What resolution photo for a large canvas?

[john999boy]

My photos are normally 4288 x 2848 resolution (300dpi) and I was considering having a canvas made that was 2m wide x 1m deep and wondered if:-

1. That resolution was high enough for that size canvas?

2. If not, what would be the 'ideal' size canvas for that size photo?

 

Any other things to take into consideration?

[PastyBoy]

Having made a box in InDesign that's 4288x2848 pixels and converted it to mm it says 1151 x 1005 so 1.5m x 1m 

so you shouldn't lose too much quality if you go up to 2m wide (although you'd have to lose the top or bottom to keep proportions correct)

 

i'd consider what you're doing with the canvas and where it's going to be,

if on the wall in a narrow corridor where you walk past it everyday 6 inches away; any degredation in quality'd bug the cr@p out of me.

if it's on the far wall of the front room viewed from 10 feet away it'd probably be fine

[john999boy]

As you say, I may have to chop it slightly to get the 2:1 proportions and it will be viewed from quite close up so it'd also bug me if it wasn't crisp. A little more work to do.......

[PastyBoy]

scale it up to size and print a section on A4 or A3

easiest way to see what the quality is like

[Dean]

To give you some idea
http://www.picanova.co.uk/format/

 

I'd recommend these guys: Picanova

Reviews here with some going into detail about sizes and frames etc
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/picanova-xxl-canvas-print-now-20-7-99-p-p-2019479#comments

Some examples

 

[Mort]

Your photos are 4288 x 2848px, they don't really have a dpi(ppi) until they are printed.

 

So printing at 2m wide would give you just under 54.5ppi with the resolution you have. Obviously you can post-process the image somewhat to make it print nicer but it's not possible for you to get more detail from the image than that.

 

As to whether it's good enough quality is down to your eye. Viewing distance will make a massive difference though, we've printed 12' banners at 72dpi and without going up close you'd never worry about the quality as you're usually viewing from a minimum of 6-8feet away.

[john999boy]

Your photos are 4288 x 2848px, they don't really have a dpi(ppi) until they are printed.

 

So printing at 2m wide would give you just under 54.5ppi with the resolution you have. Obviously you can post-process the image somewhat to make it print nicer but it's not possible for you to get more detail from the image than that.

 

As to whether it's good enough quality is down to your eye. Viewing distance will make a massive difference though, we've printed 12' banners at 72dpi and without going up close you'd never worry about the quality as you're usually viewing from a minimum of 6-8feet away.

 

The viewing distance will be about 2 feet away ( ) so I would notice any problems!

The canvas was initially going to be taller than 1m but I realised that some furniture would obscure it so I may have to decide upon a different photo that lends itself more to the 2:1 format. A test print is being picked up tomorrow to confirm the quality.

[john999boy]

The test print has shown me that I really need to have photos with a greater resolution to do the size some justice. I'm also considering using a different medium to canvas as it seems better able to show off the crispness than a canvas can.

TBC....

[Mort]

I'd accept a decent loss in quality if you're printing 2m wide. Unless you're shooting an image specifically for the canvas/print you're never going to get a resolution you're happy with at that size.

 

If you're after a 300ppi quality print at 2m you're looking at wanting 23,622px which, at a standard 35mm ratio you're after a camera that takes 371MP photos. 72ppi would be 21MP - which is what you're looking at with most prosumer DSLRs. I'd aim at 100ppi with some post processing; might push 150ppi if the image would take it but then I think you'd be in the area of diminishing returns.

 

Otherwise:

• You could hire something medium format – which may be tricky to use, or expensive, and will only get you 80MP at best.
• Shoot a scene and stitch multiple images together (thinking Brenzier Method which can look really good with the right shots and done well) but that can be limiting with the type of image you can do  – but does give you an opportunity to increase your source resolution drastically.

Also canvas will help hide the softness and imperfections in the image, so I'd stick to canvas at that size if you're worried about image quality? Oversharpen the image in post to compensate a little if you're worried. But canvas isn't meant for small details, so will help the fact your image is too low-res to have any.

Edited 1 February, 2016 by Mort

[Chris GB]

You need to decide what you want from your photo. At 2m wide, you are at around 2 pixels per mm. On canvas, you are obviously not looking for forensic sharpness and fractal detail, so sharpening and contrast are going to be more important than resolution. Also, at that size, lens performance is very much under the spotlight.

I did an 84" commission from a 6048 pixel wide image and that looked good from less than 1m away. Only 74ppi, the secret is in the sharpening. It did highlight the limitations of a lens that I used to think of as good though.

[john999boy]

Much that I'd like to use one of my own photos, I wouldn't mind using a stock internet photo if it was of an 'interesting' subject! I'm also considering having it on PVC (iirc) as that can come in different thicknesses making it frameless too. Another benefit is that the medium allows the photo to look sharper - particularly good as I'll be looking at it from about a metre away.