>Well, why? Even when cropping a D1s image to D60 size (1/1.6
>factor), it will still have slightly more pixels than a full D60
>frame, so why bother with a separate body? Finder masking (similar
>to the D100 lines) plus software cropping would be a simpler
>solution.
>
>Per
Not quite correct :-)
The 1.6 factor is linear, but the pixel count describes an area. So
you have to square 1.6, which gives you a factor of 2.56. This, into
11.1Mp, gives you 4.35Mp, while the D60 has 6.3 or so.
The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is that film has a much
finer basic unit: the silver halide grain than digital, which has an
active electronic element. For the foreseeable future, we're not
likely able to make a transistor with wires smaller than a silver
halide crystal. Then comes the fact that to make a 'unit' of colour
information we need 4 active electronic elements, with conductors
(one red, one blue, and two green in the usual bayer patter). An
11.1Mp sensor gives use 2.775Mp of true information which with some
elegant interpolation algorithms gives us 11.1Mp of output again.
We're not in film territory by a long shot.
The counter to that is, of course, that it's 'good enough'. That begs
the question of what quality standards you have.
I have a little Digital Elph, the S100. 2Mp. I can take my CF cards
down to the local 1hr shot and get generally decent 4x6 prints. If a
lot of fine detail is involved, the picture breaks up seriously, but
for general passing around it's fine. That means that an 8Mp camera
can do an 8x12 at a similar standard. OK if you're not too critical.
So an 11.1Mp camera can do a 9.4"x14" print reasonably. That doesn't
really compete with film yet for any sort of critical work. I can do
very nice 11x14's with my Canon and Leica gear, and even the Pentax
P&S can produce very good quality at optimum apertures.
The thing is that if you're standards are set by consumer grade long
range zooms with 400ISO film, handheld at whatever apertures happen
to pass by, digital will not be a limitation. If you set your
standard as a good 11x14 print from a 300/2.8L lens on slow film, let
alone a fine grain B&W, we have to invent a whole new technology
before we can approach that.
--
* Henning J. Wulff
/|\ Wulff Photography & Design
/###\ mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|[ ]| http://www.archiphoto.com
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