What kind of camera do people use to make really big prints (wall posters)? Slr , medium format......? Thanks.

Answer 1

Most posters that you've seen up to now (i.e. landscapes, mountains, beach scenes, etc.) were probably shot with medium-format cameras like the Pentax 67, the Hasselblad cameras, Mamiya 7, etc. or more likely, large-format cameras, particularly 4x5 field cameras.

Today, some of these same cameras are being used but with digital backs instead of film.

Others have mentioned the target resolution and how large of an image you would need to reproduce on a poster. However, you also need to know how to choose the target resolution. First of all, posters are typically printed on offset press in 4-color CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) inks. A really high-end press might use six or eight color to get a larger color gamut, but most of the posters you've seen are 4-color. They are probably also 133-line screen, so this equates to 266dpi. On digital printers, you could get away with 240dpi with no problems on a poster, or, perhaps even 150dpi if the poster is very large an won't be seen up close.

So, let's do the math:

To have a 20x36" poster at 240dpi, you would need a file that is 4800 x 8640 pixels (41MP). This is larger than most digital SLRs will produce. However, scanned images from medium-format cameras will produce images of this size. There are now also some medium-format cameras with digital backs producing files this size. And certainly, large-format film camera scans can be far larger than this.

But if you print at 150dpi, you would only need 3000 x 5400. Some of the very top-end digital SLRs can produce images of this size (16MP)

Answer 2

You can use a digital camera and get very good results. Just make sure you take the highest resolution possible. There is new technology that allows the prints to be blown up. These days I think it is actually easier and more cost effective to go digital. If you are looking for archival quality, you want a giclee printer.

I believe the more commercial, lighter weight posters are available from places like Federal Express/Kinkos.

Answer 3

The maximum size that a photo can be enlarged to is limited by its pixel depth and the pixels per inch you wish to print at.

To get a good quality photo to 10" X 16" @ 300ppi
The file would need have a depth of 16 mega-pixels.

Obviously to get the mega-pixel saturation you want, you need to have a better camera but the specific style isn't important.

Answer 4

Cameras with extremely high resolution.