The use of 40mp? (Pentax 645D)

[Alpha]

I remember someone once saying that in the professional world of touchups having an incredibly resolution makes the images easier to work with. Removing a hair is easier if it's a strand rather than a pixelated blur that results from aliasing, as is removing blemishes while retaining detail. ... Or so I've heard.

As someone who loves big landscapes I can tell you that there's nothing quite as jawdropping as a large incredibly sharp print on the wall. My favorite image is the one hanging over my bed. Just shy of 80mpx, measuring about 50" across and 24" high it releases people's oooohs and ahhhhhs when they see it. Mind you at this point it also cost me $70 for the printing and $200 for the framing, but what's a few $ in the pursuit of perfection right? One can never have too many megapixels providing you are capable of resolving the detail with the lens, and it doesn't (within reason) impact performance in other areas such as noise.

Agreed. As someone who's done a significant amount of retouching (though I'm not exactly hot ****), I can definitely attest to the utility of increased detail. I scan my medium format film at 3000dpi and it's not uncommon for me to approach 100% magnification when doing fine retouching.

 

[CCericola]

If I could afford a medium format digital I would buy it in a heartbeat. I love MF. Hell, even school portraits I shot in 2001 and 2002 were on 100 Foot rolls of 120 film. Class photos were shot using a 645. 40 isn't that much more. I took a class with Joseph Simone and his wife. They shoot MF digital and mostly all they shoot is portraits

 

[altitude604]

if you could afford it, why wouldn't you?

 

[mjhoward]

Only 40 MP?....ha.

H4D-60

Only 60 MP?....ha..
IQ180 digital back - full frame sensor and sensor plus technology

:razz:

 

[480sparky38 37]

When I get into some serious pano stitching, I can end up with 75-125mp images.

 

[skieur]

If I could afford a medium format digital I would buy it in a heartbeat. I love MF. Hell, even school portraits I shot in 2001 and 2002 were on 100 Foot rolls of 120 film. Class photos were shot using a 645. 40 isn't that much more. I took a class with Joseph Simone and his wife. They shoot MF digital and mostly all they shoot is portraits

Try renting one. They may not be as expensive to rent as you think. It depends on where you are location-wise and how much photography and film work goes on in your city. Red One, Red Epic, or the Leica S2 are often available for rent in some places in Canada. In the US, they would be cheaper.

skieur

 

[Rocan]

big prints. thats why.

soon enough we will have a 35mm equivalent sensor size that can cram in enough detail as a large format negative. and then what do you know; we suddenly have no use for the large format cameras of yesteryear. whats the use of it? for you, maybe nothing. But the reason its being made, is because there IS a market for it.