hour lab, they scan and print your 4x6" happy snaps at 300ppi. So, if that is the definition of "photo quality", then a 10.2mpixel DMR (3876x2584 pixels) will make a very nice 8x12" print (actually a 12.9x8.6" print) without interpolation. My Canon 20D would make a very nice 8x12" prints as well, but needed a wee bit of boost, to do it. There was, however, no noticeable degradation in quality. However, that being said, I have made a number of 12x18" prints from both cameras. These work out quite well, as 200ppi will give a very acceptable print, particularly from the distance from which you'd normally view an enlargement. I do, however, "rez-up" the image to 300ppi, via interpolation. This yields a slightly smoother looking print when examined "up close and personal". However, it does little for the resolution of fine details. I have 12x18" prints on my walls, from both the 8mp Canon 20d and the R8/DMR combo. On a recent visit to our home, Ted mistook one of these 20d shots for a Leica image.... which tells you how good they can be. However, when you compare both, at close range, the DMR images have noticeably more fine detail, due to [a] the lower amount of interpolation needed and [b] the lack of an AA filter in the DMR, which yields more fine detail in any size print. If my memory served me correctly, the sensor in the new M8d (or whatever it will be called) is the same number of pixels as the sensor in the DMR... but a wee bit bigger. This yields a crop factor of 1.3 (instead of 1.37) and indicates that the individual pixels will be a wee bit larger, thus improving low light/noise performance. In essence, the DMR and the Digi-M will be about the same for enlargement capabilities. And what those limits are will be determined by whether you want the level of detail supported by 300ppi or if you can accept 200ppi in your prints. --- David Young, Logan Lake, CANADA Wildlife Photographs: http://www.telyt.com/ Personal Web-pages: http://www3.telus.net/~telyt