Pixiq

This article was originally written in the Fall of 2007 and is an excerpt from the Michael Clark Photography Newsletter, which is a PDF magazine published quarterly. Nonetheless the info is still timely and hopefully we'll start to see some of these improvements in DSLRs soon. 

I originally thought up this article about a month ago just before Nikon and Canon announced some of the most ground breaking cameras to ever hit the market. In light of these new digital SLR camera models I thought I’d still go ahead and give my opinions on “Where do we go from here?” and add my comments relating to the latest cameras.

I have written before about maximum resolution in 35mm type digital SLR cameras so I won’t go into that here. Suffice it to say that I think we have hit the wall or are pretty much right there in terms of how many megapixles are practical and possible in DSLRs. Canon’s recent announcement of the 1Ds Mark III with its maximum resolution of 21 MP is going to push Canon’s lenses very hard. And if the rumors hold and Nikon releases a 20+ MP camera next spring then we’ll have come very close to the limits of 35mm optics since the lenses are the limiting factor - or rather the diameter of the lenses. 

So without further ado here is the list of what I feel we really need in new digital cameras, for both 35mm and medium format:

Higher Bit Depth: The first thing that I have had on my wish list for a long time is higher bit depth. Currently most digital cameras (35mm) operate at 12 bits (4,096 colors per channel). While it works quite well, highlight blooming is a common issue and transitions between highlights and shadows could be better. Hence, I am not surprised to see both Nikon and Canon introduce 14 bit cameras and this is a huge improvement in image quality that is reason enough to upgrade even if there were no other improvements in the camera. 

One of the major reasons for a higher bit depth besides the issues above is that it also gives you a lot more headroom when tweaking images in photoshop. Now, I don’t go to extremes in general. I am one of those photographers that likes to get it right in the camera - but every once in a while when I pick up the artistic license it is nice to go a little crazy with an image and not have severe noise or pixelation occur.

On a side note, medium format backs have been 14 bit for a long time (even though most advertise their backs as 16 bit). The only medium format back that is truly 16 bit are the Leaf backs according to my sources. True 16 bit is fantastic and in the future, we can only hope that the camera manufacturers will aim for true 16 or even 24 bit capture.

Better Lenses: The optics are currently the limiting factor in terms of resolution for 35mm based digital cameras. This has more to do with physics than it does our ability to build incredible lenses. Nonetheless, better made optics and optics made specifically for digital capture would help eliminate some of the issues that commonly appear in digital images such as chromatic aberration, vignetting, loss of sharpness and overall image quality. This is especially true with wide angle lenses and both Nikon and Canon can improve their optics in this genre. 

Nikon has already started building digital specific lenses and is shipping these along with the D3. On the Canon front, especially with their new 21 MP camera, their optics need a big improvement if they hope to keep up with that sensor. At the moment, I would venture a guess that most of their lenses don’t resolve as much detail as that 21 MP sensor. Even with the 16 MP 1Ds Mark II, Canon only had a few lenses that could match the resolution of the sensor - I haven’t done any testing on this but from what I have heard from Canon shooters it seems to be true. And with my Nikon D2x, it pushes my lenses very hard - only the best lenses can really resolve what that sensor can produce. 

As a side note with medium format digital capture the optics have not yet become a limiting factor because of the larger diameter lens mount and we haven’t yet reached a resolution that really taxes those lenses. Even so Hasselblad has designed specific digital lenses, mostly wide angle options, for the latest H3D.

Wider Dynamic Range: As a pro photographer who often shoots in challenging lighting I am always wanting greater exposure latitude, especially in the highlight areas. Digital has significantly more detail in the shadows than slide film ever did and we can’t complain there at all. It is only in the highlights that I wish we could improve the dynamic range of these cameras. Part of this will be helped by higher bit depth (as discussed already) and part of this will have to be addressed via firmware as it has been with the latest Canon 1D Mark II. I applaud Canon for including what they call “Highlight Protection” in their latest cameras as this helps retain highlight detail. I have heard that Nikon has incorporated something similar into its new Nikon D3, but it remains to be seen how effective it is in everyday usage. This is an area where overall image quality can be drastically improved. We many not always need extreme exposure latitude but it gives us many more options in the final processing and obviously in contrasty and difficult lighting conditions. 

Live and accurate Histogram in the Viewfinder: It might be considered a bold move by some, but if I had my way I would take the standard metering nomenclature out of the cameras viewfinder and replace it with an accurate  live histogram. Why? Because for metering these days the cameras meter is only the starting point for a good digital exposure. Using the histogram to judge exposure is a much more accurate and better system then setting your camera in manual mode and just clocking the exposure where it tells you. This would allow us to work faster and really lock in the exposure without having to look down at the back of the camera and check out the histograms. Even better if they could have a “heads up display” on the screen in the viewfinder that splits out the red, green and blue histograms after each shot that would be incredible. And last but not least - if we could have accurate histograms from the actual raw images instead of histograms built from a jpeg rendering that would be HUGE!

Lose the 35mm format frame: This might just be a personal preference, but I am not a huge fan of the overly rectangular 35mm frame ratio (2:3). I would much prefer to see a 6x7 or 6x45 type framing ratio since the 35mm frame has to be cropped quite a bit for the normal magazine page. Nikon has caught onto this idea by offering different crop factors with the new D3. I think another reason I’d push for a less rectangular sensor is that there is a lot of wasted space in the image circle with the standard 35mm frame. A 6:7 framing ratio makes better use of the lenses image circle and would likely have less vignetting as well. 

More Accurate and Reliable Autofocus: With the advent of high resolution digital SLRs we have seen that the autofocus of the film days wasn’t all that accurate. And it still proves to be a hot topic. Witness the big autofocus issues with the brand new Canon 1D Mark III. I know of several sports and wildlife photographers that feel burned by Canon because the autofocus is less accurate than their previous camera. In my own experience, I have to send in my Nikon D2x about once a year to have the autofocus re-aligned because a few outer focus point start to go off kilter. This is a quality control issue I think and for companies like Canon to release a pro camera with major autofocus issues is pretty rough, especially when buyers plunk down $5,000 and expect it to work! 

Lower noise at High ISO’s: This has been an ongoing issue for Nikon shooters, not so much for Canon shooters. But now with the release of the Nikon D3 and the incredible sample photos that mark a new era in low light shooting possibilities it appears that some major strides have been made in this area. Kudos to both Nikon and Canon for working on this - I can’t wait to try out a D3 at 6400 ISO. That will open up entire new worlds of photography. 

Faster framing rates for 12+ MP cameras: Canon just announced a 10 MP camera that shoots at 10 fps and Nikon’s D3 has specs of shooting at 9 fps at 12 MP so it seems like great strides have been made in this area as well. As the technology continues to grow  I’m sure we’ll see even faster framing rates on even higher megapixel cameras.

Better VR & IS lenses: It would be very nice to see the Vibration Reduction (aka Image Stabilization) improved as well to help counteract the high resolution these cameras can capture. When you increase the number of pixels on a sensor you also increase the sensitivity to camera shake and at 21 MP with the latest Canon that will become a huge factor. Don’t get me wrong - the VR and IS is already very good but I hope they keep working on it so it can keep up with the new high resolution cameras. 

Smaller and Lighter Cameras: Last but not least, do these things have to weigh four pounds with a lens on them? Hopefully smaller, lighter, more ergonomic bodies and lenses are coming as well. 

Note: This article is an excerpt from the Michael Clark Photography Newsletter, which is a PDF magazine published quarterly. If you would like to read back issues of the newsletter please click here. If you would like to sign up for the newsletter please drop me an email.