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Article DetailsDigital Photography. The Megapixel Race |
| Date Added: April 30, 2010 03:36:41 PM |
| Author: Andy Nickerson |
| Category: Digital photography |
| I was lucky enough to be invited to my local universities photography course open day earlier this week and afterward was assured a viewing of Hasselblads latest digital piece of awesomeness, the H4D series. Hasselblads area sales team done a exceptional job in showing the new cameras functions and abilities and best of all we then got a chance to salivate over one of these divine beasts in person.Well I'll openly admit what a wonderful piece of apparatus this camera is, as with all past Hasselbads (I've been fortunate enough to own a number) the build quality and ergonomics are simply awesome, a bench mark for all other companies to follow etc etc etc... but this isn't a review writeup. What has been bugging me and by all accounts many other photographers, judging by the ones I spoke to the other evening, is this apparent mega pixel mania. This absurd and down right deceptive obsession with the pixel count as a gauge of the caliber of a camera and subsequently the photographer.I've no wish to slag off any particular camera producer, Hasselblad recognize their market place is in high end image making where such photographers would most likely need such huge pixel counts in order to reproduce onto massive billboards etc, but all camera brands are doing it! Without sounding dismissive, few enthusiasts down the neighborhood camera club are ever likely to be invited to shoot a national advertising campaign. The fact is very few will ever generate anything much bigger than an A3 print. And in fact many will never print their shots at all alternatively preferring to view/present their photos on a PC or projector screen.I have photographed both billboard posters and also produced huge exhibition prints whilst working with in the strict demands of the advertising industry. Since taking a step back from the advertising world but still continuing to shoot in a professional setting where pressures are high I have seldom shot anything that the client needed to be printed greater than A4. As a matter of fact after reviewing last years commissions I can gather that at least 75% of this commercial work will ever go near a printing press, instead they will continue firmly in the virtual world such as a clients web-site or email marketing campaign! on a larger format camera, but just bigger!I keep threatening to update my equipment, or kind of keep getting seduced by clever marketing strategiesploys into thinking I need to update my gearcamera kit, but the simple truth is I really don't need to. Picture quality is not governed by pixel count or more specifically file size, that is a fact. There are many considerations that govern the quality of an image from the quality of the concept, the control and quality of light, exposure, post capture production and of course all this relies on the potential of the geek behind the lense. Ponder the shots that have most inspired you or made you go wow and I can guarantee you that many of those shots were not captured on cameras of any better physical quality than even a moderate modern day digital camera.Modern day digital cameras are truly remarkable gadgets and the great news is that you don't have to flog your house to purchase one. That makes them a great equalizer, photography is not just for the reserve of the rich and famous or the bearded camera geek (no offence to any bearded readers out there, I salute your hairyness!). So get on ebay, pick up a 18 month old DSLR bargain that some kind sole traded in for a apparently bigger and better model, read a couple of relevant books and then get on out there and start shooting like there’s no tomorrow, hey there’s no film to have to buy or process!This article has been supplied courtesy of Andy Nickerson. Andy is a Northamptonshire studio photographer with over 14 years experience in working for design and advertising professionals. |
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Pictures of Spain
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Photography from Spain, daily updated photo collection where you will find royalty free images of Spain, for instant download without watermarks