Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/09/15

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Digital equivalent of 135
From: don.dory at gmail.com (Don Dory)
Date: Fri Sep 15 11:46:25 2006
References: <200609151146.k8FBjhbf058037@server1.waverley.reid.org> <9378265F-51BA-416A-82CD-1F81D20D50BA@optonline.net>

Larry,
On the sensor front we are dealing with Moore's Law.  The engineers can pack
more and more sensors into smaller spaces at equivalent prices so the
technology will allow 22MP sensors in the near future.  Lenses have come to
a fairly mature state so we won't see huge quantum leaps in resolving
power.  Erwin has a shot up shot with a Leica 24 resolving over 400lp on
film but that is probably at the limit for afforadable lenses.  So for a
lens/sensor combination the limits are probably around that number as a
practical matter.

Post processing is an area where so much information available can be a
problem.  The computer industry has been worried about how to sell more
boxes if the current boxes can do email and spreadsheets just fine.  The
advent of digital music and digital video has made some dents in that
pessimism.  The gamers out there are currently what is pushing the envelope
for desktop units, more processing power, better graphics, better
throughput.

So, if we get the quad core processors running true 64 bit at double the bus
speeds we currently have then a 22MP camera shooting true 16 bit files then
processing times would remain reasonable.

But you ask why?  Because we can.  I thought that 350(bloated) horse power
cars were wild when I was young, now you can buy mom a nice car with almost
400 horsepower.  We used to think that 6000 square foot houses were huge
mansions for only the most fortunate of people, I have six or seven such
houses going up around my neighborhood.

Besides, on a 22MP camera the built in digital 300X zoom might be worth
something.  :)

Don
don.dory@gmail.com

On 9/15/06, Lawrence Zeitlin <lrzeitlin@optonline.net> wrote:
>
> According to my Kodak Reference manual, most of the films that we
> commonly use have a resolving power between 100 and 150 lines/mm. A
> couple of years ago there was speculation that a digital sensor of 9
> Mb would provide the informational equivalent of a 24x36 mm 135
> frame. Now that reasonably priced sensors have reached the double
> digit megabyte point, what is the contemporary view? Are more
> megabytes always better? Does the size of each element matter? Bear
> in mind that lenses, even Leica lenses, have practical resolution
> limits. What megabytage should I strive for if I want to fully
> replace film?
>
> Inquiring minds want to know.
>
> Larry Z
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>

In reply to: Message from lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin) ([Leica] Re: Digital equivalent of 135)