I don't have a large format camera, but I taking pictures with a large print consideration. How can this be best achieved? or is it not worth it altogether? If this is desirable, what setting is best, such as film speed, aperture, speed, or film speed in combination? Please comments.

-- Tony (videohobby@yahoo.com), August 17, 2001

Answers

What do you mean by "taking pictures with a large print consideration"? Do you mean you plan on enlarging your negatives considerably, to get huge photographs? If so, what size print range do you consider "large"?

Basically, all things being equal, the larger the size of the negative the higher the resolution of the photo. So 35mm film usually yields higher quality results than APS, and medium format film usually yields higher quality results than 35mm.

To improve the quality of your photos you can do a number of things. Use a slower speed film - slower film usually has finer grain. User better quality lenses. Don't shoot wide open - most lenses perform better stopped down to f/8 or somesuch. Etc, etc.

Really, you might want to look at photo.net's beginner section. http://www.photo.net/photo/tutorial/

-- NK Guy (tela@tela.bc.ca), August 17, 2001.

...and use a tripod.

I use 35mm, Fuji Superia Reala, 100 ISO. Very fine grained and sharp, with pleasing colors & contrast. I have a couple of 20x30 inch prints that look very nice. Large prints are usually are not viewed closely, so you can often get away with more than you think.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), August 18, 2001.

What works for me as regards big enlargements- certainly up to 20x30- in colour:

1. Use a tripod 2. Use whatever lens stopped down to a mid-aperture- usually f8 or f11. Very small apertures can be as poor for definition as the largest ones... Oh, and a fixed focal length lens is normally sharper than a zoom. 3. Trigger your shutter with a cable or other remote release, or if the subject matter permits, use delayed action. 4. Use the very slowest film you can. For colour prints I enjoy employing Kodacolor 25 which has incredibly good fine grain. I rarely have a need for large monochrome prints; my favourite monochrome film is XP2, and I'm not sure how that would hold up to enormous enlargement, although I love it at up to 12x8 for sure! 5. Assuming you are not producing the print yourself, bear in mind that the choice of processor can make or ruin your final print, so choose with care.

Hope that helps!

Best of luck, JIM

-- Jim Cross (iamacamera@hotmail.com), August 18, 2001.

Another way to get large-format results with 35mm originals:

Start with 35 mm slides. Shoot a composite of overlapping shots, either left to right covering a panoramic type shot, or several shots in a square (4 frames, 9 frames) or rectangle (2x3, 3x6, etc.).

Get some good quality scans of the slides, either yourself or through a service with a drum scanner.

Stitch the images together in photoshop. You might need to blend tonality on the sky, etc. There are ps books to help guide you through the steps. You want detailed images so you'll need a system with tons of RAM.

Large format print through a service.

I'm not saying this is cheap or convenient, but it is a way to get large-format image quality with a 24x36 mm starting point.

-- Rod Nygaard (rod.nygaard@boeing.com), August 30, 2001.