RadArt

I need to enlarge small paintings, c. 20"x30". to 14 ft. on the short size. Usually take 9 to 15 shots but my 135 Zeiss won't get close enough. What should I use- a telephoto? Please help I'm a painter not a real photographer. Thanks, Rad

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Do you need an extension tube to let the 135mm focus closer? I use 12mm and 25mm tubes to change how close my 85mm and 135mm lenses can focus.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

Will depend on the lens. Zeiss 135 zf.2 does not take tubes kindly. The 100mm makro would likely do a fine job.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

What is the viewing distance for the print?

wireloose

Look at https://www.scantips.com/lights/subjectdistance.html
A 100 mm lens would need to focus to 45 inches or so assuming about a 6 inch image height- you don’t mention overlap so guessing it’s more like 8 inches. It’s a flat field so while you don’t need a macro for distance you do want a lens with a very planar field of focus. Something like a 100mm macro would likely be ideal and generally they are superb optically and not particularly expensive

fetzler Loc: North West PA

When copying a painting there are a number of factors to consider.

1. How are you going to use the image. If you only are going to post an image in the internet then stitching may not be necessary. Are you stitching because you want higher resolution or because you do not have adequate distance between the camera and painting? Is the painting 14ft long?

2. A macro lens is and excellent choice for copy work. This is not so much for the ability to focus close but rather the flat field of focus of the lens. Macro lenses have almost no barrel or pincushion distortion.

3. You do not say what camera you have so the choice of lenses may be different. Nikon has wide selection of focal lengths for macro lenses. If you have an APS-C camera the 40 or 60mm macro lenses would be good choices. You can move closer to the painting in this way. Olympus has 30 and 60mm macro lenses. There are other micro 4/3 lenses with a focal length around 45mm. I would be tempted to use the 30 or 45mm in this case. If you have enough distance then the 60mm would be just fine too. Remember you can rent lenses.

4. While not completely necessary a medium format camera with an appropriate lens would be super for this task. Hasselblads are excellent here but super duper expensive. My Olympus Cameras do have an 80mp mode that would be useful here. A FF newer Nikon or Cannon would be great here too. Such cameras are may eliminate your need for stitching.

5. It is very important that you have even lighting. The light source needs to have a high CRI.

6. Because pigments in paints have their special properties color fidelity can be difficult. Light sources of different color temperatures may change the general impression of the painting. Color matching is complex and there are others that know this better than I.

7. Try reading books on photographing works of art.

Guzser02

Hi I agree with Fezler. One thing to consider besides the optical distortion avoided with Macro lenses is the color temperature of your lighting on your painting, you may want to consider diffused daylight while avoiding harsh reflections.

Enjoy the journey - actually we are all image-makers, with photographers using light as its medium.

stan0301 Loc: Colorado

Any project involving enlarging anything to 14 feet is involving lots of money - buy a macro lens

RadArt

Many thanks for your response. Extremely helpful. I found that I do have a Minolta lens that fits the bill. It lets me get as close as 6" and is very sharp. Glad I saved all that old Minolta glass. And I do have a light room set up with 5000K lighting. I have just never had to enlarge a painting to 10 feet by 14 feel before. This does the trick and at 150ppi which the printer requires.

Thanks again! RadArt

Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

Agree with all he said. Especially the 'flat field' of macro lenses - good ones are known for it. Since you want to combine multiple photos, you must have the flattest field lens possible and also flat lighting so each image is evenly illuminated, equal to all the other images you want to make.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You do realize that a picture taken with an iPhone camera can be enlarged to billboard size. The first image below is an iPhone 6s (12 mp) image, the second is a gallery of smaller prints, intended to be viewed at much closer distances, but still all were taken with an iPhone 6s.

Viewing distance will determine how much resolution you require:

http://www.photokaboom.com/photography/learn/printing/resolution/1_which_resolution_print_size_viewing_distance.htm

Huge files with lots of resolution are fine if you will be viewing images at less than 10 ft. But it is literally impossible to discern the fine detail of an high res image at 25 ft or more. As much as we would like to think otherwise, human visual acuity sucks compared to creatures that use sight to hunt and capture prey to survive. Eagles can see tiny 4" long voles in tall grass from distances of 300 ft, thanks to their 20/4 vision. Oh, and they can see a wider array of colors too, way more than us.

So unless you are recording 20x30 paintings to be examined up close, it may be overkill to do large multi-panel panos. Photographers can tend to be a little OCD when it comes to resolution.

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joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Great info 🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)