D70 enlargement up to 40x60" (1x1.5 meter)

Hi, I need your help.

A pub owner recently asked me to produce a 40x60 inch (1x1.5 meter) print of one of the pictures I took during a jazz performance.

I use a D70 and my first reaction was - no! - this is way to large.

He want's a b/w print that doesn't have to be sharp - a somewhat blurry image that would capture the mood.

All pictures are taken at ISO 1600 f1.8 or f1.4 @ 1/15-1/30 under very dim incandescent lighting, mainly from the right and left back when looking at the band/musicians. I can tell you, this isn't easy.

In b/w I will have more light to play with, but is such an enlargement feasible at all? If you think yes, how?

Your advice is most appreciated!

 

Thanks Larry,

I made a mistake not posting inch sizes - it's actually much smaller (40x60") than you mentioned.

My worry was the resolution of the camera versus the large size - pixelization, etc. Furthermore, high ISO, low light, low DOF will bring down sharpness / detail even further.

Any ideas on that?

 

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I guess I will go ahead with this project.

If you have any ideas on how to get best results in b/w, let me know. Please also consider that I have to shoot wide open (f1.4 or f1.8) and at ISO 1600 to get enough light, at shutter speed of 1/10-1/40. This creates a lot of noise in the D70.

If you have any shooting or workflow recommendations, it'll be most appreciated.

P.S.: I now process the pictures with NeatImage to get rid of the noise, but it can produce unwanted artifacts. I have tweaked around a little, but am open to any suggestions.

Thanks again,

 

Thanks Chris, good idea. I know some local place that can do that, for relatively little money.