Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/03/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]an elucidating treastise. i like to think of the random and beautiful characteristics of halide film as the way God would make a sensor, and discovered by us mortals 150 years ago. :-) - -rei On Mar07 14:24, JCB wrote: > Many folks still believe that different (good) lenses will exhibit > different properties on digital cameras. They won't. Good lenses (Leica, > canon, Nikon, Minolta, Zeiss, etc...) will all look alike if used on the > same camera. The pixel spacing and interpolation firmware (in the camera) > determine the resolution properties of the resulting photograph. Up sizing > software (Genuine Fractals, etc.) can make even larger sharp "looking" > images. Your good lenses are much much sharper than 6 to 9 micron pixel > spacing on a sensor therefore, it's all in the firmware/software which is > fooling you into thinking that different lenses on the same digital camera > make a difference. They cannot. And the same lenses on different cameras > simply point out how good the firmware programmer, for that camera, is. > > Digital is not film. Digital cameras have finite spacing on each recorded > pixel. Film does not. Silver halide molecules are not only random, but > there are billions of them within a 1 cubic micron grain. Lots of > opportunities to record light rays. Lots of levels of density available > within each one micron, overlapped, silver halide grains. Film is the only > medium that can differentiate between film camera lenses. True digital > lenses are dumbed down so that their resolution (MTF) is several times less > than the 6-9 micron pixel spacing. Digital cameras (SLR's) that take camera > lenses have a lens resolution (MTF) spoiling low pass filter mounted over > the sensor. Digital sensors are the great lens equalizer. > > When testing lenses on digital cameras for sharpness, you are testing the > programmer, not the lens. > > All of the large prints that you see from ordinary (35mm style) digital > cameras is testimony to the software wizards that can write interpolation > software to up-size a minimal amount of information and make it look really > good. A silk purse out of a sow's ear! Like making a 20x30 print from a 2.7 > MP camera. Basically, it's like slight-of-hand. There simply isn't enough > information to make a 20x30 from 2.7, 3, 5, 6,... MP sensors. Interpolation > programmers are magicians. Look up "interpolation" in the dictionary. > > You don't have to believe the above. Your prerogative. But it is true, > regardless. > > JB > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- Rei Shinozuka shino@panix.com Ridgewood, New Jersey - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html