i have a 10.1 camera how big can i blow up the pic without being distored.?

Answer 1

You can enlarge any image without distorting it as long as you keep the proportions right.

You can get a high quality print (@ 300ppi) approximately 12.91" x 8.64" which conventionally translates into a 8" x 10" with room to crop.

You can also print a 19.36" x 12.96" (@ 200ppi) with a slight decrease in image quality.

Sizes are approximate and varies according to your camera (3:2 / 4:3 and resolution output). To get better numbers, take the number of pixels of each side of a picture and divide them by 300 separately. The resulting numbers will be the lengths in inches.

Answer 2

It depends on more than just the megapixels.

If you shoot at a high ISO and/or at long exposures "digital noise" may limit the size of your enlargements.

If you're using a digicam with a small sensor you may find there is a limit to the size of acceptable enlargements. (See "The Pros & Cons of Pixel Packing" in the Nov. 2007 issue of Shutterbug Magazine or at shutterbug.com).

If your image is the least bit out of focus or poorly exposed any size enlargement will magnify the defect.

Remember, enlargements are geometric, not arithmetic. In other words, an 8x10 is not twice as large as a 4x5 - it is 4 times larger (8 x 10 = 80 sq. inches; 4 x 5 = 20 sq. inches. 80 divided by 20 = 4).