Teacher: Kenji Tachibana Digital Photography I. Image Quality 15 slides Copyright © 2003 – 2009...

Teacher: Kenji TachibanaDigital Photography IDigital Photography I.

Image QualityImage Quality

15 slides15 slides

Copyright © 2003 – 2009 Kenji Tachibana

Teacher: Kenji TachibanaDigital Photography IDigital Photography IImage Quality:Image Quality:

Primary Contributors:

The sensor chip size and pixel count are big factors in image quality. Although chip size and pixel count are only a small part of the final image quality.

The compact digital sensor chip is about the size of a thumbnail. DSLR APS sensor chips are much larger but smaller than the 35mm film frame size.


Balance: Chip Size and Pixel count

There is a balance between chip size and the optimum number of pixels. Pixel count beyond 5 MP add to and takes away from image quality. 10 MP means over crowding that results in excess heat. And heat is unfriendly to all electronic components.

Selling pixel count is similar to selling horsepower or engine size in cars. It makes for an easy-sell message. But it also becomes wasteful and ineffective.

The current state of the art is 12 MP. That is like having a 12 cylinder engine. That is about twice the image quality requirement of most users.


Favorites: Panasonic and Canon

My current favorites are the out dated compact digitals Panasonic’s superzoom DMC-FZ18 with an 8 MP chip and the Canon’s S5is superzoom with the same chip.

They both have fine optics so the image quality is very similar. And they both suffer from digital noise (image grain and more) issues due to the over crowding that results in a very hot environment.

They install more stuff to combat the heat but they also contribute to the heat issue…


Panasonic’s Edge: RAW story

Panasonic is new to still photography. It’s trying to become ‘real’ in the market place. To do so, they made the wise decision to add the RAW image file output capability to many of its high end compact digitals. A good marketing decision for them.

FZ18 superzoom has the RAW advantage but the Canon S5is does not. Canon purposely left out the RAW feature for the fear of competing with their own popular DSLR sales. A good marketing decision for Canon.


Abandoning the Nikon Brand:

Nikon was my favorite camera maker as a student and a pro photographer. So, my early series of compact digital was a Nikon prosumer Coolpix which had the RAW capability.

When I moved up from the Coolpix 5000 to the 5400, I was shocked to find that they had removed the RAW capability. After many users complained, they made a false promise to add the feature back into a firmware update within 3 months.


Open Field: Good self education

After a lifetime of dedication to the Nikon brand, I abandoned it. It was obvious that by removing the RAW capability, Nikon was no longer aiming their Coolpix at the knowledgeable user. I started looking at other brands such as the Pentax, Sony, Canon, and Panasonic.

1.Pentax Optio MX series2.Sony Cybershot H series3.Canon PowerShot A series4.Panasonic Lumix FZ series.


Firmware: Software for the camera

Firmware is a small program that internally control various electronic devices. All digitals are mall and portable computers with a specialized capability on capturing images.

All the major camera makers have their own firmware like Microsoft and Adobe. They are designed to get the most out of their own digitals. And all DSLR and high end compacts have the capability to update the camera firmware.


CCD Chips:

There are many more camera makers than chip makers. Sony makes their own sensor chip but Nikon doesn’t. Nikon uses Sony (historical fact) CCD chips.

Each company has its secret firmware ingredients for getting the most image quality out of any sensor chip. According to a dpreview article in 2005, Nikon was able to get more image quality out of a Sony chip than Sony.


Sensor Chip: See in B&W

Most sensors see in black and white. On board circuitry, hardware, and firmware process the RAW image data into the full color JPEG image that you see on the LCD monitor and download to your computer.


RAW Raw Rah:

Some compact digital and all DSLR cameras allow the user to download the unprocessed RAW image data. Done correctly, the RAW ‘work flow’ is capable of producing a much higher image quality than any camera processed JPEG images.

Although the RAW work flow isn’t recommend for this class. It will add great deal of time, complexity, and confusion to the image handling process.

You must learn simple 3-step basic processing in this class before even thinking about tackling RAW image files.


Four Controlling Factors:

1. Image Size: Small (640 by 480) – good for e-mail . Medium (1600 by 1200) – not recommended. Large (2548 by 1955) – use for assignments. Larger than 2548 by 1955 – not practical due to

processing times, storage space needs.

2. File Compression: Use the highest quality JPEG. Don’t use TIF or RAW. And TIF is starting to become obsolete.

3. Sensitivity: Use ISO 100. ISO 200 will be allowed for emergencies but will lower the image quality and your assignment grade. But never use 400 or faster speeds with compact digitals.

4. Camera Optics: You get what you pay for… sort of…

Teacher: Kenji TachibanaDigital Photography IDigital Photography IImage Quality: Relevant factsImage Quality: Relevant facts

Image File Size: Approximations

Chip Size File Size 128MB 256MB 512M 1GB 2GB3 mega pixel 1.2 MB 106 213 426 853 17064 mega pixel 2.0 MB 64 128 256 512 10245 mega pixel 2.5 MB 51 102 204 409 8186 mega pixel 3.2 MB 40 80 160 320 640

Example: A 5 MP camera produces an average image file size of 2.5 MB. And a 512 MB memory card (digital film) can hold 204 images. The same medium can only hold 160 6 MP image files.

Teacher: Kenji TachibanaDigital Photography IDigital Photography IImage Quality: Related topicImage Quality: Related topic

Digital Film: Recommendation

My recommendation is for you to have 1 or 2 GB digital film ‘card’ for use with a compact digital camera. 2 GB or more is recommended for the DSLR users. I also recommend a second digital film for data storage, transport, and backup use.

Teacher: Kenji TachibanaDigital Photography IDigital Photography IImage Quality: ConclusionImage Quality: Conclusion

Summary:

It’s through high image quality that an image maker conveys love for the medium. Although high image quality without a story is usually not that interesting. It’ll be like looking at a never used stainless steel car engine, a waste of valuable and finite resources…

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Teacher: Kenji TachibanaDigital Photography IDigital Photography I

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Teacher: Kenji Tachibana Digital Photography I. Image Quality 15 slides Copyright © 2003 – 2009...

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