Zooming in after picture i staken

[jolds]

I have a quick question:
I am using a Rebel xt and I have taken a number of pictures of some football traing camp workouts ( Packers) On the camera when previewing them I can zoom in on previously taken pictures to get a closer view on my view finder, can I do this when printing the pictures as a 4x6 or larger without ruining the quality? If so help is needed.

Thank You
Jason

[Tee Why]

generally, trying to crop tighter digitally on the computer will degrade the image.
You can crop then interpolate, but getting a lens with more reach maybe the best answer here.

[davidcrebelxt]

Really all depends on how MUCH you are cropping... your XT sensor has plenty of room to crop the image for a 4x6 with no discernable loss of image quality... I'm sure someone here can point you towards the right math on how to calculate how MUCH you can crop... For print, I try not to crop to where the DPI falls below 200dpi [as a BARE minium... more is better] (or is it ppi? I can never remember.)

If you are getting to the point that Tee Why mentions where you must use interpolation to get to that resolution, then yes, a lens with a longer reach is a must.

[jolds]

Thanks for the replies. I wish I had enough money for a larger lens. I am happy with some of the pictures but I was even more happy when I zoomed in on the viewer and the pictures where that much better!! again thanks for the replies I will throw some pictures on for you Packer fans :) or Favre fans.
later

[tzalman]

Thanks for the replies. I wish I had enough money for a larger lens. I am happy with some of the pictures but I was even more happy when I zoomed in on the viewer and the pictures where that much better!! again thanks for the replies I will throw some pictures on for you Packer fans :) or Favre fans.
later
He's going to play another season?

[tzalman]

Here's the math David refers to: The XT is 2304 x 3456. At 200 ppi you need 800 x 1200 for a 4x6. You can chop off almost 2/3 from each side!

[jolds]

Thanks guys. yes another season.

[prime80]

Crop it until you like it, then print it. I'd bet you will be happy with the results. I've cropped stuff very heavily (down to less than a 1/4 of the original image) and gotten very good 4x6 prints. Heck, I've got an 11x17 hanging in my office that's cropped to ~1/2 the original image and it looks fantastic. I'm constantly amazed at how much I can crop and still get a good picture.