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Author Topic: Michael's Ultimate Shootout  (Read 14241 times)

cmma

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Michael's Ultimate Shootout
« Reply #40 on: January 25, 2003, 08:02:04 pm »

Dear Michael,
I fully agree with your saying that digital is better then film. As a matter of fact I have been trying to convince my peers of that since I had my D1x more than a year ago.
However, I would suggest that before you conclude that MF has been bettered by 1Ds try a comparison between files from 1Ds and a MF digital back.
I happen to have a Contax 645 and a Kodak DCS645C and I think the prints I got from it definitely have a different qaulity as compared to those from D1x( sorry I have no 1Ds to compare with but now with the D1x I can get 10 mp files and judging from the 1Ds images I've seen on the web, D1x is not that far off).While 35 images are always flat a MF image always pops out at you and you can almost feel the texture.I think photograhy is not just about resolution ( the resolution of 1Ds is indeed the same as 645C after cropping ), just like in HiFi, if only the frequency response matters then all systems will sound the same.
I am not trying to say that my 645c is better than your 1Ds but I wish you would make a comparison before proclaiming that MF is past.
CMMa
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Quentin

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Michael's Ultimate Shootout
« Reply #41 on: January 26, 2003, 11:53:53 am »

Michael,

Great stuff, as always.  You say goodbye to medium format at the end of the article - are we to take that literally, or will you still use medium format?

Regarding 4x5, I don't have a 1Ds, but I have downloaded and even printed a couple of tests shots others have done, and I agree they are impressive.   My own view (as someone who drum scans his own 4x5 Velvia) is that 4x5 still has a reasonable quality lead, similar to the lead it has over, say 67.  A LF tansparency, drum scanned, still has a richness of tonality, and rendition of fine detail not yet reached by a DSLR like the 1Ds. But it's still a stonking good peformance by the 1Ds.

I also need to be slowed down, and using LF or Medium format does this.  I feel a bit silly mounting my Fuji S2 on a tripod in comparison.  

Quentin
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Robert Roaldi

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Michael's Ultimate Shootout
« Reply #42 on: January 31, 2003, 04:41:36 pm »

Rich,

Many good points and the one that interested me the most was why we still need/want D-SLR's. I imagine that with the current bodies, AF was easiest to achieve by keeping the mirror and the AF mini-CCD that is used for focusing only. It would be nice to find a way to get rid of that.

EVF's are improving and though they may never be the same as an optical viewfinder they may be good enough. As always, I wonder about cold weather performance as I live in Canada.

In P&S digicams, my understanding is that the main CCD is used to set focus first and then the "shutter" is fired (electronically). Thus, there is an upper bound  on the speed of AF, that may be a burden to those to whom this matters. On the other hand the Contax G2 is an AF rangefinder (no mirror) so there is a way to accomodate AF and get rid of the mirror and prism.

I would be happy with a MF stripped down K-mount digicam with 35mm sized sensor for the DOF reasons you mentioned. I rarely need speed of picture-taking, as is true of probably many others. To do MF you need either a rangefinder body or SLR with ground glass focusing. Relying on the LCD for visual focusing is iffy. Of course, maybe I need to join the modern era and simply accept AF but I don't want to buy new lenses.

It will be interesting to see what variations on the theme appear in the next few years.
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Peter McLennan

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Michael's Ultimate Shootout
« Reply #43 on: February 03, 2003, 03:42:35 pm »

One advantage of EVF's I forgot to mention, and it's a biggie, IMHO.

They're orientable.  No more back-breaking stooping to peer through a keyhole on the back of your ten-thousand-dollar DSLR.

Peter
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