How to Make Large Banners with Pictures?

My dad wants me to help him photograph some pictures of our food items so it can be put on a large banner and have it displayed in front of our restaurant. Kind of like those large McDonald's banners advertising their new smoothie, or Starbucks having large-ish banners with their new drinks, etc.

The question is, would I be able to do that with my 40D? I know those large restaurant chains probably had them photographed professionally, but I would like to do this myself.

If I take these pics at full resolution and blow them up, would it look VERY pixelated? Would I be better off renting a 5Dii and a 100mm Macro or something and reshoot those pictures?

Your 10MP sensor is good enough for what you want to do. Most of those banners are not supposed to be looked at up close like a photograph. 30+ yrs ago 3M provided a service that could print on anything flexible. I have a sample from my fathers studio where we printed a portrait on burlap. I'm sure better tech is available today. If you are woried about the pixelated look. Fractal software is available that will convert an image to a vector files. Makes the image into a bunch of geometric shapes that can be enlarged indefinately without any pixelization.

An modern Canon DSLR and lens can handle the job. Your only challenge is to find a graphics house or service bureau to print the item, which should not be much of a challenge in urban areas.

Remember that resolution is not a major factor in very, very large prints because viewing distance increases with image size. Anyone who gets up right next to a very large image and examines it for alleged flaws with a magnifying glass will not be interested in the product you're trying to sell.

Thanks friz & DC Fan! I can see what you're saying is true. I was taught by my Photoshop teacher that "240ppi" is the lowest I could go for a print, so I was a bit worried. I guess that only applies to regular 8x10 photos or whatnot.