WCI FAQ - Megapixel Print Size Chart for Digital Cameras

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FAQ - Megapixel Print Size Chart

Megapixel Print Size Chart

Quality	Comments	Digital Camera dpi Range
Superb	At or near the finest quality possible.	200+ dpi
Excellent	A typical photographer will see no difference to a slight difference when compared to Superb.	150-199 dpi
Better	Better than Good, but not as good as Excellent. The typical photographer will be thrilled with prints of this quality.	100-149 dpi
Good	Quality that a typical photographer will be happy with.	80-99 dpi
Fair	Quality will depend on the individual photograph. For large size prints the typical photographer will find them acceptable, but the sharpness will not be as high as a Good quality print. Compelling subject matter may trump the loss of sharpness.	79 dpi or less

What quality print can I expect from my camera?

This chart is designed to help you answer this question. We've assembled a list of common digital and film camera sizes and print sizes, then coded them with the dpi you'll be able to print at for each size along with a color coding that tells you the quality you can expect from a print of that size.

Example: With a 12.7 MP camera you can make a 16x24 print at 182 dpi and expect Excellent quality.

The ratings are based on our experience of what a typical photographer would expect, and are meant to be a guide. Good exposure, focus, lenses, and depth of field are assumed. What quality level you’ll find acceptable can vary based on your taste and the picture being printed.For critical applications, you will need to do your own testing.

Experienced photographers who work in Photoshop may find the following tips helpful in getting better sharpness and quality from their digital camera files:

Finding the Resolution of Digital Camera Files

Gaining Maximum Sharpness from Digital Camera Files

FAQ for this chart:

This chart was based on the following cameras and film formats:

Megapixels	Camera	Max Resolution	Common Equivalent Cameras
2	Nikon Coolpix 950	1600 x 1200
3	Nikon Coolpix 990	2048 x 1536
4	Nikon D2Hs	2464 x 1632	2464 x 1632:Nikon D2H
5	Nikon Coolpix 5400	2592 x 1944
6	Nikon D40	3008 x 2000	3008 x 2000:Nikon D50, D70
7	Canon PowerShot G6	3072 x 2304
8	Canon EOS 30D	3504 x 2336	3504 x 2336 - Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, EOS 20D, EOS-1D Mark II 3456 x 2304 - Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT
9	Fuji FinePix S9000	3488 x 2616
10	Nikon D200	3872 x 2592	3872 x 2592 - Nikon D80, D40X 3888 x 2592 - Canon EOS 40D,-EOS-1D MarkIII,-EOS 400D / Digital Rebel XTi
11	Canon EOS 1Ds	4064 x 2704
12.7	Canon EOS 5D	4368 x 2912	4256 x 2832 - Nikon D3, Nikon D2Xs 4288 x 2848 - Nikon D300, D2X, D2Xs
16.6	Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II	4992 x 3328
18	Phase One P 21+	4904 x 3678
22.1	Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III	5616 x 3744
22	Phase One H 25	5488 x 4145	5436 x 4080 Phase One P 25+
31	Phase One P 30+	6496 x 4872
39	Phase One P 45+	7216 x 5412
63	hypothetical	9744 x 6496	Hypothetical camera based on a chip twice the size of the Phase One P 30, for use in evaluating potential of future large megapixel cameras.
35mm film		7084 x 4737	Based on 100MB 8bit scan of 35mm slide film scanned at 5000 dpi on a Heidelberg Tango Drum Scanner. Assumes Nikon or Canon lenses.
6x6cm film		11334 x 11334	Based on 300MB 8bit scan of 6x6 slide film scanned at 5250 dpi on a Heidelberg Tango Drum Scanner. Assumes Hasselblad Zeiss lenses.Also valid for 645 cameras using Zeiss lenses.
6x7cm film		11483 x 9152	Based on 300MB 8bit scan of 6x7 slide film scanned at 4200 dpi on a Heidelberg Tango Drum Scanner. Assumes Pentax or Mamiya lenses.
4x5		11859 x 9102	Based on 300MB 8bit scan of 4x5 inch slide film scanned at 2500 dpi on a Heidelberg Tango Drum Scanner. Assumes 1980s or later lenses.
8x10		16604 x 12744	Based on 600MB 8bit scan of 8x10 inch slide film scanned at approximately 1700 dpi on a Heidelberg Tango Drum Scanner. Assumes 1980s or later lenses.

A note on quality ratings for 22MP through 63MP.
These are generalized quality ratings based on dpi. Since many of the individuals using these backs are using special techniques and great care in preparing their files, the expert user may see even more quality than we have indicated. Our ratings are for general comparison purposes for the average photographer. It is impossible to take into account all the possible effects of file processing, lens selection, and other variables that can be stacked together to acquire the highest quality with these backs.

* Why does 35mm film have lower quality ratings than the dpi would suggest?
The resolution of film cameras is based on the resolving power of the film itself, not the resolution at which it was scanned. It is possible to scan a 35mm film at 10,780 dpi for a file of 10187x15275 pixels, but that does not mean it will have the same quality as a digital sensor of the same dimensions. Color slide film such as Fuji Velvia 50 or Provia is generally accepted to have a resolution of about 5000 dpi, but the actual amount of detail recorded can vary depending on the lenses used. Because of this a scanned pixel from film is not an exact equivalent of a pixel on a digital sensor, and we have given quality ratings for 35mm film based on our experience of how they translate to the sizes in the chart.