[Leica] Is ASA 200 the new 100 ?

[lowiemanuel at yahoo.ca (Emanuel Lowi)]

This question is related to the issues which result
from the digital crop factor reality (which I keep
getting mixed up with crap factories and crop circles,
but I digress)..

I ask it in utter ignorance of digital technology.

Are the ASA settings on today's digital cameras really
equivalent quality-wise to their numerical equivalents
in film?

For example, ASA 100 film is the usual daylight speed
for me in my normal shooting conditions. I'll load a
slower film (ASA 50, 25) when conditions allow and a
faster film (200, 400) when conditions demand.
Otherwise it's all ASA 100 all the time, because this
gives me the quality I need while allowing me my
preferred shutter speeds and apertures.

Would ASA 100 still be my  "normal" setting with
today's digital technology? Or can ASA 200 be used
without worry and with quality equivalent  to what I
am used to, due to a kind of sensitivity setting
inflation ?

(Please, spare me the Clinton-esque debates over what
I mean by "normal" and "quality."  If you can't
proceed to an answer without getting all tangled up in
semantics, please don't bother).

See, if a digital M has a crop factor, we've only got
the 28/2 and Cosina 28/1.9 as fast-ish wide-ish
lenses. Anything wider is f2.8 or slower and I cannot
see how Leica or Zeiss or Cosina will deliver a
quality 21/2 or 24/2 (never mind f1.4) that won't
obstruct our viewfinders.

But if digital ASA 200 is just as good as the "old"
film ASA 100,  there's less of a problem with the
slower wides and the crop factor.

Be nice to me if I've asked a ridiculously stupid
question.

Emanuel Lowi
Montreal

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