Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/01

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Subject: Re: [Leica] RE: digital vs film ...help
From: "Mark Hammons" <astair@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 21:54:44 -0600

>I give up!  Just read the following and it says it all!
>
>>Yes, you can get better resolution with film and a drum
>>scanner, but hey, isn't that digital technology too!!??  Why are you
>>comparing digital to digital?  I was comparing film to digital.
>>
>>Peter K.
>
>Jim
>
>PS... I hope the most of you enjoy my comments, from the inside, on digital
>imaging. I try to explain it without getting bogged down in details. Most
>numbers are approximations, but close. The digital system equivalent of
>film systems is indeed a long way off. Digital totes a lot of baggage. It
>takes a hellova lot of 1's and 0's to equal film. And then you have to put
>it somewhere. It will require a breakthrough (we are working as hard as we
>can) in technology to close the film/digital gap. I work deep in the bowels
>of digital photo electronics. But I photograph with Leica M and R, and 4x5
>Linhof. I own a Nikon CP900 digital. I think the batteries died from non-use.
>
>Jim again
>

Jim,

There was a quite involved thread on the Olympus mailing list I used to
belong to several months ago.  The conclusion was just as you stated -- that
digital imaging that would provide comprable resolution to a 36x24mm  film
gate is quite a ways off.  Among reasons given were the HUGE size of the
CCD array (about 50 megapixels) -- an almost zero count of dead pixels --
dark current -- time to read out the CCD array -- storage -- etc.  This
is assuming a cost to make it competitive with a comprable 35mm film
based camera.

Mark Hammons