Call it what you will but obsession (or otherwise) to understand and make improvements is what makes the world go round and advance.
Hi Tony,
I somewhat agree, as my signature quote suggests, although I've also suggested and agreed with the gist of Mark's point in that there has to be a visual and/or workflow benefit to be had, otherwise it really becomes an obsession.
And that's part of the difficulty in getting the message across. There are many possible applications for photographic images, some for small size web-publishing (for which our cameras usually have way too much resolution), and some for (very) large output which demands the ultimate in technique, and meticulous attention for detail (since errors accumulate and are literally magnified).
Those that are prepared to work (and capable of understanding the fine details!), freely share their findings and are open to discussion deserve our admiration or at least our attention.
When I started working commercially in Photography, almost 4 decades ago with Kodak (in the Netherlands) as an 'Instrumentation/Photofabrication/Aerial/Scientific' products customer support representative, I had to share lots of in-depth technical and practical usage information, and found that sharing information also caused others to share their information. The resulting synergy benefited all involved. I am still a strong believer in synergy, 1+1>2. Also an undogmatic attitude, and willingness to embrace new insights has proved to be beneficial.
BTW, is your server down as I was trying to access your article on image quality and sharpening (the one where the user inputs requirements)?
Yes, sorry, I'm in the middle of an ISP transition that's not going as smooth as I had hoped, and a lot of work that keeps me from fixing things. If there are any specific things needed, just drop me a PM and I'll see what I can do.
Cheers,
Bart