Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: Ellis Vener on April 02, 2012, 09:24:31 am
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I was going to title this thread "I'm a little concerned about D800 resolution" but feared the humor deprived won't get it
so attached is a detail and the whole frame from which it was cropped. The detail crop is a 100% crop (actual crop size is 653 x 436 pixels0
This was shot with a 1st generation 24-70mm f/2.8G. Camera was tripod mounted. ISO 400. Processed in Lightroom 4
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Do you have any idea how pissed off I am that there are people out there that have D800s and I don't? ;)
But, April 16th isn't far off, when the 800E becomes available. I can wait.
Michael
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I suspect that the lack of detail in the building at the end of the street is due to atmospheric conditions. It was around 80 degrees here yesterday and Austin isn't the sleepy little town it once was -lots o' traffic.
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... the lack of detail in the building at the end of the street...
HA!
I just placed my order.
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The clincher here is really that it was shot at ISO 400 because people coming from MFDB will be used to seeing crisper looking files using a tripod and base ISO but not at ISO 400.
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The clincher here is really that it was shot at ISO 400 because people coming from MFDB will be used to seeing crisper looking files using a tripod and base ISO but not at ISO 400.
I went with ISO 400 instead of a lower ISO for a simple reason: higher shutter speed. ISO 640 files are just as clean.
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my D800E is now on the boat headed for the USA,, it is a slow boat though,, :D
Derry
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forgot to ask what aperture and shutter values were used?
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F8, 1/320 s
:)
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I can't read that guys t-shirt, that camera sucks. :-)
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ƒ/8 @ 1/320th as Christoph noted. The camera was in manual exposure, fixed WB, and manual focus modes (focus set using Live view (magnified) supplemented with a Hoodman Loupe) as this frame was shot as part of a panoramic sequence.
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I can't read that guys t-shirt, that camera sucks. :-)
Sad that. but the red Honda's license plate is clearly readable, which is why I cropped it out of the 100% detail cropped sample.
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I don't know what all the fuss is about. I've been using a version of the D800 for the past couple of years. It's the version that doesn't expand beyond DX mode, called the D7000. ;D
It seems quite sharp with my two FX lenses. Mind you, I'm looking forward to the new feature of the D800 which provides an FX mode because I already have FX lenses and it seems such a waste not to utilize that extra area of the lens image circle even though it's the outer part of the circle which is usually somewhat degraded. ;D
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But, April 16th isn't far off, when the 800E becomes available. I can wait.
Michael
I hope you're correct, Michael. My dealer told me I would get one of the first ones, but I think they are not going to receive the amount they were told (if distribution of the initial release of the D800 is any indication!).
BTW, are you based in Austin, Ellis? My old stomping grounds. I still have a cattle ranch outside Lampasas.
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I can't read that guys t-shirt, that camera sucks. :-)
The D800E will fix that. However, it might replace some words by wrong ones.
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BTW, are you based in Austin, Ellis? My old stomping grounds. I still have a cattle ranch outside Lampasas.
Austin is my old stomping grounds as well: UT '75-80. But I am only visiting this time. Lots of family around central Texas however. We've been out of the ranching business since the drought of the early 1950s. I am just a working photographer.
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The D800E will fix that. However, it might replace some words by wrong ones.
Joke aside, I'd be interested to see just how the D800E would handle text on a test target which had been positioned at a distance which makes such text hardly legible, or only partially legible, using a D800.
Assuming the aperture used was F8 or wider, would the D800E render semi-legible text fully legible, or might it add to the confusion by creating wrong words?
I haven't placed my order yet due to total uncertainty on this issue.
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Joke aside, I'd be interested to see just how the D800E would handle text on a test target which had been positioned at a distance which makes such text hardly legible, or only partially legible, using a D800.
Assuming the aperture used was F8 or wider, would the D800E render semi-legible text fully legible, or might it add to the confusion by creating wrong words?
I haven't placed my order yet due to total uncertainty on this issue.
What lens?
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What I am bugged by is the D800's inability to clearly render the brand on the face of the watch worn by the guy in the black t-shirt ;D
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Hello Ellis, Thanks for showing the image, could You also show this part:
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Which part? i couldn't see the thumbnail the first time I looked. Will get on it right away.
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Ellis,
Like I wrote earlier, the great thing is that this detail can be had at higher ISO, but capturing this kind detail is nothing new to MFDB users. I know how I felt when I first zoomed into my phase files so don't really want to bust your bubble on the Nikon, but you'll probably find that even the older 22mp pixel count MFDB can get this level of detail or even better and of course the newer 80mp count backs take this to another league. Still its impressive for a DSLR. What makes it really usable is the ability to shoot a higher ISO.
Eric
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Hello Ellis, Thanks for showing the image, could You also show this part:
I am a bit embarrassed. My focus point was closer where I thought it was. The light pole is tack sharp and the building slightly soft. Darn! I have to reshoot and be a little more careful. No one to blame but me.
Thank you for making me look at it again.
Edit: The jaggies on the light pole's arm appear to be JPEG compression artifacts.
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Ellis,
Like I wrote earlier, the great thing is that this detail can be had at higher ISO, but capturing this kind detail is nothing new to MFDB users. I know how I felt when I first zoomed into my phase files so don't really want to bust your bubble on the Nikon, but you'll probably find that even the older 22mp pixel count MFDB can get this level of detail or even better and of course the newer 80mp count backs take this to another league. Still its impressive for a DSLR. What makes it really usable is the ability to shoot a higher ISO.
Eric
I have used various medium format backs ( Kodak, PhaseOne, Hasselblad, Sinar, from 16MP to 80mp capture resolution) since 2003 or 2004. I don't disagree with your point Eric. MFDB solutions are great but they impose more limitations on a photographer than 35mm body based DSLRs do - like cost, lens choice, and ISO limitations. That isn't to say that small format DSLRs don't come with their own limitations.
Still Nikon is doing a remarkable job with the D800 and I suspect Canon will have something soon in the same class.
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I have looked at other areas in the photo that are as far if not farther away from the camera than the tower area "kers" asked me to look at. What I now think is going on is that this individual lens may have a problem in that area as other areas appear to have much crisper detail rendering
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I have looked at other areas in the photo that are as far if not farther away from the camera than the tower area "kers" asked me to look at. What I now think is going on is that this individual lens may have a problem in that area as other areas appear to have much crisper detail rendering
Ellis, I think it has to do with the complexity of this zoom lens. For a 24-70 zoom lens that costs 1500€ or so I think it is a good performance.
It was launched in the 12MP Nikon D3 era.
I did not buy this zoom because i (also)saw some strange soft areas right in the middle sometimes in my test-photos- also the 24mm performance is not that good.
If you use the 85mm 1,4G or one of the PCE lenses etc I am sure the image will be better.
36MP askes for better lenses. I can see that Zeiss with their new 15mm lens already starts to make these, but the price point will be above 2000€.
Eventually when also the MFB people start using the d800 there will be a market for these more expensive lenses.
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I think I tracked the problem down to a smudge on the front element. Will test again later to confirm. Am on the move right now.
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Kers, I agree.
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What lens?
The same lens with both cameras, but obviously not a poor lens. Any removal of blurring due to the removal of the AA filter should produce at least some improvement in resolution. If such improvement is so marginal that it wouldn't even improve the legibility of semi-legible text, or improve it only to an insignificant degree, then I would find it hard to justify choosing the D800E version.
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I await tests of video performance with and without the AA filter. With video, if you have moire, it ain't gonna be easy to fix.
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Beginning with the phase one p25 in 2005 up to my p65+ currently, I've found myself lately getting tired of lugging medium format equipment around especially traveling so I haven't been using it as much...I always shoot at base iOS but still find the idea of a 36 mp 35mm camera with very high quality glass a compelling alternative. Eleanor
I have used various medium format backs ( Kodak, PhaseOne, Hasselblad, Sinar, from 16MP to 80mp capture resolution) since 2003 or 2004. I don't disagree with your point Eric. MFDB solutions are great but they impose more limitations on a photographer than 35mm body based DSLRs do - like cost, lens choice, and ISO limitations. That isn't to say that small format DSLRs don't come with their own limitations.
Still Nikon is doing a remarkable job with the D800 and I suspect Canon will have something soon in the same class.
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I have used various medium format backs ( Kodak, PhaseOne, Hasselblad, Sinar, from 16MP to 80mp capture resolution) since 2003 or 2004. I don't disagree with your point Eric. MFDB solutions are great but they impose more limitations on a photographer than 35mm body based DSLRs do - like cost, lens choice, and ISO limitations. That isn't to say that small format DSLRs don't come with their own limitations.
Still Nikon is doing a remarkable job with the D800 and I suspect Canon will have something soon in the same class.
I hope so! MFDBs are great, but not very practical in a lot of situations, and are limited in their choice of UWAs.
I'd love to see a 54MP sensor (essentially a 24MP crop sensor scaled up to 35mm format), which would allow 150ppi at 40x60" print size... then mount it on a TS-E 17 or TS-E 24 and make an even larger panorama, or crop it down to 1:3 format and still end up with a 27MP, 150ppi 20x60" print.
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BTW, are you based in Austin, Ellis? My old stomping grounds. I still have a cattle ranch outside Lampasas.
Austin is my old stomping grounds as well: UT '75-80. But I am only visiting this time. Lots of family around central Texas however. We've been out of the ranching business since the drought of the early 1950s. I am just a working photographer.
Ha, me too! Graduate school at UT 1989-1991! I wasn't smart enough to acquire a cattle ranch, a house (they were giving them away at the time), or Dell stock (thought it was already played out ...) Or Whole Foods, or Apple ...
We plan on spending winters there when we retire (maybe 15 years), summers in Colorado.
Damn you for posting this though! I was JUST about to cancel my D800E pre-order and sit on the cash, what with CS 6.0, Lightroom, etc. upgrades. Plus I only have Canon lenses, about 7 L's, 10 total. Guess I'll start with 3 Nikon.
Cheers!
Michael