Good Enough?

[Mike Farley]

A slightly overlong video has just emerged over at Luminous Landscape about whether today's cameras are good enough. It's entertaining to hear Michael Reichmann and Kevin Raber chatting to each other, but they do reach the conclusion that most sensible people who do not frequent forums to discuss technical details* ad infinitum have already worked out. What we have today is streets ahead of anything that was available previously, even at the lower end of the market. While some take pleasure in the technical aspect, for most it is the images we can make which our existing equipment which really matters. There is a measure of satisfaction to be gained from having the latest gear, but that is usually a secondary consideration.

The point is well made that in Ansel Adams' Zone System each step is equvalent to a stop, with the lowest tonal value being absolute black and the highest absolute white. In other words an effective dynamic range of 8 stops, something which even Canon's maligned sensors are capable of achieving.

https://luminous-landscape.com/is-good-good-enough/

* That's the easy part. Taking good pictures is far more difficult.

** As much as anything, this is undoubtedly the real reason why camera sales are falling. In the early days of digital, the increments were sufficiently large to justify an upgrade, but that is no longer happening and there is no revolutionary technology in the background waiting to take over. The manufacturers have made today's cameras too good ....