Kevin Spargur Photography

Presented here for your reading enjoyment is installment three, part one of "Getting The Most Out Of Your Photographic [Camera] Device": How Film, ISO, Emulsions and Sensors Effect Image Quality"

"Hello BOYSSS... I'm BAAAAAAACK!"

Anyone who has seen the movie "Independence Day" all the way to the end knows this famous line of "Russel K", the drunk crop duster and former Vietnam fighter pilot, at the end of the movie. Will Smith's and Jeff Goldbloom's characters have successfully infiltrated the "mother ship" and uploaded the virus which brought down all of the protective shields. The only one, and subsequent hero, who has any missiles left is the friendly neighborhood drunk crop duster. As he flies in on his suicide mission to bring down the transport command ship, the camera does a close in shot of his face with his crazy-eyed expression and he utters these two lines. Now, here's the million dollar question...

How many of you would actually remember those lines if it weren't for that closely cropped shot of Russel K's face? Chances are very few if any of us would.

Now you're probably wondering what this has to do with today's topic. Visuals and visual acuity have always conveyed meaning, purpose and enhanced the ability to tell stories and preserve the memories. The better those visuals are, the better the impressions they make and the longer they last. Had there been any other posing of that cockpit shot, chances are that you probably wouldn't remember it or would have to think on it a little before doing so.

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The camera and photographer accomplished the objective and created a memorable moment... mission accomplished! Much of the success of that shot was dependent on the cameraman, producer, director, etc. However, had the equipment not been capable of doing the shot, we would not have that image ingrained on our mind's eye.

That same holds true for our "camera." If it isn't capable of performing the task we want to accomplish, then either we forego the shot or we have to find some other way of pulling it off.

When I ended my ramblings this past Tuesday, I included a link to a website which contained a graphic depicting the different sizes of optical sensors used in modern digital point & shoot and SLR cameras. The crux of Tuesday's article dealt with the subject of "what is used for and where did the basis come from for today's photographic technology." I hope that you didn't get lost in all of my ramblings and ended your reading with a base knowledge of how film and sensor formats are strongly connected. Physical film negative size & format were/are used as a measurement for optical sensor size.

Conversely, the same is also used to predicate focal length and resolution. While focal length determines how close or far away from your subject is possible, resolution dictates the quality of that same image.