Still Photography Throwdown: Silver Halide vs. Silicon

Mark D. FairchildMunsell Color Science LaboratoryChester F. Carlson Center for Imaging ScienceCollege of ScienceRochester Institute of Technology

throwdown |ˈθrōˌdoun|noun informala performance by or competition between rappers, breakdancers, etc. : a funky hip-hop throwdown.

Question

• Do digital systems produce quality comparable to film, or are they just more convenient and flexible?

• Consumer/Prosumer Applications

Motivation

Systems

• Film (35mm, Medium Format)

• Digital (dSLR, Point & Shoot)

• A small case study, not an exhaustive evaluation.

Hasselblad 501c

• Medium Format (6x6cm)

• Carl Zeiss Planar f/2.8 80mm T* Lens

• Portra 160nc Film

Nikon D2x

• 12.4 MPixel CMOS Sensor

• 17-55mm f/2.8 ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens

• Professional dSLR (2006)

Nikon F3

• 35 mm

• Portra 160nc

• Same Lens as D2x

• (1987)

Nikon CoolPix S220

• 10 MPixel CCD

• Point & Shoot

• Smile Detection / Blink Detection

• Noise?

• (2009)

Film Processing ?

Film Processing

• Process/Print/Scan in One Place?

• Mail Order to Hollywood Professional Lab

• 4x6 or 5x5 Optical Prints

• 5K Scans

Digital Processing

D2x

• RAW Workflow, Prints (Aperture)

S220

• JPEGs, Prints (iPhoto)

Scenes

Psychophysics

• Rank Order (4 Systems, 5 Scenes)

• Overall Image Quality

• Sharpness

• Color

Projected

• 19 Observers

• Self-Recorded Responses

• High-Quality Projector / Seminar Room

Instructions

There are four images (A, B, C, D) on each screen. Please rank order them from best to worst along each attribute and record your response on the answer sheet.

First rank overall picture quality, then color quality, then sharpness.

A B

C D

Prints

• Same 19 Observers

• Same Task

• D65 Print Room

• Experimenter Recorded Responses

Online

• Amazon Mechanical Turk

• 167 Observers (on average)

• Paid $0.01 Per Response

• Best, 2nd Best, Worst

• Overall Quality Only

Results

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4

Per

cent

in R

ank

Rank

Hasselblad 120Nikon D2xNikon F3 135Nikon CP S220

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4

Per

cent

in R

ank

Rank

Hasselblad 120Nikon D2xNikon F3 135Nikon CP S220

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4

Per

cent

in R

ank

Rank

Hasselblad 120Nikon D2xNikon F3 135Nikon CP S220

Projected Images: Average

Across Images

Overall

Color

Sharpness

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4

Per

cent

in R

ank

Rank

Hasselblad 120Nikon D2xNikon F3 135Nikon CP S220

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4

Per

cent

in R

ank

Rank

Hasselblad 120Nikon D2xNikon F3 135Nikon CP S220

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4

Per

cent

in R

ank

Rank

Hasselblad 120Nikon D2xNikon F3 135Nikon CP S220

Printed Images: Average

Across Images

Overall

Color

Sharpness

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3 4

Per

cent

in R

ank

Rank

Hasselblad 120Nikon D2xNikon F3 135Nikon CP S220

Online Images: Average

Across Images

IQ Metrics

• Slanted-Edge SFR

• MITRE IQM

Slant-Edge SFR

0

0.25

0.50

0.75

1.00

0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0

Hasselblad - Portra 160NC

SFR

Frequency (cy/mm)

0

0.25

0.50

0.75

1.00

0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0

Nikon Coolpix S220

SFR

Frequency (cy/mm)

0

0.25

0.50

0.75

1.00

0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0

Nikon F3 - Portra 160NC

SFR

Frequency (cy/mm)

0

0.25

0.50

0.75

1.00

0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0

Nikon D2x

SFR

Frequency (cy/mm)

MITRE IQM

• CSF-Weighted Power Spectrum

• Well Correlated to Visual Quality Judgements

• Remote Sensing Applications

0

0.63

1.25

1.88

2.50

Slant Edge Resolution Chart Flowers Shadow Cow Tojo Garden Average

3.0

+ lo

g(M

itre

IQM

)

Image Content

Hasselblad 120 Nikon D2xNikon F3 135 Nikon CP S200

Summary

• D2x wins 4/5 Assessments

• F3/Film (Same Lens) wins 5th (Prints)

• S220 Could Use Fewer Pixels / Less Processing

6 MPixels...

Only Film ...

Actually dSLR!

Thank You ...

• cemetery @ night