A master class focused on understanding picture quality in the Digital Age, and the scientific concepts underlying the performance of modern digital cameras
An in-depth discussion on the science behind today’s digital cinema cameras, and its affect on recording motion picture images, will soon be available here on Pananet.
On April 3, John Galt, Panavision Senior Vice President, Advanced Digital Imaging, and Larry Thorpe, National Marketing Manager, Canon Broadcast & Communication Division, presented their views on a realistic, scientifically valid way to gauge the quality of recorded pictures that belies the theory that “it’s all about the pixels.” The sessions were held at Panavision’s world headquarters in Woodland Hills, and taped in high definition video with three cameras before a live audience of cinematographers, and other craftsmen, studio executives and the media.
The sessions have been edited, and will be presented in multiple parts on this site, a variety of professional and popular online video outlets, and colleges and university film schools.
What did we learn?
The key issue, especially for those of us dealing with customers at Panavision, is that the pixel output of a camera system has little to do with final image performance. Production staffs who judge camera performance purely on pixel counts may be short-changing themselves on the actual quality of the images that are finally seen on big and little screens.
An important question to ask is how many photo sites does the imager (or sensor) have that contribute to the output? A so-called “4K camera” that has an imager with only 8 or 10 million photo sites but outputs 25 or 32 megapixels is interpolating data without adding any image performance. Moreover, it creates a four-fold increase in post-production digital data to be stored and processed that is both unnecessary and expensive.
Marketing pixels come at a price!
By contrast, Genesis has a 12.4 million photo site sensor, produces content superior to what is commonly called a “4K” camera, but through “super-sampling” our final output which is only 6 megapixels (or an 8 megabyte DPX frame). In other words: Same or better picture quality with far less overhead.
Instead of using pixels to determine picture quality, Galt and Thorpe recommend the MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) System—a resolution system that takes into account multiple factors in the actual production of any given image such as measurable characteristics of lenses, the sensor used in actual recording, intermediate film stocks, even the projector lens—digital movie makers have tools to help them gauge precisely what effect each step has on the production of that final image.
Once movie makers understands how variables such as MTF, Nyquest calculations, Bayer pattern, the scientific difference between sharpness and resolution have real impact on digital pictures—all explored in this symposium by Galt and Thorpe--they will be better equipped to choose the right cameras and associated technologies to produce the pictures they want.
“Demystifying Digital Camera Specifications” is a meaningful way to understand clearly where each part of the movie-making process plays its part.
Watch it in our media center
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