Why can digital cameras still not match film?

PiKe · 13 May 2009 at 14:54

I'm here looking at a Velvia 50 RVP transparency and looking at the RAW file from a Canon EOS 1DS MK3 and I'm thinking, why haven't we actually progressed?

Do digital cameras inherently have problems with greens and blues? The camera is set up to mimic Velvia in terms of colour temperature but it's still completely gash compared to the Film, is 12bit colour just not enough?

cosmogenesis · 13 May 2009 at 15:46

Yes, Digital cameras probably do still have issues. 16 bit RAW is coming, its a complex issue and one that I read up on but its typically difficult to get your head around.

is it the pixel count, I did once read that a film camera requires around 20 MP to be equalled by a digital one but that has been reached now. Hard to see what else can be done but some babble about the new DIGIC IV processor and all its advances etc.

GeX · 13 May 2009 at 15:52

digital is sampled analogue, where as film is just analogue. sampled media is easier for editing / transmitting, that's it.

cosmogenesis · 13 May 2009 at 15:59

Doubt anyone but some of the best would go back to analogue film cameras.

vcl_X1 · 13 May 2009 at 16:36

TBF Velvia isn't exacty the most neutral (i.e. accurate) of films with bags of saturation to boot.

How does the shadow detail compare between the two - not much on the Velvia I suspect and shed loads on the digi slr

asim18 · 13 May 2009 at 17:14

PiKe said:
I'm here looking at a Velvia 50 RVP transparency and looking at the RAW file from a Canon EOS 1DS MK3 and I'm thinking, why haven't we actually progressed?

Of course we've progressed, look at a raw file from a Mk3 and a Mk1 and the progression is obvious.

Rikki · 14 May 2009 at 12:39

For 35mm film to digital we are there in resolution (film scans start to go blurry) but DR still isnt quite there yet.

Forgeting the image quality the benefits digital give are immense.

On a 32gb CF card my D700 will take 850 RAW + JPG shots, a bit more than the 36 a roll the film guys do. Same goes for burst rate, live view all the advances that digital bodies have in metering and AF - the list goes on.

BUFF · 14 May 2009 at 22:25

Rikki said:
but DR still isnt quite there yet.

iirc Velvia has quite poor DR & a recent sensor (9-10 stops +) should beat it in terms of DR?

PiKe said:
Do digital cameras inherently have problems with greens and blues?

Nikon & Canon DSLRs do to a certain extent - the sensor/processing design decisions are a balancing act involving compromises/tradeoffs e.g. Sony has better green separation than Nikon, and better blue separation than Canon but that comes at the cost of increased noise.
Do you want more accurate colour (& by accurate do you mean film-like or as the eye sees?) or better high ISO & would you be prepared to tradeoff 1 for the other?