Does digital beat film?
Has the time come where the quality of digital cameras are better than the best 100 speed film?
In a recent Popular Photography article they claim that the new Canon EOS 1DS Mark II meets and beats the quality of 100 speed Kodak film. I found this hard to believe but the good folks over at POP must know what they are doing.
It has long been believed the only way to get the quality of 100 ASA film you needed a 20 – 30 mega pixel camera. (I am not aware of a DSLR 20 or 30 mega pixel camera yet.) But as the article points out it not just about the pixel count, there are other factors to consider for instance color accuracy, noise (grain), contrast, and resolution. All of these elements play a part in photo quality.
Something else to consider is the easy of use of both formats. Some may consider film as easier to use due to the extra post processing time involved in digital. While others say that digital is more forgiving especially when shooting in RAW mode, and having the option to fix a problem in the computer can save on the costs of re-shooting.
The Canon EOS 1DS is a great camera (it should be for $8000) but I would like to see the results myself before I make a judgment call.
Check out the article and let me know what you think.