[Leica] Nikon D100 <OT>

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

At the following URL, I read the spec's on the new Nikon 6.1 mp digital camera:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/diginews/2002-02/2002_02_21_d100.html

Stated in the text is the following, and I quote,

"Resting over the D100's CCD is an optical low-pass filter, similar in 
artifact-reducing strength to the D1X, but tuned specifically for the 
D100's CCD."

Which is exactly what I have been telling everyone since dinosaurs were 
pups. A low pass filter IS REQUIRED in order to dumb down the lens, so it's 
MTF frequency is at least four times less than the CCD pixel spacing 
frequency (distance) so that strange and ugly artifacts do not appear in 
your photographs. It is finally said by the camera company themselves!!!

This is why M and R lenses are poor choices for use with a digital sensor. 
How else is there to say it? How about:

Leica lenses and digital sensors make poor bed fellows.

And as I said in the past, after dumbing down great film lenses, to be used 
with digital sensors, then one lens for a digital sensor is no better than 
any other. The sensor is the great equalizer. All of the fine detail 
recording ability is gone. All of the high contrast at wider apertures is 
gone. All of the lens characteristics that we pay so dearly for is... gone.

So why would a person pay $1000-$2000 for a digital M back, which would be 
a kludge at best, when they can buy something like a Canon Powershot G2. It 
looks and acts like a film camera. It has complete manual mode (like an M 
camera.) It has raw mode which allows you to get every CCD pixel out of the 
camera before it is interpolated and JPEGged into oblivion, producing a 
2.8mb TIFF file. Significant! It has a .55 inch 4 megapixel CCD. The 
boundary between high enough performance and out of sight cost.

http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/G2/pdf/G2_bro.pdf

And the lens is every bit as good as any other lens for use with a digital 
sensor. The focal length is matched to the sensor size and the MTF is 
matched to the sensor pixel frequency. A real digital camera for probably 
half of what an M digital back would cost. And it has a shutter loudness 
volume control. It can either be a big German digital camera and go 
Schnappen, or a little Japanese digital camera and go crick.   ;)

And what do you do about frame lines on a digital M? A 12mm lens needs the 
28mm frame lines, a 24mm lens needs the 50mm frame lines, a 35mm lens needs 
the 75mm frame lines, etc... And even if you were able to select the 
correct frame line, it still would not represent the actual picture area. 
Close... but no cigar.

Digital M back... bad idea! And prone to massive dust and dirt invasion. An 
unsealed digital camera is a giant dust magnet. Just like the face of your 
TV. And a digital M back would have none of the cool features that ALL 
digital cameras have. Read that G2 brochure again... And then try to fathom 
a reason why a kludge digital back for an M camera would make even an 
angstrom of sense.

Those Nikon D100, D1X, Contax whatever, digital SLR's are but the shell of 
an SLR film camera. A familiar look and feel for professional and serious 
photographers. It is only skin deep. Everything below the skin is jam 
packed with electronics. The shutter speed function is hooked to the 
electronics and controls the pulse to the CCD. The mechanical camera 
shutter posses no function other than to close off the CCD from the world 
in idle mode, open and get out of the way in photo mode.

Jim

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