New to site and DMF... Just in time with H5D ! Help Please.

[Dustbak]

does a camera you like using make you feel better about what your shooting and delivering, either on the living room wall or in Times Square?    Hell yes.
IMO

BC

For me this says it all... thank you.

[yaya]

I already did in fact...

we could have done a very easy comparison to prove the obvious for those doubting that a 200+ mp stitch from a D800 is superior to a single IQ180 image. A 3x4=12 images stitch should do.

Why would you want to compare a 200MP 12-frame stitch to an 80MP single shot? I mean what will you be comparing? The workflow? The resolution? The colour?

[BernardLanguillier]

Why would you want to compare a 200MP 12-frame stitch to an 80MP single shot? I mean what will you be comparing? The workflow? The resolution? The colour?

The image quality of the resulting image? In particular the detail? In other words assess the ability of a 12 images stitch to meet the needs of the OP regarding the capture of grand landscape with more details better than a single shot from a 80mp back?

Or is your view that it is fundamentally impossible to compare 2 photographs of a given scene?

Cheers,
Bernard

[gerald.d]

Here's the thing.

If we're going to have to use stitched images from a DSLR to compare to a single image from MFDB, why limit the MFDB to a single image?

If stitching is an option for the DSLR, then it is also an option for the MFDB.

77 image stitch with an IQ180, Mamiya 200/2.8 + 2x teleconverter.

08.ae/panos/Burj77/Burj77.html

I can shoot the same image with an IQ180 using less than half the number of shots it would take even with a D800, for the same output resolution.

Which means I can shoot it in less than half the time.

Which, as I intend to demonstrate in a few weeks time, can mean the difference between getting the shot, or not.

Kind regards,

Gerald.

[BernardLanguillier]

Here's the thing.

If we're going to have to use stitched images from a DSLR to compare to a single image from MFDB, why limit the MFDB to a single image?

If stitching is an option for the DSLR, then it is also an option for the MFDB.

77 image stitch with an IQ180, Mamiya 200/2.8 + 2x teleconverter.

08.ae/panos/Burj77/Burj77.html

I can shoot the same image with an IQ180 using less than half the number of shots it would take even with a D800, for the same output resolution.

Which means I can shoot it on less than half the time.

Which, as I intend to demonstrated in a few weeks time, can mean the difference between getting the shot, or not.

Yes, you can of course do that.

The question is why spend 50,000 US$ on a back + lens if stitching with the D800E enables you to reach the required resolution at 1/10 the cost?  

45,000 US$ is a significant amount of money for some people, it probably is for 99,9% of photographers in fact.

Cheers,
Bernard

[gerald.d]

Because you can't buy time.

[BernardLanguillier]

Because you can't buy time.

Again, you are assuming that spending 45,000 US$ more is possible, that spending or not spending that amount is a choice anyone can make. It simply is not the case.

Besides, how many frames a day do you shoot when you do grand landscape? 5 or 10?

Shooting a 12 frame pano takes at most 1 extra minute in the field compared to a single frame on a back. How many extra .% does that represent compared to all the other things you need to do when shooting landscape?

It is also negligible in post processing time, 10 clicks in AutoPano, 5 minutes computation time. That is nitch compared to the time needed to complete a final image for printing.

Cheers,
Bernard

[gerald.d]

Most I've done for a single pano was around 4,500.

That was with a DSLR. Wish I'd had the IQ180 then

[Wim van Velzen]

Landscape photographs including the sea are not easily done while stitching. Even when you shoot in the cycle of the tidal waves, things never look quite right.

That said, I do a lot of stitching with my 22MP back and Rollei camera. I would rather have a 28mm lens for it though.

[yaya]

The image quality of the resulting image? In particular the detail? In other words assess the ability of a 12 images stitch to meet the needs of the OP regarding the capture of grand landscape with more details better than a single shot from a 80mp back?

Or is your view that it is fundamentally impossible to compare 2 photographs of a given scene?

Cheers,
Bernard

Of course nothing is impossible nowadays but I was curious because visualising, composing and taking a 1 shot image is a different experience to creating a stitched image.

I do quite a bit of stitching myself (on Nikon, iPhone, Techcams and MFSLRs so I know what it takes to make a good image (quality and aesthetics) and IMO a single frame image is a more rewarding experience

If you use a back on a tech camera you can use a GG and at least do the framing VISUALLY with little need for cropping...can't do that with an SLR...

If I follow your logic then my D5100 (half the D800 sensor), at $600 is all I really need coz I can stitch a gazzilion frames with the same quality and it'll cost a lot less (body and moreso lenses)...

If that's your thing then more power to you but I don't think that you're in the majority...

No offence intended, seriously!

Yair

[ctz]

Landscape photographs including the sea are not easily done while stitching.

Or a windy day in the weeds.

Of course nothing is impossible nowadays but I was curious because visualising, composing and taking a 1 shot image is a different experience to creating a stitched image.

good point.

[TMARK]

Michael Wolf did these with a Canon Rebel stitched.  The prints are astounding. 

http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/transparent_city/index.html

This is just to point out that its not the tool.  Yes, stitched 80mp would be even more astounding.

[BernardLanguillier]

If I follow your logic then my D5100 (half the D800 sensor), at $600 is all I really need coz I can stitch a gazzilion frames with the same quality and it'll cost a lot less (body and moreso lenses)...

Here we go again, all the DSLRs are the same?

There is no difference btwn a D5100 pixels and D800 pixels?

Cheers,
Bernard

[EricWHiss]

Here we go again

  
That's so funny coming from you, Bernard!  "stitch, stitch, stitch.... "

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

I got the impression the original poster would not spend more than 14000$US or so. Si I guess the IQ180 is not an option.

More affordable backs often come with a crop factor. So, the potential buyer must consider his/her needs regarding wide angles.

MF Digital is said to have many magical properties, like CCDs offering better color than CMOS. In real life life both CCDs and CMOS are monochrome devices, with color added by the CGA (Color Grid Array) and the software. It is well possible that certain vendors have better CGAs. It is conceivable that some CGAs would put priority on good high ISO performance and others on good color separation. On the other hand, real world imaging experts like Jeff Schewe and Michael Reichmann say that you can achieve essentially any color rendition in the raw converter. In his latest book Jeff Schewe illustrates that a properly processed image from an IPhone 4S is virtually indistinguishable from a P65+ at small print sizes.

Now, I don't think there is anything magical with MF. A larger sensor has always advantages, we have seen this with film and we see this with digital. A larger sensor can collect more photons. A larger sensor is also much less demanding of a lens. On the other hand, larger formats need to be stopped down more.This was so in the film times and it is so now.

An excellent study was done by Lars Kjellberg in film days: http://www.photodo.com/topic_138.html

I also would say that Nikon has shaken up the photo world a little with the D800/D800E. That camera has a lot to offer:

- Very high resolution
- Perfect focusing when using live view
- Best DR at the pixel level of any camera on earth
- Access to a wide variety of excellent lenses from Nikon and Zeiss
- Option to use Leica R lenses

These factor make the D800/D800E into an excellent picture maker. According to at least one test by Lloyd Chambers the D800 actually outperforms the Leica S2.

For the price of a digital back you can probably build a whole system of a Nikon D800E and a few of Zeiss lenses. So, quality wise the Nikon option should be concerned.

There is little doubt that high end backs with high end optics outperform the D800/D800E when optimally used.

Stitching is an alternative in many cases. Stitching is easy. Stitching can expand resolution capability, but it is not always possible. Stitching may also help expanding angle of view. This of course applies to both MF and lesser DSLRs.

Whatever equipment is used, it is just a tool. The tool needs to work for the application. A nice tool is nice to work with. It may be important that the user feels satisfaction with his/her tools.

Best regards
Erik Kaffehr

 
That's so funny coming from you, Bernard!  "stitch, stitch, stitch.... "

[FredBGG]

Of course nothing is impossible nowadays but I was curious because visualising, composing and taking a 1 shot image is a different experience to creating a stitched image.

I do quite a bit of stitching myself (on Nikon, iPhone, Techcams and MFSLRs so I know what it takes to make a good image (quality and aesthetics) and IMO a single frame image is a more rewarding experience

If you use a back on a tech camera you can use a GG and at least do the framing VISUALLY with little need for cropping...can't do that with an SLR...

If I follow your logic then my D5100 (half the D800 sensor), at $600 is all I really need coz I can stitch a gazzilion frames with the same quality and it'll cost a lot less (body and moreso lenses)...

If that's your thing then more power to you but I don't think that you're in the majority...

No offence intended, seriously!

Yair

Composition can be done in many ways. Painters don't have much of a problem. When your subject is static it is easy to imagine the composition.
There are also many tools available such as a directors eyepiece, your fingers and thumbs in the classic framing gesture.

No one here is saying it is pointless to shoot single frame, most of us do it all the same.

The real point is that there is more choice today than previously. Stitching software has made great progress and systems for automated stitching shooting like the gigapan are inexpensive, relatively compact and easy to use with built in set up wizards.

The second important point is that it is no longer such a big compromise to opt for a less expensive combination of D800E and a gigapan.
You won't even have that huge of a difference when shooting single frames. See this:http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=iq180%20vs%20d800&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.circleofconfusion.ie%2Fd800e-vs-phase-one-iq180%2F&ei=Jbh1UNSrA-KpiALMnoHIAQ&usg=AFQjCNFze8_TyPbne15e5K1QpfXyVoRjTA


What is also important is that if someone has a finite budget of lets say $ 40,000 how is this best spent for a landscape photographer?
Maybe a slight compromise in single shot image quality and $ 30,000 to spend on trips to some of the worlds best locations is the best choice.
As equipment offers more and more quality for less money it becomes more and more about the photographer and what you put in front of the lens.
YOU CAN'T MOVE MOUNTAINS.......

Similar logic applies to other fields too. Fashion is a good example. I never recommend MFD to a young fashion photographer. I recommend 35mm DSLR and a film MF SLR....
and spending the moeny saved on travelling to different fashion capitals and building a more "worldly" portfolio while learning more about fashion.
Often they think they have to have MFD to be taken seriously... not the case.
Who do you think a designer is going to work with? The guy with photos from Milan, Paris, New York or the guy with the big camera?

[FredBGG]

If I follow your logic then my D5100 (half the D800 sensor), at $600 is all I really need coz I can stitch a gazzilion frames with the same quality and it'll cost a lot less (body and moreso lenses)...

If that's your thing then more power to you but I don't think that you're in the majority...

No offence intended, seriously!

Yair

No one here is saying to go out and get a D5100 instead of MFD. The suggestion is to go with the very highest end 35mm DSLR that has superior dynamic range, NO ANTI ALIAS filter and color pretty much on par with anything out there. The D5100 has lower dynamic range than MFD, the D800 has higher Dynamic range than MFD.

No one is suggesting that a person considering entry level MFD with a budget of $14,000 go and buy an entry level 35mm DSLR.
What is being suggested is that there is no advantage in getting a crop sensor MFD cameras when the same can be achieved with a D800E and more if stitching is added to the mix. Seems reasonable to me and a few others here.

[yaya]

No one here is saying to go out and get a D5100 instead of MFD.

I'm not saying that either...

The D5100 has lower dynamic range than MFD, the D800 has higher Dynamic range than MFD.

According to 1 website with 1 testing method

No one is suggesting that a person considering entry level MFD with a budget of $14,000 go and buy an entry level 35mm DSLR.

Neither do I

What is being suggested is that there is no advantage in getting a crop sensor MFD cameras when the same can be achieved with a D800E and more if stitching is added to the mix

Not sure if that's what Bernard is suggesting...but you seem to know better because you don't even give him a chance to reply...

[FredBGG]

Not sure if that's what Bernard is suggesting...but you seem to know better because you don't even give him a chance to reply...

Actually Yaya... he had already replied just a few posts back and I was simply adding my point of view on the discussion.

[yaya]

Actually Yaya... he had already replied just a few posts back and I was simply adding my point of view on the discussion.

Bernard is talking about 80MP $50K cameras and AFAIK (which is not much) there's no such thing as crop-sensor 80MP...and since he has more real-life experience with small-sensor stitching than all of us put together and some very impressive landscape work under his belt (as opposed to others who prefer to share anecdotal articles/ links), I am genuinely interested in his insights and opinion on this matter.

Yair