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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
This is something that I'm just courious about. I understand that to
determine what print size a digital camera (or scanned image) is capable of, one divides the desired dpi (e.g. 200 or 300) into the pixel dimensions produced by the camera. Now my question is if two cameras produce nearly identical resolutions but have different sensor sizes how does this affect print size? For example take two different DSLRs with nearly identical resolutions, the Nikon DX2 and the Canon 5D. If one was to determine that they wanted to print at 300dpi by dividing that number into the pixel dimensions of both cameras, you would get a print size of approx 9.5x14.5 give or take a few fractions of an inch. Now the thing is that the Canon uses a full size sensor (24x36) whereas the Nikon uses a DX sensor (15.7x23.7). Now I'm not asking specifically about the superiority of one camera over the other, just happened to pick them out to use as examples, but THEORETICALLY if a FF camera has a sensor size that is 2.3 times the area of DX camera then shouldn't it be able to produce a print that is larger by the same factor ? Keep in mind everything will be equal, printer, paper, viewing distance. |
#2
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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
"ftran999" wrote in message . .. This is something that I'm just courious about. I understand that to determine what print size a digital camera (or scanned image) is capable of, one divides the desired dpi (e.g. 200 or 300) into the pixel dimensions produced by the camera. Now my question is if two cameras produce nearly identical resolutions but have different sensor sizes how does this affect print size? For example take two different DSLRs with nearly identical resolutions, the Nikon DX2 and the Canon 5D. If one was to determine that they wanted to print at 300dpi by dividing that number into the pixel dimensions of both cameras, you would get a print size of approx 9.5x14.5 give or take a few fractions of an inch. Now the thing is that the Canon uses a full size sensor (24x36) whereas the Nikon uses a DX sensor (15.7x23.7). Now I'm not asking specifically about the superiority of one camera over the other, just happened to pick them out to use as examples, but THEORETICALLY if a FF camera has a sensor size that is 2.3 times the area of DX camera then shouldn't it be able to produce a print that is larger by the same factor ? Keep in mind everything will be equal, printer, paper, viewing distance. In a nutshell, the bigger the sensor (physically speaking) the better the signal to noise ratio and dynamic range. |
#3
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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
On Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:01:16 -0500, ftran999 wrote:
This is something that I'm just courious about. I understand that to determine what print size a digital camera (or scanned image) is capable of, one divides the desired dpi (e.g. 200 or 300) into the pixel dimensions produced by the camera. Now my question is if two cameras produce nearly identical resolutions but have different sensor sizes how does this affect print size? It doesn't. For example take two different DSLRs with nearly identical resolutions, the Nikon DX2 and the Canon 5D. If one was to determine that they wanted to print at 300dpi by dividing that number into the pixel dimensions of both cameras, you would get a print size of approx 9.5x14.5 give or take a few fractions of an inch. Now the thing is that the Canon uses a full size sensor (24x36) whereas the Nikon uses a DX sensor (15.7x23.7). Now I'm not asking specifically about the superiority of one camera over the other, just happened to pick them out to use as examples, but THEORETICALLY if a FF camera has a sensor size that is 2.3 times the area of DX camera then shouldn't it be able to produce a print that is larger by the same factor ? Keep in mind everything will be equal, printer, paper, viewing distance. A pixel is a pixel. The biggest factor is going to be the compression involved in making the image. If they are both producing lossless images then the print quality will be equal - the one with the larger sensor should have less 'noise' at a given iso setting. |
#4
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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
ray wrote:
On Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:01:16 -0500, ftran999 wrote: This is something that I'm just courious about. I understand that to determine what print size a digital camera (or scanned image) is capable of, one divides the desired dpi (e.g. 200 or 300) into the pixel dimensions produced by the camera. Now my question is if two cameras produce nearly identical resolutions but have different sensor sizes how does this affect print size? It doesn't. Not directly (since yu can print ANY size [200'x300' if you're so inclined...even with 1MP]...so long as quality isn't factored in), but the SHAPE of the sensor can make a difference to the extent that you may have to crop based on the print dimension ratio. If you shoot with a 3:2 sensor (most DSLRs), then you can print 12x18, or the same ratio at other sizes and take full advantage of the resolution of the sensor. Once you go to 8x10, or other ratio, you have to crop--throwing away a portion of your image. -- Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by MarkČ at: www.pbase.com/markuson |
#5
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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
Charles Schuler wrote:
In a nutshell, the bigger the sensor (physically speaking) the better the signal to noise ratio and dynamic range. Would this be more obvious in low light conditions? Would this be offset by the camera having a bigger lens (DSLR vs compact)? |
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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
"erqua" writes:
In a nutshell, the bigger the sensor (physically speaking) the better the signal to noise ratio and dynamic range. Would this be more obvious in low light conditions? Yes. Would this be offset by the camera having a bigger lens (DSLR vs compact)? DSLR's have bigger lenses for the precise reason that they have bigger sensors. |
#7
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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
Paul Rubin wrote:
"erqua" writes: In a nutshell, the bigger the sensor (physically speaking) the better the signal to noise ratio and dynamic range. Would this be more obvious in low light conditions? Yes. Would this be offset by the camera having a bigger lens (DSLR vs compact)? DSLR's have bigger lenses for the precise reason that they have bigger sensors. .... and because of cost or size considerations, many of the DSLR lenses have a smaller aperture (f/5.6) and the long end of the zoom compared to the f/2.8 offered by some small-sensor cameras, thus throwing away quite a lot of the advantage of the large sensor.... David |
#8
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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
ftran999 wrote:
: This is something that I'm just courious about. I understand that to : determine what print size a digital camera (or scanned image) is capable : of, one divides the desired dpi (e.g. 200 or 300) into the pixel dimensions : produced by the camera. Now my question is if two cameras produce nearly : identical resolutions but have different sensor sizes how does this affect : print size? For example take two different DSLRs with nearly identical : resolutions, the Nikon DX2 and the Canon 5D. If one was to determine that : they wanted to print at 300dpi by dividing that number into the pixel : dimensions of both cameras, you would get a print size of approx 9.5x14.5 : give or take a few fractions of an inch. Now the thing is that the Canon : uses a full size sensor (24x36) whereas the Nikon uses a DX sensor : (15.7x23.7). Now I'm not asking specifically about the superiority of one : camera over the other, just happened to pick them out to use as examples, : but THEORETICALLY if a FF camera has a sensor size that is 2.3 times the : area of DX camera then shouldn't it be able to produce a print that is : larger by the same factor ? Keep in mind everything will be equal, printer, : paper, viewing distance. No. Since you are not asking about the theories and limitations of the image capturing and storage systems, the size of the sensor is not directly helping or hindering the print size. If you have two sensors of different sizes with the same exact dimensions in pixels, each pixel will be representing the exact same proportion of the total image. The different size of the respective pixel sensing element may effect the ability to capture the light qualities for that single pixel, but the stored pixel is still representing the same portion of the finished image. The 300 dpi benchmark is generally a reflection of the current state of the art in printing technology to accurately produce a pixel on the page. Too high dpi, and the printing device may begin to blur the pixels due to the limits of ink to be deposited without difusing into the adjacent pixel. And too low a dpi and the individual pixels become visible. Of course these values are for a standard viewing distance of 3-6ft or so. If you plan on viewing from the length of a football field the "best" dpi will change. A Jumbotron image that looks nice and clear at a distance looks silly up close (a single color element is made up from 3 seperate color elements, each being about 4" square). Each "pixel" is about 8" by 8". On the other hand if you can find a printer that can deposit fine enough "drops" of ink on a surface, and the ink does not spread into the next pixel, you could print an image with a very high dpi that would satisfy our readers who MUST examine every print with a microscope. But using 300dpi is a good benchmark, no matter what the sensors physical dimensions. Now if the physical size change is reflected in a change in pixel count, the change in size would have an effect in the print. Randy ========== Randy Berbaum Champaign, IL |
#9
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question about relationship between sensor size and print size.
On Feb 21, 6:01 pm, "ftran999" wrote:
This is something that I'm just courious about. I understand that to determine what print size a digital camera (or scanned image) is capable of, one divides the desired dpi (e.g. 200 or 300) into the pixel dimensions produced by the camera. Now my question is if two cameras produce nearly identical resolutions but have different sensor sizes how does this affect print size? For example take two different DSLRs with nearly identical resolutions, the Nikon DX2 and the Canon 5D. If one was to determine that they wanted to print at 300dpi by dividing that number into the pixel dimensions of both cameras, you would get a print size of approx 9.5x14.5 give or take a few fractions of an inch. Now the thing is that the Canon uses a full size sensor (24x36) whereas the Nikon uses a DX sensor (15.7x23.7). Now I'm not asking specifically about the superiority of one camera over the other, just happened to pick them out to use as examples, but THEORETICALLY if a FF camera has a sensor size that is 2.3 times the area of DX camera then shouldn't it be able to produce a print that is larger by the same factor ? Keep in mind everything will be equal, printer, paper, viewing distance. The final resolution of the camera is a chain of the resolution of each of several limiting factors. The larger the sensor, the less likely that IT is the primary limitation to resolution. i.e, a chain is as strong as its weakest link. Now, by resolution I mean the true, measured resolution based on bar chart or mtf tests, NOT simply the number of pixels in the sensor. The actual resolution of a camera is ultimately limited by the number of pixels, but a camera CANNOT resolve a bar frequency equal to the number of pixels in a given direction. That is, a 3000 pixel wide camera will NOT, on average, be able to resolve a chart with 3000 lines of alternating black and white bars. |
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