Are smaller pixels bad for diffraction? NO!!!!!!!!!

I suspect what you are seeing (except for the last 2 images) is more the effect of different AA filters and/or lens quality than diffraction effects.
Doubt it. 5D and 20D are similar in that regard, and the S3 has no AA filter.
Is it just the S3, or is it all 'compacts' that doesn't have a AA-filter? How is that possible without creating a lot of problems with moiré / aliasing?
 
How can the focal length be the same on an S3 (with a much smaller sensor) as a DSLR?
The S3's lens is a 6-72mm. I used it at the long end. I used a 70-200 on the SLRs at the wide end.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
I suspect what you are seeing (except for the last 2 images) is more the effect of different AA filters and/or lens quality than diffraction effects.
Doubt it. 5D and 20D are similar in that regard, and the S3 has no AA filter.
Is it just the S3, or is it all 'compacts' that doesn't have a AA-filter?
All that I know of (I suspect the micro 4/3 and Sigma DP's are the exception).
How is that possible without creating a lot of problems with moiré / aliasing?
The lenses act as the AA filter by not quite being sharp enough. The sensors generally lack an IR filter too, with a lens element serving that purpose.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
I agree the conclusion is correct but it would have been much better if the test was done with the same lens and sensors of the same size, e.g. 10D, 30D and 50D.
That would be tough for me since I don't have sensors of the same size with different pixel density. Plus, sensor size doesn't matter for this.

Maybe I'll do it again by simulation with all shots from the same camera. That would be easy.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
It only depends on aperture used and how much you magnify image for view. If you use same magnification for viewing image (assuming both sensor have enough resolution for that), results should be same regarding diffraction, just like for oof points (used for DoF calculations).
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Renato.
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OnExposure member
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Good shooting and good luck
(after Ed Murrow)
 
It only depends on aperture used and how much you magnify image for view. If you use same magnification for viewing image (assuming both sensor have enough resolution for that), results should be same regarding diffraction, just like for oof points (used for DoF calculations).
But see, that's not quite true, even for DoF calculations. The assumption with DOF calculations is that all the blur is due to OOF, and none is due to pixelation (sampling), i.e. CoC > > pixel size. While this is often a good assumption (CoC=0.030mm for 5DII producing an 8x10 print for normal viewing distance while pixels are 0.0064), it's obviously never perfect since CoC is never infinity and pixel size is never zero.

The same is true here. Smaller pixels actually reduce the total blur even when diffraction-limited because the total blur is a combination of that due to diffraction and that due to sampling. Reduce the sampling blur and you get less total blur even when diffraction-blur dominates. That's my point - smaller pixels make blur smaller (not bigger, as some would imply) even when diffraction-limited with the larger pixels.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
I am dizzier the more I read about this ... just shoot, not happy shoot again :d
It only depends on aperture used and how much you magnify image for view. If you use same magnification for viewing image (assuming both sensor have enough resolution for that), results should be same regarding diffraction, just like for oof points (used for DoF calculations).
But see, that's not quite true, even for DoF calculations. The assumption with DOF calculations is that all the blur is due to OOF, and none is due to pixelation (sampling), i.e. CoC > > pixel size. While this is often a good assumption (CoC=0.030mm for 5DII producing an 8x10 print for normal viewing distance while pixels are 0.0064), it's obviously never perfect since CoC is never infinity and pixel size is never zero.

The same is true here. Smaller pixels actually reduce the total blur even when diffraction-limited because the total blur is a combination of that due to diffraction and that due to sampling. Reduce the sampling blur and you get less total blur even when diffraction-blur dominates. That's my point - smaller pixels make blur smaller (not bigger, as some would imply) even when diffraction-limited with the larger pixels.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
I am dizzier the more I read about this ... just shoot, not happy shoot again :d
All you need to know is, getting a 7D won't hurt your performance due to diffraction compared with other 1.6-crop cameras.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
I am dizzier the more I read about this ... just shoot, not happy shoot again :d
All you need to know is, getting a 7D won't hurt your performance due to
diffraction compared with other 1.6-crop cameras.
I've tracked your posts for many years and have great trust in what you say.

So the question I am left with is... what about the 7D will hurt the performance?

:)
 
I suspect what you are seeing (except for the last 2 images) is more the effect of different AA filters and/or lens quality than diffraction effects.
Doubt it. 5D and 20D are similar in that regard, and the S3 has no AA filter.
Wellll - No AA is different than some AA isn't it :-)
critically focused (preferably manually to minimize AF errors),
Not very important when stopped down this far.
Actually it is. Even at small f-stops you still have a very thin pin sharp area even though the COC is smaller on either side of the focus plane. DOF is calculated for specific print size and When you enlarge very much like here, the relative COC enlarges as well causing even slight focus errors to become apparent. You need to be sure what you are seeing is diffraction effects and not focus errors.
.. processed the same from raw (very difficult because you have to upsize or downsize some),
Did that, on all three.
Problem is if you upsize or downsize you get software induced characteristics: Bicubic smooth will give different results from bicubic for example which might show up at these enlargements.
I disagree with this one. I wanted to enlarge to the size of the largest image, not shrink the largest to the smallest size. Some people have been claiming the 7D will be worse at high f-numbers, and this method shows that it's not.
Only if you don't enlarge or crop a lot more (when you've used small fstops) which many people believe the extra pixels will allow them to.
 
You must be getting something backwards. The only reason you would observe more diffraction with the smaller sensor is that small sensors typically have higher pixel densities. At the same f-stop, the absolute amount of diffraction softening (i.e. airy disk diameter) will be the same or very close with both sensor sizes.

From http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm

Technical Note:

Since the physical size of the lens aperture is larger for telephoto lenses (f/22 is a larger aperture at 200 mm than at 50 mm), why doesn't the size of the airy disk vary with focal length? This is because the distance to the focal plane also increases with focal length, and so the airy disk diverges more over this greater distance. As a result, the two effects of physical aperture size and focal length cancel out. Therefore the size of the airy disk only depends on the f-stop, which describes both focal length and aperture size. The term used to universally describe the lens opening is the "numerical aperture" (inverse of twice the f-stop). There is some variation between lenses though, but this is mostly due more to the different design and distance between the focal plane and "entrance pupil."
I agree that the sensor size does not directly affect the amount of diffraction on the image plane, but the design of lenses used on smaller sensors might.

Given that the f-number denotes the amount of light per unit area that hits the image plane, does it not follow that an EF-S lens of the same FL and f-number will have a smaller aperture diameter compared to an EF lens, due to the reduced image circle?

Therefore is it not possible to have 2 lenses of the same FL and f-number with different amounts of diffraction at the image plane?
 
I agree that the sensor size does not directly affect the amount of diffraction on the image plane, but the design of lenses used on smaller sensors might.

Given that the f-number denotes the amount of light per unit area that hits the image plane, does it not follow that an EF-S lens of the same FL and f-number will have a smaller aperture diameter compared to an EF lens, due to the reduced image circle?
No. Every point on the sensor plane, within the image circle, receives light from every point within the physical aperture stop. The size of the image circle has no effect on how large the aperture opening needs to be in order to let in a certain intensity of light.

(Image from Wikipedia)


Therefore is it not possible to have 2 lenses of the same FL and f-number with different amounts of diffraction at the image plane?
No, although differences in lens design (aperture shape) and mechanical variation due to tolerances can lead to small differences in the real world. But the f-stop is by far the most important factor, for a given wavelength of light.
 
This is more accurate ...
Allthough is not quite exact (see the answer from Vivid1), a picture worth a thousand words so I think is helpfull for many of us. Like specified by me in another posting:

"To put this in just one sentence: the sensor with a higher pixel density is more prone to show "better" the diffraction problems of the lens."
Well put and entirely in line with what I have been saying for a long time! However, to be a bit pedantic, rather than saying that higher pixel density better shows the "problem" of diffraction, it would be more accurate to say that higher pxiel density shows the diffraction limitations of the lens.

Using the word "problem" can imply to some that there is a "solution" which only needs to be discovered whereas the reality is that diffraction is an inherent property of the lens aperture and cannot be altered or reduced.
 
interesting..

and they all look blurry in the first place.

and F11 is at limits for 1.6 crop imo
When f-stops are high (for DOF or whatever) some people seem to get afraid of using cameras with small pixels. This is because they approach their "diffraction-limit" (at the pixel level) at lower (faster) f-stops.

THIS IS WRONG!!!! DON'T BE AFRAID OF SMALL PIXELS!!!!

Smaller pixels have a detail advantage at every f-stop .

The test below is with all images at the same final size, all at the same f-stop (except the last one - see next paragraph), all at the same focal length, and the smaller pixels clearly record more detail even though they are diffraction-limited. Yes, the additional detail is not nearly what the over 3-times smaller pixels would record if they weren't diffraction-limited, but they get more detail nevertheless.

Of course, if you want the most detail possible, use the smallest pixels at faster f-stops, as the last image shows. However, this isn't always possible due to DOF or slow-shutter-speed needs (use ND filters to avoid that last issue).

Can we now please stop saying crazy stuff like "the 7D can't be used past f8 while I can use the 5D all the way to f16" or other nonsense like that? Doubt it, but here's hoping!

P.S. Ignore noise in this test. ISOs were all at base, not equivalent ISOs.



--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
interesting..

and they all look blurry in the first place.
That's because they're all at the same size as f11 on 2 micron pixels.
and F11 is at limits for 1.6 crop imo
Limits for what?

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
and F11 is at limits for 1.6 crop imo
Limits for what?
let's see - diminishing returns for lens. diminshing returns for enough light. etc..

On a full frame I'd go f16 or f19 for deep depth of field outside in the light. On a 1.6 crop, the most I'd go is F11 for deep depth of field. After that the sharpness declines for many lenses and one gets dimishing returns trying to go deeper on a crop.

I agree with your analysis that defraction shouldn't be the concern. The big concern becomes lenses and light
 
and F11 is at limits for 1.6 crop imo
Limits for what?
let's see - diminishing returns for lens. diminshing returns for enough light. etc..

On a full frame I'd go f16 or f19 for deep depth of field outside in the light. On a 1.6 crop, the most I'd go is F11 for deep depth of field. After that the sharpness declines for many lenses and one gets dimishing returns trying to go deeper on a crop.

I agree with your analysis that defraction shouldn't be the concern. The big concern becomes lenses and light
If you need more DOF than you can get with f11, why not go further? Sure, you'll lose a bit of sharpness on the in-focus sections, but not nearly as much as you'd lose on the OOF sections at f11. Besides, diffraction-limited DOF is format independent, so you can't do better on a single exposure no matter what you do anyway. This is especially applicable to macros.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
If you need more DOF than you can get with f11, why not go further? Sure, you'll lose a bit of sharpness on the in-focus sections, but not nearly as much as you'd lose on the OOF sections at f11. > --
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
because..check f11 vs f16 on a crop camera here. MTF's go way down. F11 on a crop is already as deep as F 19 on a FF

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=458&Camera=474&Sample=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=7&LensComp=458&CameraComp=474&SampleComp=0&FLI=0&API=6
 
Actually you convinced me. There is indeed more detail that comes through with the smaller pixels, diffraction notwithstanding. I guess it shows that several elements come into play in determining the final result.
Larger pixels are one of the sources of irresolution. Most people fail to notice that, because they view images with less and larger pixels at smaller magnifications.

--
John

 

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