24''x36'' Print from Canon 20D

A client requested a family portrait on location and a 24''x36'' print of the portrait.

Am I goign to get a nice/sharp result with a RAW file from my 20D or do I need a higher resolution camera like the 1D (16.7MP)?

Note: 7 People in the portrait and I will use a tamron 28-75mm F2.8) lens.

What do you guys think?
Also how much would you charge just for the print?
Is a printer like EPSON 7800 good enough for that kind of print or are there labs that offer better quality?

Thanks very much.

Genuine fractals from http://www.lizardtech.​com/ is one of the industry standard programs for up sizing images for print.
Ive had some nice large prionts dine a while ago with my old 10D that came out very well.

First thought - try a dry run?

Second thought - 24"x36" works out at 96 dpi. This is somewhat less than the 150 dpi generally needed. But it is a large print and won't usually be scrutinised very close.

Third thought - is the lens good enough? If you have a 50mm prime available it would certainly be better.

There's little point talking about the printer or the price until you've sorted these issues to your satisfaction, so I would do a dry run.

I'm in my office here looking at a 20 x 30 print from an image taken with my old D60 and it still looks great in my mind. I've had many clients comment on it so it isn't just me. I used a 28-70 2.8 L on my tripod-mounted D60. I resized in PS using 10% increments and sent it over the net to ez prints (http://www.ezprints.c​om). The cost for their 20 x 30 lustre print was $21.54 US and I was very pleased with the result. For 24 x 36 the cost is $27US. Take Puttick's advice and do a dry run first. Why not do your own family portrait first? That way you'll end up with a nice picture to display on your wall.

In addition to Genuine Fractals, you may also want to give Fred Miranda's Resize Pro a whirl.

attu wrote:
Genuine fractals from http://www.lizardtech.​com/ is one of the industry standard programs for up sizing images for print.
Ive had some nice large prionts dine a while ago with my old 10D that came out very well.

Lizardtech sold GF to onOne Software so the correct link is http://www.ononesoftwa​re.com/detail.php?prod​Line_id=2

I second yenoram's comments. I have had several 20"x30" prints made from my D60 and 10D files and I can see absolutely no artifacts or pixellation in them. One that I shot with my 70-200 2.8 L IS in particular is as sharp as can be, even viewed from up close. I also sent my files to ez prints and am very pleased with their work and prices. A trial run should be well worth the under $30.00 cost.

I have a 20X24 on my wall from one of my 10D's and its excellent. For a client portrait shoot, if this were the only print that I was hired to shoot for these 7 people...then I would charge $25 for the session and another $50 for the print.

-daniel

I have Genuine Fractiles, and i dont even use it. I just resize everything in photoshop and it works out just great. Photoshop is pretty powerful, sometimes these 3rd party plugins dont help as much sa you think.

I still havent given GF an honest shot tho. I also find if kinda complicated to use. Can anyone help me with GF?????

Go to the lights right studio and download the resiaing action for photoshop...then follow the directions and make your client a happy camper...and you yourself will rest assured that print size is no longer an issue....

www.thelightsrightstud​io.com

don

If you dont want to get new softwere and are using PS CS. You could try this. I had a 6mp file from my rebel. After doing all my processing I cropped it to a 4x5 ratio unsampled. Then as the last step I went into image size and turned resampling back on and check marked bicubic smoother and upsized it to 20x24 at 300ppi. Uploaded it to the printer and got it back a few days later and it looked incredable even up close. It was also a family portrait and my clients were thrilled with it.

I second Headcase650's approach. I have done several 20x30's from my 20D. I took the raw file into a 16 bit image and then resized it in PS to 20x30 at 300 DPI (using the PS bicubic re-sampling). I used the high pass filter approach to smoothing and finally reduced the 16 bit image to 8 bits before I upoaded it for printing. I use www.whcc.com for my printing. I thought the results were excellent.

Check out Elco Color Labs. They are having a special on some poster sizes that are pretty good. 20x30 for $9.95, 24x30 for $11.95, 30x40 for $19.90, 30x48 for $24.00 and 30x60 for $30.00. The only catch is you have to order two prints. They don't have to be 2 copies of the same file or the same size, but you have to order two posters total.

http://www.elcocolor.c​om …nternet_only_sp​ecials.htm

Just be sure to upsize your photo in no more than 10% increments. Results in less artificats and noise. iThere is a tool somewhere here which plugs in to PS and automates this to a final print size you specify.

So your saying all of this re-sizing action is just a matter of knowing tequnique in photoshop. Not extra software or plugins...

Streetshooter wrote:
Go to the lights right studio and download the resiaing action for photoshop...then follow the directions and make your client a happy camper...and you yourself will rest assured that print size is no longer an issue....

www.thelightsrightstud​io.com

don

thats what i was referring too.. didnt read the whole thread... jehehe

MADMESH

Yes.