photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Rick_Jack | all galleries >> Galleries >> temp > Film vs Digital
previous | next
08-FEB-2017

Film vs Digital

This is a very realistic comparison, I'm not going to throw theoretical figures here. I chose Kodak TMAX 400 because it is the film I am most likely to use. Kodak claims it is their sharpest B&W film. Adox CMS20 is sharper, but I'm not going to shoot ISO 12 film on vacation. The filmcamera used was a Bronica EC-TL with a 80mm f2.8 Carl Zeiss Jena DDR lens @ f8. The digital camera was a Nikon D750 with a 50mm f1.8 AF-D lens @ f4. The film was developed in TMAX Developer (as recommended by Kodak)and scanned with a Epson V850 scanner @ 4800dpi. These are cameras that I normally shoot with. Under a microscope the film resolved higher than the digital but the film's grain makes it look less sharp.
The film image was sized 4x3" from a 34x34" 300dpi scan. The digital was sized 4x3" from a 20x13" 300dpi file. Lenses were placed 26x the focal length making the scale 1:1. The film image was illuminated by a diffused strobe, digital was available light (images taken on separate dates).
I'll always enjoy shooting film, but carry along a DSLR anyway. Draw your own conclusions.


other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Peter Hamilton 09-Feb-2017 18:28
Very interesting, and a good comparison. The film sharpness might appear more pronounced if the image was rendered as a line rather than continuous tone one.
Paradoxically enough, that's not what we use film for in most cases, but for its tonality. The EC-TL probably creates a much nicer-looking print in B&W than the Nikon D750.
I don't really know anything about the EC-TL but guess the Zeiss Jena lens is possibly a Tessar or even Planar design? Tessar's can be very sharp indeed, and the best Planar I've ever seen was on one of the last Rolleiflex 3.5f cameras to be produced. That said, the Schneider Xenotar is pretty much the same lens.
Kind regards
Peter
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment