Resolution of Media

Standard 35mm film in a "good ole" camera has a resolution of about 3500 lines x 5500 lines, or in simple, though not scientific comparison, this should be equivalent to 19,250,000 pixels, or a 19.25 Meg image.

If you are only slightly aware of the term pixel resolution, then realize that the resolution of a very small thumbnail on the Internet is often in the 60 x 100 pixel range, or only 6K.  About 3,250% less clear than film.

Your screen at work might be 1280 x 1024 giving you a 1.3 Meg image.

But not just resolution of the image comes into play with cameras.

Brightness, scene illumination, and reflectance features due to the way the camera actually picks up the image and converts to electrons, and many other factors have tremendous impact on the quality of the picture.

I just read how one manufacturer had to change a number of circuits in their amplification to compensate due to the brightness of sunlight in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The brightness of the sun was adding a brilliance to the image that would completely outweigh any resolution capability of the camera – a bleached image, if you will.

The newest digital cameras (out in three to four months) will compensate pixel-by-pixel instead of by scene of software. This improves light balance (contrast and brightness significantly.

We take our eyes for granted and expect the digital camera to resolve all elements that, in the past, have been difficult to deal with and a challenge to correct.

By studying the attached chart, you well get a further appreciation for ways to capture the perfect image – or how hard it is.