On Sun, 30 Nov 2014 19:53:04 -0500, Joe Gwinn
wrote:

Ed,

I recall you saying that many pros were using Sony DSLRs, with
full-frame (24 Mpix) sensors. This would be the moral equivalent of
35mm Kodachrome.

Sony's a7 Series actually are mirrorless cameras, Joe. They look like
a DSLR but they have a high-res video screen in the finder, rather
than a mirror and prism.

But they are full-frame. Both Sony's APS-C sensors, like I have in my
NEX-7, and their full-frame sensors, as in their a7 cameras, are 24
MP. What you get with the full-frame sensor is a bit more dynamic
range, rather than more resolution.


What are the pros using to replace 2-1/4 by 2-1/4 (Hassy), 4x5, 8x10,
and so on up?

The few I've talked to are using 24 MP cameras to replace
medium-format cameras. A 35mm Kodachrome, says Kodak, is somewhere
between 14 MP and 20 MP. It's hard to fix the number because you're
comparing grain and circles of confusion (in the film, not in the
lens) with pixels, and they aren't exactly comparable. So they tell
me. BTW, I asked this question of Ted Gustavson, the film curator at
the museum in Rochester, just a few weeks ago. That's where I got it.
Back in the '90s, Kodak said that a Kodachrome slide was 18 MP.

I have some photos of a hot-stamping press that I got from
ThyssenKrupp Steel in Germany. They were shot with a 6x7 Mamiya with a
Leaf Aptus II back. A Leaf Aptus II back costs between $8,000 and
$12,000, depending on the version.

Here are the newer models:

http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/leaf_aptus.html

They're nice photos, but not that nice. g



I'd hazard that digital may be approaching 2.25x2.25, but the larger
negatives are still out of reach.

There are several solutions for 4x5. One is a Sinar back that costs
about as much as I paid for my house (if it's still available; it's
been around for years now), and another is a step-and-repeat back from
one of the aftermarket people that uses a regular camera, overlapping
steps, and blending in Photoshop. I've never seen or tried one but
I've heard they sell for less than $200. 'Don't know for sure.

IMO, a 24 MP camera with top-notch lenses is more than I'd need for
anything.

--
Ed Huntress


Thanks,

Joe Gwinn