First thought is, "no that is caused by lack of grain".
But, the second thought is, "That is not right, because while many old large format lenses had it, not all did".
So, yes, I think you are right.
Pentax is one of the few minature camera makers that pursused that quality in their lenses, and most modern large format designers have forgone it since it leads to bad magazine test results.
Interestingly, the current brag for high-end digital is that while they aren't quite as sharp as film, they look smoother (grin). Sounds like the lens and camera are fighting each other in many cases.
mike wilson wrote:
Hi,
graywolf wrote:
Plasticity may still have been essentially undefinable (smoothness, maybe?), but it was very noticeable on that big screen.
Wonder if it is related to the similar smooth effect from large format, glass negatives of various types. Never seem to see this effect in modern pictures. I do find the effect very difficult to define but you can definitely tell when an image has it.
mike
-- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com
"You might as well accept people as they are, you are not going to be able to change them anyway."
