Re: print resolution with digital vs. film, canon D5

I believe you know very well that the 12mp full sensor Canon, and its
upscale "pro" companion, currently represent the hightest pixel density
solutions readily availabe in the ancient 35mm SLR form factor.
Whether these cameras necessarily yield the highest technical and
aesthetically pleasing images, compared to dSLRs with lower pixel count
sensors, is not a slam dunk certainty.
For one thing "tack sharpness" is not a characteristic that is totally
native to digital images but one that is significantly created by software
manipulation of the image coming off the sensor and further manipulated for
a specific printed output.
There are many differing opinions about methods for scaling up digital
images for large size printing such that in equal size prints there may not
be a noticeable difference between images made on sensors of different
pixel counts.
Also a linear increase in pixel count does not yield a corresponding
increase in picture information (look it up) in the way scaling up film size
does.
However these new Canons are certainly the state of the dSLR form.
I presume you realize alot of software sharpening was applied to your
scanned film image to make it printable and that software processing is a
big part of the tack sharpness you enjoy in the final print, possibly as
much or more than the contribution of your skills, camera and lenses.. The
kind of close-up tack sharpness you enjoy in your large prints is not native
to film any more than it is to digital processes, and I suspect it may be a
digital artifact that you happen to prefer. Many photographers see that kind
of close-up sharpness as an undesirable and unnatural quality in large
prints.
Its all good: whatever floats your boat.

Not to belabor the point, but whether the purpose of your trip is personal
or professional, why would you spend a fortune on equipment with which you
are not familiar just prior to a foreign trip?


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Any thoughts /news on Foveon sensors?
    ... >the design of the sensor and the fact that the pixel count hasn't changed. ... The X3 sensor doesn't suffer from colour moire on B&W images, ... >anti-alias filter of a Bayer sensor camera. ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: The Joy of Pixel Density
    ... He needs to show a series of images up to the saturation point. ... He needs to show where each sensor saturates and then measure ... But he is also using a property of low ISO settings ... Even so I believe he will find the large pixel sensor ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: Sony A100 to A700
    ... and Bayer images gives an advantage of about 2x in pixel count. ... Bayer sensor. ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: D3x great camera, but...
    ... decrease pixel size, its like cutting a pie into smaller pieces, so ... Bayer sensor design and the need for a blur filter. ... equal comparison I've seen, shows that P&S-sized sensors are as good or better than DSLR sensors at photon efficiency, and that base ISO read noise, integrated by pixel pitch, is also equal or lower ... But neither full well capacity nor electron densities are ...
    (rec.photo.digital.slr-systems)
  • Re: Whats an "effective pixel"?
    ... all but sigma and fuji. ... Also because some manufacturers were quoting all the pixels on the sensor, ... pair of sensors equals 1 pixel. ... each receptor and then guess what the original colour was. ...
    (rec.photo.digital.slr-systems)
Loading