Largest Print Size with a K-5

**bkpix** · 10-07-2011, 04:47 PM

I bought the K-5 recently after being convinced that its files would print 20x30 as well as those from my old Canon 1Ds.

This is almost true. I say "almost" because the 1Ds files require less work than the K-5 files to make very sharp, wonderfully rich looking 20x30 prints on my Epson 7600.

But with good technique and careful postprocessing, I can make 20x30 prints from the K-5 that match the 1Ds in quality. They are not identical, by any means, but slightly different renditions of equal quality.

I was not able to obtain that print quality with my K-7 no matter what I did.

CEWren · 10-07-2011, 09:47 PM

out of curiousity where are you planning to print this? And again because I am curious do you care to share the picture? the only thing I have had issues with printing that big is minor issues you dont see on a small computer screen, but when enlarged that tiny blown spot that you didnt even notice becomes a big obvious blown spot. I print through Whcc and they are great about calling with issues like that and bringing them to my attention before sending out the print and charging me.

cali92rs · 10-08-2011, 11:25 AM

Originally posted by CEWren

out of curiousity where are you planning to print this? And again because I am curious do you care to share the picture? the only thing I have had issues with printing that big is minor issues you dont see on a small computer screen, but when enlarged that tiny blown spot that you didnt even notice becomes a big obvious blown spot. I print through Whcc and they are great about calling with issues like that and bringing them to my attention before sending out the print and charging me.

Sure, here is the image:
All sizes | IMGP3447 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The only changes I have made from that one is enlarging to get 300 ppi and cropping to 20x30.
What do you think, good candidate?

Oh and I was going to get it printed at Gaslamp Photo here in San Diego. I have had good luck wih them in the past, but have never made a print this large.

CEWren · 10-08-2011, 12:26 PM

wow, very intersting.... and manly. LOL. Its not that sharp of a picture, but very cool, great colors, and the sky looks great. not easy to get that much detail in clouds!

Looking thru the rest of your photostream, thats amazing. I have never seen anything like that (in real life). What skill it must take to fly like that!

Ron Kruger · 10-08-2011, 12:43 PM

I've printed a few 20X30 from my K20D, and they are as sharp as an 8X10, so while I haven't printed anything that large from my K5, I'm sure it will do that size and larger. Beyond MPs, the most important thing for large prints is sharpness, which has a lot to do with the lens, the focus and the f-stop. I even had an outfitter enlarge a K20D shot on a 4-foot X 8-foot banner, and from about a dozen feet it looked fine; close up, you could see the breakup.
If you want to go large with any Pentax, buy Limiteds and * lenses. The glass really makes a difference.

philbaum · 10-09-2011, 09:45 AM

Originally posted by Ron Kruger

I've printed a few 20X30 from my K20D, and they are as sharp as an 8X10, so while I haven't printed anything that large from my K5, I'm sure it will do that size and larger. Beyond MPs, the most important thing for large prints is sharpness, which has a lot to do with the lens, the focus and the f-stop. I even had an outfitter enlarge a K20D shot on a 4-foot X 8-foot banner, and from about a dozen feet it looked fine; close up, you could see the breakup.
If you want to go large with any Pentax, buy Limiteds and * lenses. The glass really makes a difference.

Agree with that.

Although i've printed Tamron 18-250 shots (in its best range) to 36" and gotten good results.

The larger issue is what to do with larger prints? Beyond a certain size, they are harder to carry, more difficult to find a suitable wall for in your or a customer's home. And you'd better love it if you bought it or printed for yourself, because you may have it for a long time.

having said that, it would be fun to print something really large

Qwntm · 10-09-2011, 03:56 PM

The limiting factor in printing large is not going to be the K-5. It will be lens quality and proper technique. We really are at that point with sensor technology.

The image the OP wanted to print big will be limited by its overall sharpness. It doesn't look that sharp on my screen, it should look awful printed large. (No offense...)

kenyee · 10-09-2011, 04:19 PM

Originally posted by cali92rs

I am looking to print 20x30" so I just wanted to make sure I wasnt being too ambitious

Printed 20x30" onto a metallic print from a K10D (10MP). Love it on the wall. 11x14 isn't big enough to look decent sized on a wall

daacon · 10-09-2011, 04:48 PM

Nice shot that will look good! I just printed 2 shtos 24x36 they look great. Now one is sent for canvas the other mounted on wood - will get them back in two weeks. I saw the prints and they looked good now we'll see in two weeks what they look like framed and mounted.

philbaum · 10-09-2011, 05:54 PM

Originally posted by Qwntm

The limiting factor in printing large is not going to be the K-5. It will be lens quality and proper technique. We really are at that point with sensor technology.

The image the OP wanted to print big will be limited by its overall sharpness. It doesn't look that sharp on my screen, it should look awful printed large. (No offense...)

I had that same feeling about it. It might go 16"x24". LR and Elements makes it easy to resize and export as a jpeg to those dimensions. Take a look at it 1:1 and see how it looks. great colors and composition, of course.

Scootatheschool1990 · 03-14-2013, 10:58 PM

Originally posted by Ben78

I personally have printed K-5 to 16x24" and was very happy with the results.

That said I also had prints from my *ist DS at the same size and was impressed. I think the folks doing the prints matter as much as the body behind the lens!

Please note that when I print I use photoshop to convert to the pixels required to produce 300dpi at the intended print size - so images were scaled up by me before going to the printer.

What dpi did you set it as? 300?

philbaum · 03-18-2013, 08:03 AM

This was an old thread. Since i last posted, I printed a 24"x 36" from the K5. It was taken on a tripod at ISO 80 for 10 seconds, It got accepted into 2 juried contests last year, and sold at the second one for $350, the price i put on it. It was taken with the 50-135 lens at 70mm, f11 and is very sharp. I had the impression from looking at it on LR, that it would print fine at 48".

normhead · 03-18-2013, 08:10 AM

Great info. Just from my own guestimations, I've pretty much decided that up to 48 inches I'd use my K-5, if I ever need more than 48 inches, I'll have to consider a D800 and after 96 inches, MF. But, I'd really like to see a K-5 compared to a D800 image printed @ 96 inches. I'm not convinced that viewed from 4 feet how much difference there'd be. I'd like to see, it, but I don't want to pay to see it.

RonHendriks1966 · 03-18-2013, 01:02 PM

I have a plan to make a large banner. So this would come out of a 64 inch printer. Can this be done? The banner would be hanging on a wall in a large sportsvenue, so looking at it would be from 50 feet on average. The 64 inch would be out off the 4928 pixels from the sensor (K-01) and then a few stitched together to make it a panoramalike print.

normhead · 03-18-2013, 01:13 PM

From 50 foot viewing distance, you could easily print 72 DPI. 4928/72 = 68 inches, you're laughing.

10-09-2011, 09:45 AM	#21
philbaum Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Port Townsend, Washington State, USA Posts: 3,659	The larger issue.... Originally posted by Ron Kruger I've printed a few 20X30 from my K20D, and they are as sharp as an 8X10, so while I haven't printed anything that large from my K5, I'm sure it will do that size and larger. Beyond MPs, the most important thing for large prints is sharpness, which has a lot to do with the lens, the focus and the f-stop. I even had an outfitter enlarge a K20D shot on a 4-foot X 8-foot banner, and from about a dozen feet it looked fine; close up, you could see the breakup. If you want to go large with any Pentax, buy Limiteds and * lenses. The glass really makes a difference. Agree with that. Although i've printed Tamron 18-250 shots (in its best range) to 36" and gotten good results. The larger issue is what to do with larger prints? Beyond a certain size, they are harder to carry, more difficult to find a suitable wall for in your or a customer's home. And you'd better love it if you bought it or printed for yourself, because you may have it for a long time. having said that, it would be fun to print something really large

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10-07-2011, 04:47 PM	#16
bkpix Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Creswell, Oregon Photos: Albums Posts: 570	I bought the K-5 recently after being convinced that its files would print 20x30 as well as those from my old Canon 1Ds. This is almost true. I say "almost" because the 1Ds files require less work than the K-5 files to make very sharp, wonderfully rich looking 20x30 prints on my Epson 7600. But with good technique and careful postprocessing, I can make 20x30 prints from the K-5 that match the 1Ds in quality. They are not identical, by any means, but slightly different renditions of equal quality. I was not able to obtain that print quality with my K-7 no matter what I did.

10-07-2011, 09:47 PM	#17
CEWren Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 258	out of curiousity where are you planning to print this? And again because I am curious do you care to share the picture? the only thing I have had issues with printing that big is minor issues you dont see on a small computer screen, but when enlarged that tiny blown spot that you didnt even notice becomes a big obvious blown spot. I print through Whcc and they are great about calling with issues like that and bringing them to my attention before sending out the print and charging me.

10-08-2011, 11:25 AM	#18
cali92rs Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 3,354 Original Poster	Originally posted by CEWren out of curiousity where are you planning to print this? And again because I am curious do you care to share the picture? the only thing I have had issues with printing that big is minor issues you dont see on a small computer screen, but when enlarged that tiny blown spot that you didnt even notice becomes a big obvious blown spot. I print through Whcc and they are great about calling with issues like that and bringing them to my attention before sending out the print and charging me. Sure, here is the image: All sizes \| IMGP3447 \| Flickr - Photo Sharing! The only changes I have made from that one is enlarging to get 300 ppi and cropping to 20x30. What do you think, good candidate? Oh and I was going to get it printed at Gaslamp Photo here in San Diego. I have had good luck wih them in the past, but have never made a print this large.

10-08-2011, 12:26 PM	#19
CEWren Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 258	wow, very intersting.... and manly. LOL. Its not that sharp of a picture, but very cool, great colors, and the sky looks great. not easy to get that much detail in clouds! Looking thru the rest of your photostream, thats amazing. I have never seen anything like that (in real life). What skill it must take to fly like that!

10-08-2011, 12:43 PM	#20
Ron Kruger Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 534	I've printed a few 20X30 from my K20D, and they are as sharp as an 8X10, so while I haven't printed anything that large from my K5, I'm sure it will do that size and larger. Beyond MPs, the most important thing for large prints is sharpness, which has a lot to do with the lens, the focus and the f-stop. I even had an outfitter enlarge a K20D shot on a 4-foot X 8-foot banner, and from about a dozen feet it looked fine; close up, you could see the breakup. If you want to go large with any Pentax, buy Limiteds and * lenses. The glass really makes a difference.

10-09-2011, 03:56 PM	#22
Qwntm Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Eastern Oregon Posts: 856	The limiting factor in printing large is not going to be the K-5. It will be lens quality and proper technique. We really are at that point with sensor technology. The image the OP wanted to print big will be limited by its overall sharpness. It doesn't look that sharp on my screen, it should look awful printed large. (No offense...)

10-09-2011, 04:19 PM	#23
kenyee Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Boston, PRofMA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,026	Originally posted by cali92rs I am looking to print 20x30" so I just wanted to make sure I wasnt being too ambitious Printed 20x30" onto a metallic print from a K10D (10MP). Love it on the wall. 11x14 isn't big enough to look decent sized on a wall

10-09-2011, 04:48 PM	#24
daacon Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Alberta,Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 20,914	Nice shot that will look good! I just printed 2 shtos 24x36 they look great. Now one is sent for canvas the other mounted on wood - will get them back in two weeks. I saw the prints and they looked good now we'll see in two weeks what they look like framed and mounted.

10-09-2011, 05:54 PM	#25
philbaum Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Port Townsend, Washington State, USA Posts: 3,659	Originally posted by Qwntm The limiting factor in printing large is not going to be the K-5. It will be lens quality and proper technique. We really are at that point with sensor technology. The image the OP wanted to print big will be limited by its overall sharpness. It doesn't look that sharp on my screen, it should look awful printed large. (No offense...) I had that same feeling about it. It might go 16"x24". LR and Elements makes it easy to resize and export as a jpeg to those dimensions. Take a look at it 1:1 and see how it looks. great colors and composition, of course.

03-14-2013, 10:58 PM	#26
Scootatheschool1990 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Boise Idaho Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 466	Originally posted by Ben78 I personally have printed K-5 to 16x24" and was very happy with the results. That said I also had prints from my *ist DS at the same size and was impressed. I think the folks doing the prints matter as much as the body behind the lens! Please note that when I print I use photoshop to convert to the pixels required to produce 300dpi at the intended print size - so images were scaled up by me before going to the printer. What dpi did you set it as? 300?

03-18-2013, 08:03 AM	#27
philbaum Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Port Townsend, Washington State, USA Posts: 3,659	This was an old thread. Since i last posted, I printed a 24"x 36" from the K5. It was taken on a tripod at ISO 80 for 10 seconds, It got accepted into 2 juried contests last year, and sold at the second one for $350, the price i put on it. It was taken with the 50-135 lens at 70mm, f11 and is very sharp. I had the impression from looking at it on LR, that it would print fine at 48".

03-18-2013, 08:10 AM	#28
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	Great info. Just from my own guestimations, I've pretty much decided that up to 48 inches I'd use my K-5, if I ever need more than 48 inches, I'll have to consider a D800 and after 96 inches, MF. But, I'd really like to see a K-5 compared to a D800 image printed @ 96 inches. I'm not convinced that viewed from 4 feet how much difference there'd be. I'd like to see, it, but I don't want to pay to see it.

03-18-2013, 01:02 PM	#29
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	I have a plan to make a large banner. So this would come out of a 64 inch printer. Can this be done? The banner would be hanging on a wall in a large sportsvenue, so looking at it would be from 50 feet on average. The 64 inch would be out off the 4928 pixels from the sensor (K-01) and then a few stitched together to make it a panoramalike print.

03-18-2013, 01:13 PM	#30
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	From 50 foot viewing distance, you could easily print 72 DPI. 4928/72 = 68 inches, you're laughing.