D50 poster size enlargements HELP

[photocrazy605]

I have been using the D50 for a little while now but have never gotten any enlargements over 8X10. I am going to be taking a huge family photo (over 200 people) and want to know how to take the best quality photo so that I could get enlargements up to huge poster size. I have read on the internet that you can get enlargements that big but I have run out of places to look at exactly how to program the D50 to take the best shots. This is Very important that I figure this out as soon as possible. Please help me. If you do respond don't be afraid to be detailed. I don't know a lot about digital photography so the better the explanation the more it will help me. Thank you for helping.

[K1W1]

There is no setting on the camera called "big enlargements".
You just need to make sure that you get the photo taken correctly (focus, aperture, lighting) then post process it correctly to make it look just right then send the file to somebody who has the facility to print the size that you want.

[TNB]

There are some file type and size settings, i.e. RAW/JPG, LARGE, and/or FINE. I would have thought that the higher the number of pixels used the better a larger print could result. It may also help to let the outsourced printing company handle any necessary cropping since if a photo is cropped which doesn't match their scale size, they may reduce the photo size.

[FishFace]

Basically, you'll want it on the lowest ISO - to reduce noise. You'll probably need to use a tripod or otherwise have a very good support, to minimise camera shake, which will be more evident if you enlarge. Use the best lens you have, obviously, and you probably want to use the best focal length, too - if you have to move backwards because it's not wide enough, that's probably preferable to taking it at a focal length with softness, distortion, chromatic aberration and so on.

[tekriter]

1. Use the absolute lowest ISO possible. Your D50 only goes down to 200, use that if you can.

Are you familiar with ISO settings, and how they affect pictures?

2. Use a tripod if at all possible.

3. If you have just the kit lens, the 18-55mm, try to stop down to at least f4.5 or so - sharpness will be somewhat better. If you aren't using a tripod, though, do NOT do this at the expense of shutter speed.

4. Beg, borrow or rent a better lens, such as the Tokina 12 - 24mm. It has a wider view, and the quality is excellent. The kit lens isn't bad, but it's not as good as the Tokina. There are other suggestions on this board for ultrawide lenses, I don't own one myself.

5. Shoot the picture in RAW mode. The JPEG settings always - repeat always - compress the data in your picture to reduce file size. You will need all you can get.

6. Get as much light as possible in your shot. If you're shooting 200 people, it may be outdoors, you didn't say. If it is, follow the usual rules if you can about not getting people squinting in the sun and so on. If not, turn on every light in the place and drag a few more in if you can. Don't worry so much about white balance - post-processing of a RAW file can fix a lot of that. What might be difficult is if your area is lit with mixed lighting. If the ceiling lights of the hall (if that's what you're in) are the large gymnasium types, any incandescent lamps you bring in will have one white balance and the overheads will have another. That makes fixing the white balance more difficult.

7. Bracket your exposures. Are you familiar with that term?

8. Set your metering for matrix metering. That will give you the best overall exposure for a large group.

9. Will the group be spread out away from you? In other words, will some of them be considerably closer to you, or will they be arranged on a bleachers, for instance. Depth of field will come into play if there is a large distance from the frontmost to those in back.

Are you familiar with depth of field, and how it affects pictures?


So much depends on the location.

[wh0128]

And yes REALLY try and shoot with speed of ISO200 or 400. But anything over that in the D50, will be very low quality, and produce annoying amounts of noise.

Shoot the picture in RAW mode: The D50, I have read is capable of printing photo quality pictures up to 11x14, and maybe a couple inches bigger. But anything after that the photo won't a photo-quality image.

On the D50 for bracketing, if you don't know, press Menu<Go down to the Pencil<Go down to #12. Read more in the manuel on bracketing and how to set it. Bracketing will allow you to shoot 3 photos @ 3 different exposures (1 overexposed, 1 underexposed, and 1 normal exposure)

Depth of Field: The smaller the number for the aperture the more shallow your depth of field will be. DoF determines how much of your picture will be in sharp focus. It is also used to correctly expose pictures in low or high lighting situations.

[corndog]

I just got back from the local camera store. The Nikon rep. had left a 20x30 poster size print taken with the D50, it looked fantastic. On the bottom of the print it mentioned the lens, I cant remember what it was. Im sure someone spent alot of time getting things right, but atleast it appears to be possible to print a very nice 20x30 with a D50.