A question about resolution, pixel count, detail etc.

[LastLight]

I stopped for a while on Wednesday looking east from a hillside in Derbyshire as the light changed - dull/gloomy overhead, but sun breaking out in the far distance.

With binoculars - and once 'spotted' and knowing where to look, barely with the naked eye - Lincoln Cathedral was visible over 45 miles away.

I took the posted photo with an ultra wide 16mm setting and in portrait format, not expecting to see even a hint of it. But to my amazement when I zoom in I can see it. Out of the 24 million pixels you can actually make out the c. dozen or so that are the Cathedral. When zooming back out the shift is so great I'm staggered by this. My question is, with higher pixel count - say 36 or 45+ mega pixels would the building be definitively more detailed, clear, sharp etc. or is the scale - the proportion of the scene and frame it takes up - the limiting factor?

It probably won't show on this Thumbsnapped jpeg, but is just visible, middle right of the horizon in the DMG file




The screen grab below does show it - zoomed in at 710%




And here at 2330% is the actual building block pixels (photography like Minecraft!)

[Simpo Two]

LastLight said:

My question is, with higher pixel count - say 36 or 45+ mega pixels would the building be definitively more detailed, clear, sharp etc.

It would be made of more small grey blocks. Quadruple the pixels and each block would be replaced by four smaller blocks.




But Lego is cheaper

[LastLight]

Aha! So I could dip the blocks in paint and press them onto paper as well.

So, with the quadrupled 4 small blocks it'll look even more pixellated! Cripes, I need to find on of the 8Mp cameras.

Seriously though, it is amazing that a 'domestic' bit of apparatus can actually resolve something so proportionally insignificant, and pick up a building nearly 50 miles away. with a wide angle lens! Staggering.

[RobDickinson]

You would see more detail until the lens ran out of resolution and you hit diffraction limits.

Just stitched a cityscape together using the 50 art on my 6d, the detail is nuts...

[LastLight]

That links to my new plan! When the light is right, I'm going to go back and do a stitch version using a 90mm lens instead of the 16mm used - th horizon line covers 4 counties and probably around 40 plus miles so there is lots to take in. I'm still very impressed with modern sensors and wonder what it would have been like on my old 4" x 5"with the right lens.