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11-25-2019, 03:17 AM   #1
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Biggest enlargement from K-1 you've been happy with?

How big have you printed a K-1 image and been happy with the results? I've only had time to do an 8x10". Once "the" shot arrives, I will go bigger.
Thanks,
barondla

11-25-2019, 03:56 AM - 3 Likes   #2
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32" x 48" (80 cm x 120 cm) from K1 with DFA70-200 @ f5.6, shutter speed 1/500th s. (sharp), giving a good quality print. I wouldn't do that much enlargement with a softer lens. If the lens is not sharp (older lenses etc), you can't enlarge that much or else the print will look blurred. Beside, printing big from the K1 is true affordable joy. The prints I've made from the K1 gave me more joy than buying new lenses, new camera models of any brand.

Last edited by biz-engineer; 11-25-2019 at 04:22 AM.
11-25-2019, 04:02 AM - 4 Likes   #3
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I do big prints for exhibitions, but have to say I have not reached the limit for K-1 files yet. Fairly recently I made a 1m x 1,5 m reprint from an old K-10 10 MP file for exhibition use.
This was pretty much on the limits, did take some extraordinary tweaking in Photoshop. Nevertheless the result was just fine, even for gallery use. In addition to the pixel count the maximum enlagement size depends on a number of other factors. However, with similar precautions I would imagine you could triple the picture area using a K-1 file, provided the image itself is flawless.

Last edited by PePe; 11-25-2019 at 06:18 AM.
11-25-2019, 04:11 AM - 1 Like   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by barondla Quote
How big have you printed a K-1 image and been happy with the results? I've only had time to do an 8x10". Once "the" shot arrives, I will go bigger.
Thanks,
barondla
That’s a hard question to answer...

I think the largest I’ve done so far has been 16x20”, but that wasn’t the hardest challenge for the camera...

I’ve done 8x10” and smaller that were heavily cropped and been impressed, and I’ve done web stuff downsampled from high iso shots that were also very good.

Basically, with the K1, I’ve only been limited in size by my own choices...

-Eric

11-25-2019, 04:28 AM - 1 Like   #5
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24" x 16" and it is as sharp as a tack. My printing firm require 300 ppi images so that is the limit (at 300 ppi) I can do without resampling. I must have a go at a resampled image at some point, I am sure much larger is possible without loss of detail.
11-25-2019, 04:48 AM - 1 Like   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by barondla Quote
How big have you printed a K-1 image and been happy with the results? I've only had time to do an 8x10". Once "the" shot arrives, I will go bigger.
Thanks,
barondla
Biggest I've gone is 1.2m, but I suspect I could go much bigger, if I could afford it!
11-25-2019, 05:08 AM - 1 Like   #7
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I print to A3 at home all the time. I'm certain my K-1 files could go MUCH bigger.

11-25-2019, 05:34 AM - 1 Like   #8
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Ever printed an image snapped by K-1, and heavily cropped till the filesize about 1.5mb.

Print size about 45-48cm by 30cm (around there).

Came out much much better than hoped for.
11-25-2019, 05:57 AM - 2 Likes   #9
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The biggest I've done is a metal print of a cropped file. The print is 2 feet by 4 feet. It is perfect.

I've successfully printed a 10 MP file from the K20D on canvas, 2 by 3 feet. It's flawless even from up close.

I doubt I'll ever reach the K-1's limit without cropping.
11-25-2019, 06:09 AM - 1 Like   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by bdery Quote
I doubt I'll ever reach the K-1's limit without cropping.
The limit of the K1 is about 80 x 120 cm, beyond that size it's getting soft unless standing further back when looking at the print.
11-25-2019, 08:48 AM - 2 Likes   #11
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The biggest my printer can do is A3+ (33x48cm, 13x19"). Not anywhere near my limit for neither the K-1, the K-3, nor the K-5.

The extra cropability of the K-1 is welcome, though, even if I probably won't print bigger.

Edit: Come to think of it, the biggest one of my images has been printed was on some banner ads, and that was from the 16MP Ricoh GR. Don't know what size, but the agent sent me this image of the banners. And before anyone mistakes me for a pro; I have sold exactly one image in my life!

11-25-2019, 08:55 AM - 5 Likes   #12
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The largest print on my wall is 42" by 30" and it's a K-3 image.
I have absolutely no concept of an image that would test a K-1. The issue being, at the size of K-1 pixels, the image size will probably never affect image quality at a normal viewing distance.
And I won't be testing the K-1 until I have a wall space big enough to display a larger image.
When i ordered the 42 by 30, we measured wall, decided how much border we wanted and filled the space.
Until I want a larger print it's a theoretical question, I don't care to shoulder the expense to find out the answer to. I'm not going to order a print bigger than I have display space for. And even a K-3 fills that requirement.

Most of our images are 30 inches x 20 inches (canvases) and they are taken with 12-16 MP cameras and those images do not push the limits. We have sold many of them at craft sales, so it's not just my standards. I can't imagine a K-1 wouldn't be fine to 60x40 at least.

But as a rule, what tends to happen in conversations like this, is the conversation is dominated by people with really high standards who will recommend sizes you are not likely to be comparable to your own. Some folks will advocate standards that would mean you'd be happy if you walked right up to the image and examined it with a loupe. Those kinds of standards are not necessary for the enjoyment of art.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Short answer, worry about the size you can print to, when you have a big K-1 print come back that you feel is unsatisfactory. Until then, just assume it's good enough for whatever. Let your real world needs determine your real world purchases.

Last edited by normhead; 11-25-2019 at 09:24 AM.
11-25-2019, 10:37 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote

But as a rule, what tends to happen in conversations like this, is the conversation is dominated by people with really high standards who will recommend sizes you are not likely to be comparable to your own. Some folks will advocate standards that would mean you'd be happy if you walked right up to the image and examined it with a loupe. Those kinds of standards are not necessary for the enjoyment of art.
So true. An article a while back was talking about how 60mp files weren't big enough for really, really big prints. 100mp or more was needed. As I remember the details, the author printed huge prints (like 4x6 feet) of 100mp and down sampled 60mp, and 36mp files. Had people view them at average distance and vote for the best version. He claimed that even at distances where the eye shouldn't be able to tell them apart, the 100mp pic garnered the most votes. Fascinating.

Unfortunately I had the article link saved on a tablet that recently died.
Thanks,
barondla
11-25-2019, 11:07 AM   #14
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I know it's slightly off topic, but I've printed 11X14 with my K-S2 (20MP & no accelerator unit) and was very satisfied with the results..
11-25-2019, 11:13 AM - 2 Likes   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
Some folks will advocate standards that would mean you'd be happy if you walked right up to the image and examined it with a loupe.
That's not really true. A few years back , I was at a friends house and he showed us his poster on a wall from a bridge cameras, the quality wasn't great, it was too much enlargement. Again, a couple of years back, when I was in hospital, they had used prints from compact cameras and mobiles phones to decorate the walls, and you could see the quality wasn't there, too much enlargement again. Again , the perception of quality depdends on enlargement and viewing distance. There are two types of viewing distances: diagonal distance and arm length. Diagonal is like when you are on a sofa watching TV hanging on the wall on the other side of the room. Arm length is when you stand in front of a print hanging on a wall in a museum or in your house. For diagonal distance viewing, that's clear that you'll never see the limit of good quality image from a K1. But if you stand in front of the image , about 2 to 3 feet from the wall, you'll see that 32" x 48" is a lot of enlargement for a 24 x 36 mm sensor. IMO, the reason why full frame and 24Mp is so popular is because it already cover most of the cases for printing, and yet can be a limit for museum style gallery where medium format has its place.
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