The quality out of D800 is below 35mm film.

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LeicaR9

Senior Member
It's really silly to compare digital and film but i'm trying to make the jump to digital.

Is there way to make digital raw images that way like human eyes see?
I'm a bit worried about the complexity of this task because it's hard to find good quality d800 example photos from flickr.
But it's no problem to find good looking film examples (Nikon F6 for an example).

Friend of mine told, there is no free launches. You gain the speed but loose quality and vice versa.
 
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480sparky

Senior Member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

LeicaR9 said:
It's really silly to compare digital and film but i'm trying to make the jump to digital.

Is there way to make digital raw images that way like human eyes see?
Click to expand...

It's called demosaicing.


LeicaR9 said:
I'm a bit worried about the complexity of this task because it's hard to find good quality d800 example photos from flickr.
But it's no problem to find good looking film examples (Nikon F6 for an example).
Click to expand...

Over a million full-size sample photos from SLR and mirrorless cameras combined with different lenses

LeicaR9 said:
Friend of mine told, there is no free launches. You gain the speed but loose quality and vice versa.
Click to expand...

Are you a rocket scientist? :p
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

LeicaR9 said:
It's really silly to compare digital and film but i'm trying to make the jump to digital.

Is there way to make digital raw images that way like human eyes see?
.
Click to expand...

Seems to me that digital cameras work just like the human eye. In the eye we have cones and rods capable of detecting photons in the wavelengths corresponding to the RGB spectrum. In a digital camera we have pixels designed to detect photons in the wavelengths corresponding to the RGB spectrum. The only difference occurs when your brain smooths the image out and fills in any of the gaps of data coming in from the eyes.
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

With digital there is post processing just like there was in film. I had to study for a while to learn how to process film and I had to study to learn how to process digital. I think you can do more to get the look you want from digital than you could from film. Digital is also faster and in the long run cheaper.

Just like anything else in life you have to work to get good things.
 
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PhilGPhoto

New member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

Not sure what your issue is? Are you saying that it is your experience that digital IQ does not match film IQ or that is what you were told? Either way, what is it that digital lacks in IQ compared with film that would keep you from shooting digital? No one says you have to shoot digital to continue to enjoy photography.

Here are is an image that was shot with a Nikon D800 - hover mouse over the top right corner of the image to see exif data
Phil Giordano Photography | CVN70 | © 2014 Philip Giordano

There are a mix of shots from D700 and D800 in this gallery:
Phil Giordano Photography | CVN70

All images were shot in RAW and then coverted to JPG for posting online using Lightroom 5. Some were processed using NIK and OnOne Perfect Photo Suite 8 and Photoshop CC.

There are a lot of benefits to digital included extra capacity of memory cards compared to 24 or 36 exposure limit of a roll of film, cost of processing (free after SW purchase assuming you already own a computer), ability to easily change ISO and white balance on the fly and see the results immediately in terms of framing, exposure and focus, etc, etc.

Using a D800 gets you closer to medium format resolution than 35mm IMHO. The IQ is excellent and the files hold up very well to post processing when dealing with shadow/highlight details and dynamic range.

I'm a fan of digital but I understand shooters who still love film. I'm just saying that digital has a lot going for it and is worthwhile. Every pro who used to shoot film and now shoots digital will attest to that. Give it a try. Borrow some gear from a friend or rent some and try it to see if it is for you. Don't let anyone tell you what you should shoot to satisfy yourself.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can answer any questions.
 
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LeicaR9

Senior Member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

Perhaps D800 has more going on than my impression from average photos in flicker.
I got it stuck in my head, d800 doesn't pack enough dynamic range, just by judging by the 1/8000 shutter length photos which still have some clipping / burning and washed out textures.

One thing that i like in film is the soft shadows and highlights, cant see any of those made with D800.
 
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wornish

Senior Member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

LeicaR9 said:
Perhaps D800 has more going on than my impression from average photos in flicker.
I got it stuck in my head, d800 doesn't pack enough dynamic range, just by judging by the 1/8000 shutter length photos which still have some clipping / burning and washed out textures.

One thing that i like in film is the soft shadows and highlights, cant see any of those made with D800.
Click to expand...

Why don't you share an example of a film photo that you like to show us what your concerned about?
 
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LeicaR9

Senior Member
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aroy

Senior Member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

LeicaR9 said:
Perhaps D800 has more going on than my impression from average photos in flicker.
I got it stuck in my head, d800 doesn't pack enough dynamic range, just by judging by the 1/8000 shutter length photos which still have some clipping / burning and washed out textures.

One thing that i like in film is the soft shadows and highlights, cant see any of those made with D800.
Click to expand...

That is just bad photography. My D3300 has 1.5EV less DR and I can recover upto 5EV from shadows. So unless you are using wrong metering mode or are simply careless, clipping is not possible in most conditions. Here is an example of the shadow recovery with D3300

_DSC0140.jpg
Shot taken with matrix metering - normal

_DSC0140a.jpg
Shadow recovery by just adjusting levels. This was a quick fix. I would normally boost just the shadows while keeping the high end intact.
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

There's more to extracting the massive dynamic range the D800 provides than just pressing the button. Not only does it require intelligent use of the D800 but it also requires skillful processing of the data the camera provides. The same is true for film. If every film shooter was required to develop their own exposed film, I guarantee you would be far less impressed with film images. If there was a place you could send out your digital raw file to and a week later receive a skillful rendition of that data, you would see a far greater dynamic range on average shots. And this is doesn't only apply to the D800, it's true for all digital cameras. Great images require a lot more than just pressing a button.
 
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PhilGPhoto

New member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

I'd have to agree that those are not the best examples of good photography you cite from flickr. Not the camera's fault, but rather the photographer's use of the tool.

Check out some good stuff with a D800 from this photographer
Zenfolio | Denise Duhamel | Photography | Lilies | DSC_1804
Zenfolio | Denise Duhamel | Photography | Featured

Also take a look at some good wedding photographers who use digital. Any good wedding photographer has a good understanding of light. One of my favorites is Neil van Niekerk who shoots with both Canon and Nikon DSLRs and teaches lighting
http://neilvn.com/tangents/

You don't need a D800 to get good results rivaling film either. When shooting in RAW, digital post processing allows you a lot of latitude to recover shadow and highlight detail if you didn't get it right in camera too. You also have an easier time of reproducing post processing results from frame to frame. You can also emulate film in post and there are many SW tools that enable this such as Lightroom presets and plugins. Some examples:
Lightroom Film Preset Done Right
Presets | X-Equals - Click. Download. Smile.
VSCO Film | Visual Supply Co

Hope you give it a try.
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

I really am not in the position to comment since I have not used film extensively. All I can say is that at base ISO, the D800 is just an awesome camera and I don't think the film can match the print quality. I could be wrong but I doubt it.
 
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wornish

Senior Member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

I thought the OP thought the examples they shared were good as they are from film cameras.

The links PhilGPhoto shared are great and they show what the D800 can achieve in the right hands.
 
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aroy

Senior Member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

In film as long as you were under exposed and knew it, you could push the developer to bring the shot back into visible DR range. Some of the high contrast films could give you extra DR, but I do not think that you could ever come near the modern DSLR sensors where the wide DR is in the data available to be manipulated as we wish.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

I've shot film extensively and can affirm that the modern digital sensor is much more sensitive than the film was. Sure, if you look at raw digital straight out of the camera, the film "might" have a little more something. But I'd bet that you could take the same shot with film and with a D800, give the D800's file to a good post processing person and the D800 would be way above the other print.

Now this is my opinion, based on the iso capacities of the modern sensor and specially the ease of post processing and sharing.

Or was the original poster just trolling a bit? :)
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
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PhilGPhoto

New member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

It is dated and if you really take photos like this test case, then you may care. I think photography is as much about solving problems as it is about craft and art. If you have an image you want to capture, do what you need to do to express your vision. If harsh lighting conditions exist, deal with them or don't shoot the image and wait for the light to get better or make the light better with modifiers, your perspective (move your feet or your subject) or with a studio to control everything.

The debate of film vs digital still goes on and I can't tell you which you should prefer. I can tell you that many photographers get great results using digital today. If digital is so buggy or bad, why is it so prevalent and why are film mfrs no longer making film? There has to be something to it.

I mirror the sentiments in this post: Film versus Digital: the current comparison
"Truly great photographers" produce truly great photographs no matter what their equipment is.

I think your friend's information is a bit dated: current digital cameras outperform film emulsions (size for size) in resolution and dynamic range.

Spend your energies taking great shots.
Nobody cares exactly what equipment you use - everybody cares about the results."
Click to expand...

Digital technology continues to improve at breakneck speed. The debate and test from a year or more ago change today and will change again tomorrow.

Try it for yourself and if you don't like the results, stay with film or wait. I know a bunch of photographers who shoot both film and digital. I also know a bunch of people that won't give up their vacuum tube amps for their sound systems. I also prefer chocolate ice cream over vanilla, but I'm not going to tell you that you have to switch to chocolate too.

Whatever you decide, keep on shooting
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

LeicaR9 said:
Is there any truth in this article?
Digital vs Film 2012-2013: CAMERA VS. LOG - Testing Dynamic Range
Click to expand...

Maybe. So what? Did you know that you could use 3 different exposures and then combine them to create an image that would easily surpass what film can do? try to find a film that will give you a printable image at iso 6400. Shadows and highlights are not the only important things in photography. As a matter of fact, I could say that in normal light range situations, film could look too dull with details everywhere but no punch.

Anyway, it seems to me that you are already convinced about these facts. So why ask our opinons? You should post your affirmations in a "analog film user" forum where you'd received more positive responses to your questions.
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
Re: The quality out of D800 i is below 35mm film.

If you don't like digital, there's an easy solution to your problem: stop using digital and stay with film. There ya go. End of problem. Now.....moving right along.......... ;)
 
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