At 21:51 10/6/02, Tim Chakravorty wrote:
"...I'm afraid that film has definitively lost the battle. The
(Canon)1Ds's full-frame 11MP CMOS sensor produces a 32MB file - as big as
a typical scan. But this file is sharper and more noise free than any
scan I have ever seen, including drum scans. There simply isn't a contest
any longer..."
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/1ds/1ds-field-5.shtml
-Tim
Tim,
Now that all your OM gear is worthless, you won't even be able to give it
away. For a small fee, I'll be glad to haul it off for you. All I'll
charge you is the postage to send it to me. Others would likely charge
more, especially if there's risk of any nasty, radioactive rare earth
lenses that would be considered hazardous waste. :-)
More seriously, let's do some quick math:
Presuming the use of high resolution lenses that support 150-200 lppmm, I
can only conclude you've never seen very fine grained chromes projected to
40x60 inch size using *high*quality* projection lenses and white matte
screens, or seen what can be created with them on a high quality optical
enlarger using fine-grained print materials. A Pro Photo CD creates a 72MB
file when the highest resolution 4096 x 6144 image is extracted from
it. This is a 25 Megapixel file with 24-bit color content at about 85
lppmm, and it is *still* coarser than the resolving power and color
gradation of very fine grain 35mm film. Velvia goes to nearly twice that
at 160 lppmm, and Provia 100F and Kodachrome 64 are hot on its heels.
For sake of argument, consider lens and film system limiting at 120 lppmm,
less than all these films and lenses. A line pair is has a two pixel
width. This is 240 pixels per mm. A frame of 35mm film limited by optics
to 120 lppmm contains 5760 x 8640 pixels, or about 50MP, over 4X that of
Canon's new wonder. Color gradation is also greater than 24-bit which
would create 150MB image files (zero compression to avoid any information
loss). 48-bit color which is closer to film content (but still not
completely there) creates a 300MB file. A single 36-exposure roll of film
contains well over 10GB of information content.
Bottom line:
There is very fine grain 35mm film available with resolution at lens
optical limits. Velvia is 160 lppmm and Provia 100F is 140
lppmm. Kodachrome 64 is about the same as Provia 100F based on what I've
seen of all these films projected to large screens using very high quality
projection lenses. Don't confuse this with rms diffuse granularity
numbers; Kodachrome has higher edge definition and a much thinner emulsion
that compensates for slightly coarser grain.
BTW:
How are you going to store all these 32MB files? I can put an entire 36
exposure roll of Velvia, Provia 100F or Kodachrome 64 in two archive
pages. A 3-inch binder can hold at least 75-100 rolls of 35mm film in
slide mounts. If a roll only contained 10GB, a total of 750GB to 1000GB of
information is stored in a single 3-inch binder.
My conclusion:
Digital cameras with form factors approximating the size of a 35mm SLR have
a long, long way to go before it can create the information content 35mm
film is capable of containing.
-- John
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