A7III or A7RIII for prints.

[iitsdavis]

Hello,

I'm planning on upgrading and switching over to Sony's operating system soon and I'm debating between the A7III and A7RIII. I was pretty much set on purchasing the A7RIII for its high MP because I edit a lot in Photoshop, and I want to start printing my photos, nothing big, no more than 24 x 36. I was wondering, how big of a print can the A7III print and still keep its sharp, clean and crispness? No blurs, stretch or pixelated marks. Because if the A7III can meet my printing and photoshop needs, I don't see why I should purchase the A7RIII. 

Edited March 4, 2021 by iitsdavis

[Pieter]

Assuming your unit of measure is cm here: printing at 300 dpi, the A7iii's images can be printed up to about 34×51 cm without stretching pixels. The question in your case is if you often crop your image to get the composition you want. If yes, the A7Riii gives a lot more possibilities in post-processing. If not, the A7iii will be fine in your case.

[XKAES]

As Pieter says, it really depends on how big you want to go with prints -- and how much cropping you anticipate. 

Another point to consider is that when people look at BIG prints, they usually stand farther away -- and can't see any tiny defects.

No one stands inches away from my eight FOOT murals!

[iitsdavis]

8 hours ago, Pieter said:

Assuming your unit of measure is cm here: printing at 300 dpi, the A7iii's images can be printed up to about 34×51 cm without stretching pixels. The question in your case is if you often crop your image to get the composition you want. If yes, the A7Riii gives a lot more possibilities in post-processing. If not, the A7iii will be fine in your case.

when you say cropping, do you mean cropping in post or in the body? 

[thebeardedgroundsman]

My old A99 has 24Mp - like the A7iii - and I regularly print on a3 paper (30x42cm) and find the quality of print very good - even cropped quite severely.

I've found the quality of printer/ink/paper has an impact - I have a 6 ink Epson XP 970 - I use Epson inks but generally use a Satin or Satin pearl archival paper.

[Pieter]

6 hours ago, iitsdavis said:

when you say cropping, do you mean cropping in post or in the body? 

Primarily ment cropping in post. Cropping in body is nice to have but can be negated by bringing a longer focal length lens.