Can a digital camera really outclass color film?
According to tests done by Popular Photography, Canon’s new 16.7 megapixel EOS 1Ds Mark II took better pictures than a regular SLR camera (Canon’s EOS 3) shooting high-quality ISO 100 film. Interesting, as a few years ago Popular Photography predicted that digital cameras would have to reach at least 24 to 30 megapixels before they’d compete against film cameras in quality. But that stance seems to have changed, as they are now claiming the better color and lower noise of the EOS 1Ds Mark II gives digital cameras the winning edge. Let’s Back it Up Popular Photography has always maintained the image quality of any photographic system — whether film, digital or otherwise — can’t be determined by testing resolution alone. That’s because there are other important aspects, such as: • Color accuracy • Noise level (grain) • Highlight and shadow detail (dynamic range) • Contrast Additionally, camera sensors have pixels arrayed in two separate dimensions, horizontal and vertical, meaning it t
