|
A canal bridge near St. Mark’s Square with gondolas flitting in and out and colorful buildings seemed an ideal comparison target. The two photographs resulted in an interesting juxtaposition. The 1.5X 35mm lens factor produced a viewing angle of a 42mm lens, but if you look closely, you’ll see that the perspective is exactly the same as the 28mm view from the film camera. That’s why it’s incorrect to state flatly that, with a 1.5X 35mm lens factor, the 28mm lens becomes a 42mm lens. Only the magnification changes.
The water’s color is about the same in both pictures, but the digital camera produced snappier contrast and even brighter colors than the usually colorful Max 800. The digital picture, in my opinion, is preferable. However, when shooting with a wide-angle lens, digital cameras with their 35mm lens factors show less of a view than a film camera. This will work in your favor with a long lens when you want highest magnification.
The fisheye lens comparison told me more than I had expected (previous page). The comparative contrast and coloration are about the same, but look at the sky and the top of the central building ! Film portrays both perfectly, but the digital sky and building top are blown out completely!
Why? Exposure latitude. Over many years, film manufacturers have increased film latitude, particularly with color print film. Today, it covers about four or five stops. With the digital settings I made for the *ist D, printing latitude is about two stops, beyond the ability of the digital settings to register the bright sky and building properly. And minilabs and most other commercial photofinishers today, even digital ones, are woefully behind in handling digital images, compared with their capabilities with film.
Is that detail lost and gone forever? Probably not. A simple maneuver on the computer with Adobe Photoshop might bring it back.
It was hard to resist shooting some of the colorful Las Vegas night scenes. I zeroed in on the Paris Las Vegas hotel, keeping the lenses at the same 28mm focal length settings. The film camera produced a perfect rendition (to my eye) of the hotel and imitation gas balloon. The digital picture was far too orange. I examined the same picture on the *ist D’s rear LCD. While the screen is certainly a wonderful tool for checking composition, details, and sharpness, it doesn’t necessarily provide true picture color. The screen image of the Paris hotel was the right color, almost exactly the same hue as the film print.
 Which hotel color is right?
Digital: (top) Too orangy, but balloon colors are great and sky a nice, proper black. The reprint is better, but still off. Balloon's lost color and sky's turned gray.
Film: (bottom) Hotel color is about right, and how I saw it on the digital camera's LCD. While LCD can show composition and sharpness, color's often inaccurate.
|
