![]() Small-format DX and 1.6x DSLRs were ideal for digital SLRs up to about 6MP back in the dawn of digital photography. It's still enough to make a big difference if you're looking closely. Nikon FX or Canon full-frame, the difference is only 1.5x on one side, or about double the area. In film formats, each format is about double the dimensions of the next format, or four times the area. Of course more important than any technical dithering is simply to go look at the images. For me, that's my cheesy Tachihara 4x5, the Mamiya 6 or Mamiya 7 medium format cameras, and a Canon 5D full-frame digital.Īfter years of pondering how to explain why larger formats just look so much better, let me share my discoveries. I started shooting 4x5," and was astounded at how my crappy scratched 1940's Wollensak lens on my old Crown Graphic made images so technically beyond anything any of my best Nikons could do.Įver since 1991 I've looked for the smallest possible camera that shoots the largest possible piece of film or digital sensor. Years later I figured out the engineering reasons why a bigger piece of the same film could give better color as well as sharpness, but it still makes little sense to most reasonable people. He said "elementary: those were shot on a 4x5" camera." Hmm, as an engineer back then I couldn't figure out how it could make such a huge difference for such small prints. I asked my art director, Pat Neill, what was up. I got great shots on my 35mm Nikon back then, and made razor-sharp 20 x 30" (50 x 80cm) prints from my Velvia slides, but somehow even these little 8x10" prints had some intangible magic quality to them. The 8 x 10" (20 x 25cm) publicity photos of our award statue were amazingly clear, sharp, smooth and colorful. Personally I've been shooting larger film formats for decades, and Canon Digital for a year and loving it, so it's great that I now can share this without anyone having to jump sytems.īack in 1991 my company won an Emmy Award. I'm overjoyed that we now have a choice of format in the Nikon digital system for which most of you people read this site. If you just want great photos, get whatever you want and won't get between you and a great shot. If you count pixels photographing brick walls from a tripod, you'll love any larger format camera, digital or film. Your camera doesn't matter if you know what you're doing, and if you do know what you're doing, a better camera just makes it easier to get the results you demand. If you'd like to learn how to make great photos, don't bother with these technical articles, instead read good books or take a local photo class. Worrying about minute details like noise and resolution before you know how to make a good photo will ensure you never learn enough about the important issues to make great photos. These fine points are only significant after all the far more critical basics of location, composition, lighting, timing, color, tone and gesture have been mastered. This article, like many of mine, deals with minor technical issues. This is why I so strongly caution you not to get caught up in this foolishness. I was an idiot and wasted my first 15-20 years of shooting worrying about the wrong things, like resolution instead of color. The only way to see any of these pixel differences is when you've already got a flawless shot, and then only when printed really big and you're looking too closely.ĭon't start counting pixels until you can make the right pixels. The D40 is easier and more fun since it's so light. I haven't had my 4x5" fired up in over a year, but I use my D40 daily, and even when my D3 arrives, I expect that I'll still use the D40 most of the time. In the few rare cases that something will sit around and wait for me, I'll pull out my klunky Canon 5D or 4x5" view camera. I use my D40 and its kit lens or my 18-200mm VR 90% of the time for my photos that matter. If you just want to make great photos of things that matter, don't worry about this baloney and get whatever you find convenient. ![]() It helps me keep adding to this site when you get yours from those links, too. The red rectangle shows the crop factor of a DX Nikon. ![]() I personally buy from Ritz, Adorama and Amazon.
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