Resolution 1020

[david_horne_9964]

I've done a good deal of testing with the 1020. Shown is a resolution test with the 1020 in DNG mode. I judge the resolution at 100 LP/mm ( 35mm equivalent ). For comparison, my 14MP Sigma only makes it to about 50. My friends 20MP Canon earns about 65. 35mm color print film maxes out at about 85 and Tech Pan, 120. I use my 1020 in JEPG mode which yields about 90 but is considerably faster and less noisy than DNG mode. All these tests are " apples to apples ". In other words, the test chart fits the frame on all devices. Please comment if you would like to see more test results.

 

[belodion]

I'm astonished that it's that good. I seem to remember from my film camera days that the lens's resolving power was a function of aperture....higher at wider apertures....and of course the 1020 has a wide-aperture lens, which may therefore be relevant. Yes, by all means show more results.

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[david_horne_9964]

Yes belodion, maximum sharpness of a 35mm lens tends to f5.6. Sharpness is limited by diffraction on one end of the aperture scale and film diffusion on the other end. Since film diffusion is no longer part of the equation, it's back to the drawing board for maximum sharpness. My advice is to test all your lenses. I actually labeled mine indicating the sweet spots. It's a mute point at the moment though as all my lenses FAR out resolve a 14MP sensor.

 

[david_horne_9964]

I should point out that Sigma now makes a 46MP DSLR but it is priced out of my reach !

 

[Arup Roy Chowdhury]

I am not surprised but do you have a Sigma DP Merrill for testing, the Merrills are on sale and the newer Quattros as well, both have beaten the best of DSLR world aka A7R and D800 as well have evenly matched US$10000 Hasselblad and Pentax medium formats. The 1020 is a machine that will not be matched, I have seen the results of the Panasonic DM C1 with 1" sensor and Leica lens and except for low light, I am not impressed.

 

[david_horne_9964]

Wow Arup Roy Chowdhury, I wish I had a SD-1 ! I have experimented with emulating a much larger aperture lenses for the 1020. I've posted one result already and will be posting more as a do them. One problem I am running into is chromatic aberration. I believe this is due to the very wide focal length of the 1020 and the lack of available diopters with an extremely flat n value across the visible spectrum. Since attaching a 52mm ring to my camera grip I have ordered many different 52mm filters to experiment with including infrared. I'll post the results later.

 

[david_horne_9964]

I should point out that, just going by the numbers, the SD-1 should top the 1020's resolution by about 27%. That would put it at about 130 on my chart. This is equivalent to 645 color film resolution. This number fits nicely with Sigma's aim on their new top end lenses like the 50mm f1.4. My Fujica 690 ( which I still use BTW ) can top 160.

 

[Arup Roy Chowdhury]

The Fuji 690 is a legendary beast in medium format world.

 

[belodion]

In nearly, if not all, cases in film photography, the maximum aperture of a wide-aperture lens, though theoretically affording higher resolution, was not worth using because of the degradation caused by residual aberrations. I assume this must remain true in digital photography though having no digital camera I'm not certain of that. But I'm amazed at the clarity and sharpness of the images produced by phone camera lenses, given that they are working at full aperture all the time. Perhaps the images are cleaned up by software.

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[david_horne_9964]

Maximum sharpness of a 35mm film lens tends to f5.6. Sharpness is limited by diffraction on one end ( higher number, smaller opening ) of the aperture scale and film diffusion on the other end ( lower number, wider opening ). This information is widely available and verified by my own testing. ( I'm a HUGE nerd ! ) Except for diffusion issues in the anti-aliasing filter, Bayer pattern sensors do not have the problem of diffusion and will yield higher resolution at wider apertures. I do not know nor can I find any data on how much diffusion effect the anti-aliasing filter has. My testing indicates that it is minimal. If I had two identical Bayer pattern, high resolution camera's, one with and one without an anti-aliasing filter, I could easily quantify it through testing.

The Foveon sensor, by it's very nature, will exhibit some diffusion effect at wider apertures but without one to test, I can not quantify it. Based on other peoples testing, I have to say that the effect will also be minimal.

 

[david_horne_9964]

belodion, please read this article testing the new Sigma 50mm, f1.4 lens. You'll see that high end lenses have improved dramatically over the last few years and now produce phenomenal results at wide apertures. By their own admission, resolution at f2.8 is limited only by the 22MP sensor used.
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Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG HSM review: Digital Photography Review
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