What makes an image?
Posted 01/03/2011 - 23:57
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My OP intent was to look at the photographic equivalent of a sylus/cartridge/arm to pre-amp set up. Assuming that the the platter performance is "ideal".
If you consider tethered shooting, then it's lens, sensor and cable to?
Best regards
If you consider tethered shooting, then it's lens, sensor and cable to?
Best regards
Too far from a shore.
Posted 02/03/2011 - 00:02
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MarkTaylor wrote:
A Pentax RAW file (as well as any other mark) processed in any suitable software does not reflect the whole and can be made to look good or bad depending on the user skill set.johnriley wrote:
The mix of everything makes up the whole and the whole has a character of its own.
Agreed. That was what I was trying to get at, in my own roundabout way.The mix of everything makes up the whole and the whole has a character of its own.
It surely must come down to lens and sensor combination and the qualities of both as influenced by the manuafacturer?
Best regards
Too far from a shore.
Posted 02/03/2011 - 00:31 - Helpful Comment
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The phrase "user skill set" shows you are aware that the photographer is a vital part of the chain.
Just as with film, different users will get something different out of even seemingly identical kit and materials.
Just as with film, different users will get something different out of even seemingly identical kit and materials.
Best regards, John
Posted 02/03/2011 - 00:35
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johnriley wrote:
The phrase "user skill set" shows you are aware that the photographer is a vital part of the chain.
Just as with film, different users will get something different out of even seemingly identical kit and materials.
Yes John but in film days, everyone had the option of using the best lab for developing and printing,something all had access to, they don't now.The phrase "user skill set" shows you are aware that the photographer is a vital part of the chain.
Just as with film, different users will get something different out of even seemingly identical kit and materials.
Just as, after the "raw data" leaves a pre-amp, it can be fed to a duff amp and speakers.
Best regards
Too far from a shore.
Posted 02/03/2011 - 00:37
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The best lab was the home darkroom. Now it's the home inkjet printer. But it still takes user skill to make it work.
You're right that the weakest link in the chain will define the final quality.
You're right that the weakest link in the chain will define the final quality.
Best regards, John
Posted 02/03/2011 - 02:11 - Helpful Comment
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johnriley wrote:
Colour quality is a very important feature as far as I'm concerned.
As colour quality and how this varies between Canon, Nikon, Pentax etc. has come up a few times it got me thinking about how sensors work and what role the camera might have to play in colour quality above and beyond the role of the sensor itself. It occurred to me that colour interpolation must play a large role in this.Colour quality is a very important feature as far as I'm concerned.
I'll explain for anyone who isn't familiar with the terminology.
Most digital cameras, Pentax included, employ a sensor which has what's called a 'Bayer pattern'. To simplify, each sensel ('pixel') out of however many million you have on your sensor measures only one of three colours: red, green or blue. (There are twice as many green sensels as there are red or blue, but that's by the by). A/D converters convert this data into a digital form and then, as I understand it (I'm sure somebody can correct me if I'm wrong), it is the job of the camera's imaging engine to perform some form of colour interpolation on this data. This means each pixel in the final image is made to represent the full range of colours, not just the red, green or blue value measured by the corresponding sensel.
However precise and mathematical this process might be, essentially it still includes a degree of guesswork. The camera is basically making an educated guess as to what the true colour of each pixel should be. There are many different possible algorithms which could be used to perform this colour interpolation and - I'm speculating here - it strikes me that different camera manufacturers might use quite different and distinct methods. If so, this must play a significant part in the colour quality of the image produced. Another Pentax link in the chain?
My Flickr • Pentax K-5 • K-5 II • Sigma 8-16mm F/4.5-5.6 DC HSM • Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD ASL • SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F/2.8 ED [IF] SDM • SMC Pentax-DA 55-300mm F/4-5.8 ED • SMC Pentax-DA 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] WR • Vivitar 100mm F/3.5 Macro AF • Metz Mecablitz 58 AF-2
Posted 02/03/2011 - 03:52
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MarkTaylor wrote:
Another Pentax link in the chain?
Agreed and written in my OP. More Pentax processing on JPEGS than RAW (making the assumption that RAW has minimal processing). If all of the brands RAW files are very close due to having common sensors in some models, then post processing should result in near identical IQ's.Another Pentax link in the chain?
Thus the lens then becomes the critical component in IQ.
This process of evaluation is only to get the grey matter working and open up a line of thought that most would not follow nor even consider worth while as the end result will always be "we have what we have" and therefore are stuck with it, regardless of model/make.
I was asked by a professional video producer (at the weekend) "which I thought better for skin tones, the Pentax or the Nikon"? (I had a pair of Nikons and my K7 with me, hence the recent purchase of double straps)I replied that the Pentax colours were more accurate for skin tones.
(I do have my Nikons set to emulate the same tones and colour.
Please don't ask “then why have Nikons”, that's not for this thread).
He smiled and said he does not often hear that from Nikon users to which I replied that I'll use anything that's fit for purpose and that I've had Pentax for far too long to give up quality. Then he pulled a K10 out of his bag.
Sooo many Pentaxians in Western Australia.
Best regards
Too far from a shore.
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660 posts
15 years
Edinburgh,
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The mix of everything makes up the whole and the whole has a character of its own.