dcs 14n samples

[Doug_Dolde]

Not only that but they look like something your grannie would shoot.   What century is Kodak living in?

[Ray]

The last time I checked out sample images on the Kodak site was for the 6MP DCS 760. They were also disappointing as photographs. Perhaps they're saving money and don't employ professional photographers and/or professional models. The fruit scene was the most interesting for me, although I was a bit puzzled that the top of the image was clearly out of focus despite the aperture of F27.

Did you notice that ALL the apertures for these samples are very small, ranging from F27 to F11. These are definitely not the optimum apertures for the 85mm F1.8 Nikon lens, I would suggest. With no AA filter, they're using the lens as a filter. Can't expect razor sharp results under those conditions. They should have shot at F5.6 and used software to remove the aliasing artefacts. For the fruit shot they should have used a tilt lens. (Not sure if Nikon produce a tilt lens. I know they have a shift lens, but is it tilt & shift?)

Nevertheless, some parts of the F11 shots (Low-key woman) are quite sharp. You can see the veins in the white of the eye, but don't like her complexion one bit. (Sorry! Not very gallant I know.)

I should add, I have not downloaded the 39MB tiff images which would be needed for a proper evaluation.

[sergio]

I couldn't open Quentin's link, but I just downloaded the 38 mb tiffs from the Kodak site. Leaving aside the artistic quality of the photographs what I see is they were not apparently done with Pro level lenses. The low key model photographs has like an overall milkyness like flare. What do you 1Ds users think about those samples? I would really like to have an unbiased opinion since I am planning to get one of these myself since I have a lot of Nikon glass.

[Quentin]

This might be a better place to start from

http://homepage.mac.com/WebObje....lang=ja

Quentin

[Marshal]

I suppose this mind set has just hung on...  

That's too bad. Sad really.

I did download the pic of the Asian girl and the mask and they look pretty good. Better than those first we saw. For all these pics, including the ones from the Mac related site, they are all unsharpened right? No sharpening of any kind used yet? They're impressive already, but with a little Nik Sharpening, they could be even more impressive.

[Dan Sroka]

Well, that was said by a tech rep, not Kodak. Never trust reps or sales folks, or people at trade shows to give an official position for the company -- often, they just don't know.

[Marshal]

From my experience with the D1X, FWIW, dust spots start showing up and becoming much more noticeable at apertures smaller than f8. At f11-22, they show up real bad. The 14n sensor is CMOS, but as we've seen from the 14n city shots with the highway overpass as well as sample pics from the 1Ds, being CMOS does not make it completely immune to dust.  Kodak knows that. You'd think though, that they'd still take the time to remove those spots before posting on web sites.

[erik hansen]

samples are up on the kodak site.  i would say that the quality is pretty disappointing.  and i'm not just a 1Ds owner who's trying to make myself feel better.  the images are pretty soft.  some areas of the image are better than others, but it looks like the result of noise reduction.

[Cliff LeSergent]

I noticed that the "availability" date has been pushed back again, too...

[Quentin]

Much better samples, and a comparison with 1Ds images, are available at http://www.i-inc.jp/DCS-Pro14n/14n.html

Quentin

[Quentin]

I could not open my link either, although I got in alright earlier, and downloaded the 24mm 14n and 1Ds comparisons shots.

Here is another link to try:

http://homepage.mac.com/WebObje....ng.html

Hope it works.  you'll also see a link to the 1Ds images there.

My impressions are very favourable for a beta camera.  There is a heck of a lot of detail being resolved - more than the 1Ds, I think.  The colour is not quite right, but that can be fixed before the firmware is finalised.  there is some moire here and there, but that is true too of the 1Ds

Quentin

[Doug_Dolde]

Interesting to compare the resolution chart from the Japanese site with Phil Askey's for the 1Ds.  The 14n looks better to me...as it should with 3mp more.

[william wilson - willie408]

No, no - these images are absolutely TYPICAL official Kodak photographs.  35 or 40 years ago I was a pro and asked my Tech Rep why Kodak photographs were so "BLAH..." - He replied "Because our customer is a wedding photographer who is not interested in photography, but IS insterested in paying his mortgage.  We don't want to scare him off with work superior to what he thinks he can do..."  I suppose this mind set has just hung on...  best regards willie408

[Ray]

"Because our customer is a wedding photographer who is not interested in photography, but IS insterested in paying his mortgage.  We don't want to scare him off with work superior to what he thinks he can do."

What a strange attitude! Most promotions tend to exaggerate the capabilities of a product. Perhaps we should be thankful to Kodak for resisting this temptation, but now the cat is out of the bag they'll have to change their game to appease the wedding photographers who will probably feel most insulted.

At least we know what a consumer grade lens at F11 is capable of with this camera. Does anyone find it significant that no f stop smaller than F11 features in these sample photos?

[Ray]

Dansroka,
So what's your likely scenario? A Kodak technician throws a 14n prototype to his mate in accounts and says, "Take a photo of Debbie in the Travel Department. She's quite attractive. Grab a flash unit from the storeroom."