Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="WayneF" data-source="post: 136882" data-attributes="member: 12496">And yet, the 36 megapixel D800 is better than any of them, even the 24 mp D600 or 12 mp D700.&nbsp; That seems a complication to simple logic.Diffraction is caused by the lens, not the sensor.&nbsp; The same lens and aperture on both FX and DX will obviously see the same diffraction.&nbsp;&nbsp; You might read about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airy_disk" target="_blank">Airy Disk on Wikipedi</a>a, where it explains that diffraction depends on the aperture diameter.&nbsp; This Airy Disk is one way to measure it.&nbsp; It limits resolution.The only relation to a digital sensor is that the Airy Disk diameter can compare to the size of one pixel.&nbsp; If we imagine it is perfectly aligned (this point source with Airy Disk size) to fall on exactly one pixel, then when it gets larger, it may fall on more than one pixel.&nbsp; But it would not be aligned in the first place, it likely already is on multiple pixels.&nbsp; Regardless, it is the size it is, and diffraction depends on the lens, not on the sensor.&nbsp; Smaller pixels of greater megapixels would simply resolve the Airy Disk better, but its presence does not depend on if we can resolve it or not.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="WayneF, post: 136882, member: 12496"] And yet, the 36 megapixel D800 is better than any of them, even the 24 mp D600 or 12 mp D700. That seems a complication to simple logic. Diffraction is caused by the lens, not the sensor. The same lens and aperture on both FX and DX will obviously see the same diffraction. You might read about [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airy_disk"]Airy Disk on Wikipedi[/URL]a, where it explains that diffraction depends on the aperture diameter. This Airy Disk is one way to measure it. It limits resolution. The only relation to a digital sensor is that the Airy Disk diameter can compare to the size of one pixel. If we imagine it is perfectly aligned (this point source with Airy Disk size) to fall on exactly one pixel, then when it gets larger, it may fall on more than one pixel. But it would not be aligned in the first place, it likely already is on multiple pixels. Regardless, it is the size it is, and diffraction depends on the lens, not on the sensor. Smaller pixels of greater megapixels would simply resolve the Airy Disk better, but its presence does not depend on if we can resolve it or not. [/QUOTE]

Verification