Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/09/24

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: Digital M/Digital Rebel was Re: [Leica] Lost Faith in Leica
From: jonathan at openhealth.org (Jonathan Borden)
Date: Fri Sep 24 05:35:54 2004
References: <200409201552.i8KFgiOS044353@server1.waverley.reid.org> <Pine.LNX.4.58.0409201035020.521@mail.2alpha.net> <4153AE5E.30306@planet.nl> <000a01c4a1fd$5460e2d0$87d86c18@ted>

Ted Grant wrote:
>
>
> It's by sight and not bloody numbers! Yes finally!  Looking at prints 
> with
> eye balls! My what a new concept for understanding whether the prints 
> look
> good or not, or brilliant or not.... "Naw that size sensor is small 
> and you
> can't make prints bigger than 4X6 etc etc etc crap!" Sure by technical
> standards I know you guys are right... by numbers!
>
> But damn it, look at the finished 12X18 prints, yes with cropping, 
> from a
> Canon G5 or a Digilux 2 and tell me they're no good because it's only 5
> pixel whatever's!. And I'll tell you exactly what to do. Quite frankly,
> quite un-gentlemanly here!

Careful Ted, no one ever said that the pictures were no good. And 
you've made my point: you are happy with your Canon G5 -- you yourself 
don't *require* a Leica lens to make good images. The statement is that 
more information can be resolved at high pixel counts, consequently for 
some applications, i.e. ones with lots of fine detail, the images 
should be different and "better" by some judgment.

> ...
>
> So Nathan mon ami, thank you for making me feel better as I was 
> beginning to
> loose my mind with all this digital stuff and in effect being told " 
> well
> the best you can do is 4X5 prints with 5 MGP's and you don't need a 
> Leica
> lens because the camera sensor size makes all lenses look the same."

I love my Leitz 35 'lux. The original one. I takes great pictures. Its 
not a 35 ASPH. Costs a lot less also. Now some folks swear by the ASPH. 
They trash the old 'lux. Wouldn't be caught dead with one. I find it a 
tad bit amusing that such lens snobs also swear by 5-6 mp.

I have a collection of 'crappy' 100+ year old brass barrel lenses (some 
with scratches etc), some bought for < $20 that take great pictures on 
a Deardorff. I also own a Bertele Aviogon 150 5.6 -- as a collectors 
item :-)

No one ever said that the pictures were "no good". That's ridiculous.

You were quoted as saying that digital pictures had a type of 
"sharpness" that film pictures don't. This is *exactly* what I am 
talking about. This "sharpness" is _directly analogous_ to the way a CD 
sounds "sharp" in contrast to an LP (in a good system). I am suggesting 
that this "sharpness" may be lessened at 10-12 mp -- but that will need 
to be tested. I think the "sharpness" is also a function of the inkjet 
. The current problem is that none of the high pixel count cameras 
aren't optimally tuned (e.g. balancing anti-aliasing filters with 
sharpness), but I fully expect to see continued improvement in digital 
cameras. No 6 MP is not the be all and end all. Just as the 1900 Zeiss 
Protar was not the be all and end all.

Jonathan



In reply to: Message from pklein at 2alpha.net (Peter Klein) (Digital M/Digital Rebel was Re: [Leica] Lost Faith in Leica)
Message from nathan.wajsman at planet.nl (Nathan Wajsman) (Digital M/Digital Rebel was Re: [Leica] Lost Faith in Leica)
Message from tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant) (Digital M/Digital Rebel was Re: [Leica] Lost Faith in Leica)