resolution

[slorff]

when i tried to order some of my pictures on 11x14 canvas..it said too low resolution... if i used my telephoto lens, would that be why???

[TCampbell]

Two questions:

1) Which camera do you own?
2) Did you 'crop' the image at all? Or did you use the full un-cropped image?

This is the one area where "DPI" actually means something. DPI = "dots per inch". If the DPI is 300 or greater then your eye probably will see the image as one smooth image -- you will probably not notice the individual pixels. The truth is that it really depends on how far away you are when viewing it, but when positioned at a comfortable viewing distance of at least a few feet, you will not likely notice the individual pixels.

I don't know what camera you have (which is why I aksed), but since a DSLR always has an aspect ratio of 3:2, let's just use example numbers like 3000 pixels wide by 2000 pixels high.

For an 11x14 that would work out to 2000 pixels ÷ 11 inches = about 181 pixels per inch. At that resolution, you probably would notice that it doesn't look like a smooth continuous image -- but looks a bit pixelated.

That's what they mean by "too low resolution".

And just to complete the example, let's suppose your camera is 6000 x 4000 resolution (instead of 3000 x 2000). Now when you divide the number pixels by the number of inches along an edge you get double the previous value... so now we're up to 362 dpi -- and that is enough to look good. BUT... suppose you decided to crop in tight on a small area and just print that area. If you've cropped in, you've effectively reduced your resolution, so now you might be told that the resolution is too low again.

If you can answer those two questions above, we can be more specific about your actual DPI.

[slorff]

Okay i have the Canon Rebel xs..1000d model....the pics i am talking about uncropped are 3888x2592 and at cropped 800x534...so would even the cropped pics work for 11x14 canvas or 20x30..?...also is the reason everything changes is that i used a telephoto lens for these certain pics..does that change things??? but then i did use the wide lense for a pic that is still too low resolution at 800 x 534 for a 11x14...and can u direct me to a chart that tells how many pixels or dpi's to get what size picture that is good....?

[hsbn · Accepted solution]

The lens do not matter. It's the size of your photo. 800x534 is really small.

Depend on the print lab, but here is the break down in general for canvas printing (for Pro, these are still "low" quality, but for general purpose printing, these are enough):

2592 x 1944 pixels
High Quality: 10 x 13 inches
Acceptable Quality: 13 x 19 inches

2272 x 1704 pixels
High Quality: 9 x 12 inches
Acceptable Quality: 12 x 16 inches

2048 x 1536 pixels
High Quality: 8 x 10 inches
Acceptable Quality: 10 x 13 inches

1600 x 1200 pixels
High Quality: 4 x 6 inches, 5 x 7 inches
Acceptable Quality: 8 x 10 inches

As you can see, at 800x534px, you cannot not even get a good 4x6 photo. For 11x14 at a decent quality, you'll need something like 2048x1536 or more.