Quality of Prints from 5 megapixlel Camera

[kevin merrill]

Here is something I don't understand. According to a review of the Nikon Coolpix 5700, you can make photo quality prints all the way up to 13" X 19" that are virtually indistinguishable from film generated photos. How this is this possible? If the full resolution of this and any other 5 megapixl camera is 2560 X 1920, divided by 300 dpi will yield an 8.5" X 6.4" print. wouldn't this be the largest photo quality print you can get from a 5 megapixl camera?

Image quality and the ability to shoot fast are my 2 main concerns. Is the Nikon Coolpix 5700 the best 5 megapixl camera in its class for this or are there others I should consider?

K. Merrill
Los Angeles

[NHL]

FYI on resampling

http://www.designer-info.com/master....e_resample.htm

The obvious question is does it work? And the simple answer is yes – amazingly well. For enlargements of 200% or more where bicubic interpolation produces a soft mush, the Genuine Fractals image maintains a far greater degree of edge detail and so life in the image – a fact that is often even more apparent in print than onscreen. In particular, whereas low contrast continuous tone features like sky, clouds and skin benefit little, stronger features such as eyes and text maintain much more of their distinguishing edges and detail.

If you are not partial to one brand, you should also consider the D7hi/i and the 717. They are all excellent cameras based on different flavor of the same 5Mp CCD, but vary in features and speed: http://www.stevesforums.com/phpBB2/v...highlight=sony
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=3412688

[koruvs]

Using my Nikon 5700 I have made 3 - 11x17 and 1 - 13x19 prints using my Canon S9000. I have compared the photos I made to 35mm SLR results of 2 different wedding photo enlargements friends of mine had done. The quality I get, in my opinion is better than the SLR result.

On another note; Just as NHL said, I would look at different cameras of the same class to be sure you get the camera you need for Your type of photography:

Olympus 5050
Sony F717
Minolta 7hi
-

[NHL]

Here's some examples:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=3431426
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=2058904

[BillDrew]

Originally Posted by kevin merrill

.... According to a review .... you can make photo quality prints all the way up to 13" X 19" that are virtually indistinguishable from film generated photos. ....

Note the weasel words in that review. Where was the review published? Was it in a publication that always has glowing descriptions of everything it reviews in hopes of getting advertisements? I have no basis for saying the review is wrong, but you should never take the word of a single review. In particular on issues that are at least in part subjective.

This is a slight variation on the "How big a print can I make?" question. The answer depends (in part) on issues that have nothing whatsoever to do with the camera such as: viewing distance, amount of detail in the subject, and -most importantly- the eye of the beholder. Those same issues come into play when saying virtually indistinguishable .