Pushing an enlargement to the extreme

05/13/2013 06:37:37 PM · #1

I was searching out for advice from people who have pushed their files to the edge through enlargement. I have a picture of Autzen stadium done with my 5D that I'm planning on printing at 32x48 onto aluminum through dye sublimation. Without upscaling this stretches the image to 88 DPI. I have upscaled using CS5 to 240 DPI. Here's my main question. At this level does sharpening work for you or against you? Does it help recover/retain some of the detail or does it only accentuate artifact?

In a way I don't quite mind if the picture becomes more like a painting. It is being submitted into an "art" contest and so if it works to good effect may actually be helpful. Dye sublimation, as a process, does lose some sharpness anyway. At the same time I'm hoping that I don't turn it into muddy detail and the picture ultimately suffers.

pamb

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

05/13/2013 07:20:20 PM · #2

I have no experience of what you want to do, but my suggestion would be to try your sharpening on a 100% crop (of a smaller section) of what you've enlarged and see what happens.

Message edited by author 2013-05-13 19:20:36.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

05/13/2013 07:20:34 PM · #3

I actually think that you will be pleasantly surprised by the result. If you do sharpen, use a much larger radius than you normally would, and a very moderate amount. Look carefully for artifacts, which should be easier to spot. Crop out an 8x10 inch area and do a test print, perhaps with and without sharpening.

Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Canon Mount

05/13/2013 08:23:36 PM · #4

The test crop is an excellent idea. I have given a 11x14 crop of some critical detail to see what it looks like. Now it will be on paper and not aluminum, but it will give me an idea.

Mike

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

05/13/2013 09:17:17 PM · #5

think about how about a large tv. looks bad right next to but stand back a few feet and its beautiful.

i think its more important to take into account the viewing distance than the dpi, and at 88 i wonder if you will be just fine.

nam

Sony DSLR-A580

Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha

05/13/2013 09:34:28 PM · #6

What about On One's Perfect Resize. I have had excellent luck with that. If you want me to try it for you, just pm me

Mike

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Canon Mount

05/13/2013 09:41:37 PM · #7

rule violation, you cant edit someones photo for them on dpc :-P

DCNUTTER

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

05/13/2013 09:48:26 PM · #8

Originally posted by nam:

What about On One's Perfect Resize. I have had excellent luck with that. If you want me to try it for you, just pm me

Jason, I agree with nam here. I've owned Perfect Resize and the earlier versions for years now, and have done many side by sides with other methods of enlargement. Perfect Resize has always done the easiest, fastest and best quality enlargements in my eyes.

Definitely look into it if you haven't already.

Dave

BarbB

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

05/13/2013 10:03:56 PM · #9

I've used On One's Perfect Resize for a project I was working on, and was happy with the results. If you download the program, you can use the demo for one month, before making a commitment to purchase.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

05/13/2013 11:12:35 PM · #10

Experiment with using Topaz Clean or Topaz Simplify, if you're liking the idea of heading towards art. IN the right proportions, they both leave clean, crisp detail where you need it, and they produce an image that enlarges extremely well.

kawesttex

Apple iPhone 11 Pro

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

05/13/2013 11:23:24 PM · #11

I had a large jpeg from a 40D printed to 28x32 that had a small amount of cropping with no problem. 5D (whatever version) should be no problem at that print size.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/14/2013 05:53:55 AM · #12

i had a horizontal crop from a vertical image shot with an 8-megapixel camera printed 4x8' and it came out very nice.

the upsizing was handled by the printing company's art department, and i believe they did it in photoshop.

DCNUTTER

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

05/14/2013 10:22:00 AM · #13

Originally posted by Skip:

i had a horizontal crop from a vertical image shot with an 8-megapixel camera printed 4x8' and it came out very nice.

the upsizing was handled by the printing company's art department, and i believe they did it in photoshop.

Ok, so I'm still on my first cup of coffee today,and I'm looking at the thumbnail image in your post thinking "why on early would he want to enlarge a photo of two chairs and a wall to that size?" LOL....doh!

Dave

05/14/2013 11:12:43 AM · #14

I'll raise you by 4.5 feet Skip! ;) But mine came from a 21mpx camera, so you got me there :)

I haven't had time to go back and get a proper photo of this installation yet. But this image split over three dye-sub metal prints measures 12.5 feet overall. I used Perfect Resize to upscale it. The trees got a little more whimsical looking but in a nice way. I used smart sharpen on this one to good effect, but I now recommend using Nik's Sharpener Pro which figures out optimum sharpness for you based on typical viewing distance of ultimate size.

Message edited by author 2013-05-23 18:13:13.

05/14/2013 04:07:22 PM · #15

I just got the 11x14 crop and it looks quite acceptable. I printed what I thought would be the worst part of the picture and it looks quite good even at close distance. I might goof with some mild sharpening, but I know this picture will oversharpen quickly (I know that thanks to my best of 2009 entry which was, ugh, WAAAYYY oversharpened).

A much better version:

05/23/2013 04:06:48 PM · #16

Well, it's off to the printers. Cross your fingers. I can let you know how it looks when I get it back.

05/23/2013 06:16:01 PM · #17

So did you order the glossy metal dye-sub from Northwest Fine Art then Jason? How big?

05/23/2013 06:21:15 PM · #18

Originally posted by Brent_S:

So did you order the glossy metal dye-sub from Northwest Fine Art then Jason? How big?

yes. 60x42 with the print actually being about 32x48.

05/23/2013 07:09:45 PM · #19

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Brent_S:
So did you order the glossy metal dye-sub from Northwest Fine Art then Jason? How big?

yes. 60x42 with the print actually being about 32x48.

Interesting. Hoping this raw aluminum border looks good for you- you may be starting a new trend!

05/23/2013 07:17:56 PM · #20

I liked how it looked on the small sample I got. We're going to place 14 1-5/8" diameter standoffs in the border as well to add an artistic element. I hope it looks as cool as it does in my mind.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

05/23/2013 08:04:53 PM · #21

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

I liked how it looked on the small sample I got. We're going to place 14 1-5/8" diameter standoffs in the border as well to add an artistic element. I hope it looks as cool as it does in my mind.

Those standoffs will give it a "tough look" and with Nike involved judging the competition (I think?) that should be a good thing. And, it should break up any evidence of lack of straightness in that large panel which is one of the reasons I am gravitating toward acrylic or Dibond panels for large prints now.
Just be sure people handle it carefully and don't do anything like pick it up by one standoff, it will bend for sure.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

05/23/2013 08:42:12 PM · #22

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Brent_S:
So did you order the glossy metal dye-sub from Northwest Fine Art then Jason? How big?

yes. 60x42 with the print actually being about 32x48.

Well, hopefully they'll print it as 48x32 ...

06/14/2013 02:09:11 PM · #23

The picture was just delivered to home! I'm excited/nervous to see it. I turn it into the UofO on Wednesday. I'll try to snap a picture of it for people after I get the standoffs in.