More Pixels Mean Better Pictures, Or Do They?
Ahhh, megapixels.
Will we ever stop pining for more resolution? As we go to press on this issue, I've just read that Leaf has just released the Aptus-II 12, and the Aptus-II 12R, two 80 megapixel digital backs for medium format systems.
Really, come on, who needs 80 megapixels? ME, ME, ME, can't you hear the choir of landscape photographers, chanting worldwide? I remember one of the first digital cameras I ever owned, was a 3.
2 megapixel point and shoot, and it was off the top shelf.
SLRs hadn't morphed into digital at that stage.
It did everything.
ISO range of 100 - 400 (huge), two presets, and a 32mb card to go with it.
That was in 1999.
Only 11 years on, we have progressed from such humble beginnings to monster resolution such as 80 megapixels.
That's an 8 foot print! Being a true landscape shooter at heart, I still own more film cameras than digital.
I often shoot both digital and film, as I still love the tangible feel of an original piece of film in my hand Call me a fossil from the ice ages, but that's me.
I often make comparisons.
Landscape images require finite detail, to give the viewer a complete and utter sense of replication of a scene without being there, so everything needs to be finely detailed.
Film for me still replicates this best as a true photograph, but there are several techniques using digital that could cause a serious art gallery curator to pull out the spy glass in confusion.
Let's start with the system you're using.
Point and shoots and hybrids, are not in the league.
Their sensors are often not refined enough for high detail.
Remember you get what you pay for.
By sensor refinement I don't just refer to megapixels, but clarity in colour depth.
DSLR sensors, particularly your high end models, Nikon's D3X, Canon's 5D Mk2, and Sony's A900, all use very high end sensors and employ particular flexibility which is built into the sensors, such as the colour depth, I mentioned.
Essentially, this colour depth will determine how much range of colour your camera can capture.
Not enough colour depth (or bit depth) and you risk the dreaded "banding".
Let me explain, colour depth or bit depth, refers to how many colours in the colour spectrum are available throughout all three of the standard primary colour channels, Red, Green and Blue (RGB).
8 bit colour depth refers to 8 bits per channel, with each bit containing 256 colours.
Black and white at a bit depth of 8 bits, provides a tonal range of 256 shades of grey from white to black.
But when you use colour, as all cameras do, then you employ 3 times the rule.
IE 256 (red) x 256 (green) x 256 (blue) equals 16 million colours, a much larger ability to blend colours along their edges, than just the 256 of black and white only.
Now when you increase the bit depth again to 16 bit, you greatly increase the ability to capture and control detail in the highlights and the shadows.
Converting from 16 bit to 8 bit in Photoshop essentially deletes most of that data and therefore your ability to adjust and control your highlight and shadow detail.
Additionally, when converting from 16 bit to 8 bit or capturing in 8 bit to start with, may highly increase your risk of banding.
This banding occurs as there is not sufficient colour in each band to effectively blend into each other without seeing a definitive line of difference.
This colour depth issue goes hand in hand with resolution, which is fairly self explanatory, more pixels mean more detail, which means bigger images that hold those details and therefore better looks.
There is one other issue though that we must not forget, to go with your resolution and bit depth considerations.
Dynamic range.
This refers to the cameras ability to capture both the highlights and shadows in one shot.
Low dynamic range, and you'll get either or.
High dynamic range (the same as the current HDR fad in "cartoonizing", as I call it) provides images with a greater latitude of detail in both those areas.
Essentially, most DLSRs have a dynamic range of around 4 stops, and its sometimes less with film.
High end medium format digital backs, have a much higher dynamic range of 10 stops.
So, with your DLSR, your camera may be able to "see" the detail anywhere between F5.
6 and F11 or F11 and F22 as an example, at any given shutter speed and ISO speed, but if you waiver outside your F-stop range you'll find that detail in your shadows turns to complete black, and your highlights blow out completely, showing complete white.
Once those details are gone, you cannot recover them, hence why its important to try and stay within your cameras F-Stop range.
Medium format cameras, other than providing much higher resolution, will allow you a greater ability to stretch your exposure across more settings to keep the detail.
Imagine shooting into the sun, with your best friend in the foreground.
Under normal conditions you would use your flash to highlight your friend from silhouette, or increase your exposure to brighten your friend, but you will for-go all the nice sunset colours, which will blow out to completely white.
So when it comes to achieving a better picture, overall its not just resolution that will get your better results.
Be mindful of resolution, bit depth and your dynamic range.
Will we ever stop pining for more resolution? As we go to press on this issue, I've just read that Leaf has just released the Aptus-II 12, and the Aptus-II 12R, two 80 megapixel digital backs for medium format systems.
Really, come on, who needs 80 megapixels? ME, ME, ME, can't you hear the choir of landscape photographers, chanting worldwide? I remember one of the first digital cameras I ever owned, was a 3.
2 megapixel point and shoot, and it was off the top shelf.
SLRs hadn't morphed into digital at that stage.
It did everything.
ISO range of 100 - 400 (huge), two presets, and a 32mb card to go with it.
That was in 1999.
Only 11 years on, we have progressed from such humble beginnings to monster resolution such as 80 megapixels.
That's an 8 foot print! Being a true landscape shooter at heart, I still own more film cameras than digital.
I often shoot both digital and film, as I still love the tangible feel of an original piece of film in my hand Call me a fossil from the ice ages, but that's me.
I often make comparisons.
Landscape images require finite detail, to give the viewer a complete and utter sense of replication of a scene without being there, so everything needs to be finely detailed.
Film for me still replicates this best as a true photograph, but there are several techniques using digital that could cause a serious art gallery curator to pull out the spy glass in confusion.
Let's start with the system you're using.
Point and shoots and hybrids, are not in the league.
Their sensors are often not refined enough for high detail.
Remember you get what you pay for.
By sensor refinement I don't just refer to megapixels, but clarity in colour depth.
DSLR sensors, particularly your high end models, Nikon's D3X, Canon's 5D Mk2, and Sony's A900, all use very high end sensors and employ particular flexibility which is built into the sensors, such as the colour depth, I mentioned.
Essentially, this colour depth will determine how much range of colour your camera can capture.
Not enough colour depth (or bit depth) and you risk the dreaded "banding".
Let me explain, colour depth or bit depth, refers to how many colours in the colour spectrum are available throughout all three of the standard primary colour channels, Red, Green and Blue (RGB).
8 bit colour depth refers to 8 bits per channel, with each bit containing 256 colours.
Black and white at a bit depth of 8 bits, provides a tonal range of 256 shades of grey from white to black.
But when you use colour, as all cameras do, then you employ 3 times the rule.
IE 256 (red) x 256 (green) x 256 (blue) equals 16 million colours, a much larger ability to blend colours along their edges, than just the 256 of black and white only.
Now when you increase the bit depth again to 16 bit, you greatly increase the ability to capture and control detail in the highlights and the shadows.
Converting from 16 bit to 8 bit in Photoshop essentially deletes most of that data and therefore your ability to adjust and control your highlight and shadow detail.
Additionally, when converting from 16 bit to 8 bit or capturing in 8 bit to start with, may highly increase your risk of banding.
This banding occurs as there is not sufficient colour in each band to effectively blend into each other without seeing a definitive line of difference.
This colour depth issue goes hand in hand with resolution, which is fairly self explanatory, more pixels mean more detail, which means bigger images that hold those details and therefore better looks.
There is one other issue though that we must not forget, to go with your resolution and bit depth considerations.
Dynamic range.
This refers to the cameras ability to capture both the highlights and shadows in one shot.
Low dynamic range, and you'll get either or.
High dynamic range (the same as the current HDR fad in "cartoonizing", as I call it) provides images with a greater latitude of detail in both those areas.
Essentially, most DLSRs have a dynamic range of around 4 stops, and its sometimes less with film.
High end medium format digital backs, have a much higher dynamic range of 10 stops.
So, with your DLSR, your camera may be able to "see" the detail anywhere between F5.
6 and F11 or F11 and F22 as an example, at any given shutter speed and ISO speed, but if you waiver outside your F-stop range you'll find that detail in your shadows turns to complete black, and your highlights blow out completely, showing complete white.
Once those details are gone, you cannot recover them, hence why its important to try and stay within your cameras F-Stop range.
Medium format cameras, other than providing much higher resolution, will allow you a greater ability to stretch your exposure across more settings to keep the detail.
Imagine shooting into the sun, with your best friend in the foreground.
Under normal conditions you would use your flash to highlight your friend from silhouette, or increase your exposure to brighten your friend, but you will for-go all the nice sunset colours, which will blow out to completely white.
So when it comes to achieving a better picture, overall its not just resolution that will get your better results.
Be mindful of resolution, bit depth and your dynamic range.