Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/04/12

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Subject: [Leica] Comparing film and digital resolution
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2014 19:29:27 -0400

I'm with you other than the fact that "resolution" is a number.




On 4/12/14 1:27 PM, "Bill Pearce" <billcpearce at cox.net> wrote:

> In my mind there is never a math question
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Rabiner
> Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2014 12:36 AM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Comparing film and digital resolution
> 
> In some peoples mind though this is a math question. Numbers.
> Comparing an inkjet pigment print against a darkroom print we can decide
> which one seems more effective. Which one we personally like the most. Are
> we going to try to measure resolution on the prints? Don't we know what 
> they
> are already just by doing the math?
> 
>> From all I've heard film has a resolution edge over digital. But plenty of
> photo processes have been judged superior over other photo processes of
> higher resolution. The highest resolution photo process ever invented is
> ironically the first one; The Daguerreotype. No ones going get into doing
> those for that reason. The do it for the look of the total package. The 
> many
> which followed have been judged superior and otherwise preferable the the
> one which preceded it.
> 
> I saw very large prints today made from large format digital backs. Not
> medium format. Large format as in 4x5 or whatever they call it.
> They outdid any prints I've ever  seen from large format film.
> The guy said they were two gig files which took an hour to open on the
> fastest Mac computers you can buy.
> The superiority of the digital process both in the capturing and the inkjet
> printing which is now being called "pigment prints" are without question at
> least to me as for the past two days I've been looking at the AIPAD show
> with the 100 top photo galleries in the world being represented. An
> overwhelming experience on a number of levels. Lots of the worlds most
> famous images of every conceivable photo process being sold for hundreds of
> thousands of dollars and inkjets done this year for tens of thousands.
> 
> 
> On 4/12/14 1:16 AM, "Bill Pearce" <billcpearce at cox.net> wrote:
> 
>> mARK,
>> 
>> Thanks for saving me the time of pointing out what is wrong here. The only
>> fair comparison is a print from a digital file with a darkroom print, I
>> hope
>> both made by skilled printers. Otherwise you put the film at a
>> disadvantage.
>> 
>> Bill Pearce
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mark Rabiner
>> Sent: Friday, April 11, 2014 11:57 PM
>> To: Leica Users Group
>> Subject: Re: [Leica] Comparing film and digital resolution
>> 
>> Aren't we comparing a  digital scanner against a digital camera?
>> I don't think its a real film to digital comparison without a high end
>> drum
>> scan or at least a scan from one of those Hasselblad Flextight X1 Scanners
>> which cost the same as a used Chevy Nova.
>> 
>> 
>> On 4/12/14 12:45 AM, "Howard Ritter" <hlritter at bex.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> Oh, I absolutely agree. The film images in my repertoire that please me
>>> the
>>> most don?t depend on resolution to do so (sometimes not even focus ;-).
>>> For example, the images of the skateboarders in London (link just now
>>> posted)
>>> would not be improved in the least by tack-sharp resolution, any more
>>> than
>>> by
>>> a shutter speed that would have frozen the boarder in mid-air.
>>> 
>>> Marginal detail does way less to degrade an image well seen and captured
>>> than
>>> the best detail can possibly improve a mediocre one.
>>> 
>>> As a geek, as well as realizing that many applications do benefit from
>>> however
>>> great a degree of resolution can be achieved, I just wanted to look at
>>> how
>>> our
>>> technologies stacked up, both within themselves and compared to each
>>> other.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Apr 12, 2014, at 12:26 AM, Richard Man <richard at 
>>> richardmanphoto.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Shoot film for certain qualities lacking in digital, whatever they may
>>>> be,
>>>> but chasing tangible qualities such as resolution is probably a loss
>>>> cause.
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> 




-- 
Mark William Rabiner
Photographer
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/




In reply to: Message from billcpearce at cox.net (Bill Pearce) ([Leica] Comparing film and digital resolution)