On Sep 18, 2005, at 10:20 AM, J. C. O'Connell wrote:
So now I will ask a question, is the resolution of the istD
series cameras high enough to tell the difference between an
excellent and a slightly better truly exception lens In the APS
region it
covers? Or does at some point the resolution become "camera limited"
and two lenses both outstanding but slightly different
performance become "one" and these differences are not
resolved at all as they clearly would be on film grained BW film?
Just like the ability to discern fine differences in lens resolution
and other qualities is ultimately limited to film acutance with a
film SLR, the ability to discern such fine differences is ultimately
limited by sensor resolution and dynamic range in a digital SLR.
In practical terms, the 6Mpixel 16x24mm frame presents a consistent
resolution/acutance capability comparable to what I see in low speed
color slide/negative films and medium speed fine grain processed B&W
negative film; that is, it's not going to return the same resolution
as APX25 24x36mm format, but it will perform on par with TMax 100 for
all intents and purposes. So if you can see the lens differences you
are looking for with TMax 100, you'll see it on the D/DS.
And with the D/DS you will see it in every frame, consistently. Many
people who can appreciate fine quality differences find often times
that lenses which performed reasonably well with film are not
sufficiently high quality to perform well with digital sensor ... I
suspect the reason is that the film limitations (processing
consistency and grain) were masking lens defects that become more
consistently visible on the DSLR.
Godfrey
