Have you ever wondered what the sensor resolution of the human eye is – measured in megapixels? We might have the answer for you. And if you fancy your chances in a photography competition, Fuji has just the opportunity for you to show everyone ‘Life as you see it’. Talking of Fuji, the company has a lot to celebrate: stellar financial results and a brand-new store in London’s Covent Garden. For those of you who enjoy reminiscing about your first digital camera, you are in good company: the experts share their favourites.
Fuji House of Photography reopens
The popular Fujifilm House of Photography in London’s Covent Garden district will reopen on Friday, 31 May. The announcement comes along with a new Fujifilm “Life as you see it” competition with prizes including an X100VI Limited Edition camera worth £1,934.
The extended display space will include a gallery, print workshop, updated studio, bookshop, and an Instax “Creator Cube”. Events will include live music sessions, panel talks, fitness classes and photo walks. Workshops will feature sessions with experts such as Capture One staff, and talks from high-profile industry figures. The guided photo walks will capture some of London’s most picturesque landmarks, as well as lesser-known spots that the casual visitor might not find.
The Fujifilm House of Photograph is at 8-9 Long Acre, Covent Garden. When it opened originally in 2019, it was the first store of its kind in the world. Now, with the reopening, enthusiasts can find dedicated areas for the company’s professional GFX medium format, high sensor resolution, system and the X Series camera range. The updated photographic studio will provide professional headshot services for actors, models, and dancers. A bonus for potential Fuji converts will be kit and product loans before purchase.
Life as you see it
The company is inviting photographers throughout the UK to enter the “Life as you see it” photo competition. Entrants can submit up to five images that they feel best represent “life as they see it”, from the beautiful and powerful to the mundane and trivial. The competition opened on May 1 and will continue until 14 June 2024. First prize is the Fuji X100V Special edition, followed by £500 prizes for the second and third place winners. All three winners will have their photos exhibited in the House of Photography gallery, as well as being featured in a new Fujifilm brand film. The film will premiere on 28 June at the House of Photography, with the winners announced on the same day. To enter, and for more information on the competition, please click here.
Opening times for the House of Photography are 11-7 from Monday to Wednesday, 11-8 on Thursdays and 12-6 on Sundays. Click here for more information and tickets for events.
Read more on Fuji cameras and accessories
Fujifilm results soar on X100VI and Instax success
According to a report in Photo Rumors, Fujifilm’s Imaging segment has soared by 14.5% year-on-year. In the consumer section, steady sales of the Instax instant photo systems, particularly of the mini Evo and Pal models, drove revenue higher. On the professional side, strong digital camera sales boosted revenue. High demand for the X-S20 and GFX100 II further contributed to the increase. While the latest model, the X100VI, is expected to boost profits in the current year because of unprecedented demand.
Macfilos on the Fuji X100 series
In the eye of the beholder
Sensor resolution is a regular topic of debate and even disagreement within the Macfilos community. Many view 25 megapixels as a sweet spot, capturing plenty of detail in a file size that’s not too large. On the other hand, a 47 megapixel sensor gives you the option of cropping to extend focal length, whilst still delivering images with sufficient resolution. Currently, the highest resolution sensor offered by Leica, for example in its M11 camera, stands at 60 megapixels, with the option of choosing lower resolutions if preferred.
But, what about the sensor that we all carry around and use every day: the human eye?
In the fascinating video linked below, the presenter describes the physiology of the human eye. He explains that the variable density of rod and cone cells across the retina makes it tricky to assign it a single megapixel figure. When push comes to shove, he opts for the nice round number of 100 megapixels. But, depending whether you are looking at an image on your phone, your flat screen TV, or at the cinema, the pixel density beyond which your eye can resolve varies greatly, and is usually much less than this.
The video covers a lot of ground, but if you are after the ultimate description of how the human eye works, this gets pretty close.
What was your first camera?
Here’s a good discussion point, and we look forward to seeing hearing from you in the comments below. Who started on the earliest camera? Who started on a Leica, film or digital? And who took up photography only in the digital age? This is prompted by a fun article in DPReview where the editors, including Richard Butler, Dale Baskin, Shaminder Dulai, Jeff Keller, and Carey Rose, all run us through their starter set-ups. There are eleven classics to choose from. Did you own any of them, and what was its sensor resolution?
Leica Q3 firmware update
Leica has just released a new firmware update for owners of their highly sought after Q3 camera. This one (firmware 2.0.3) fixes bugs rather than offering new capabilities. You can find the download information here.
Demand for the camera remains strong. We understand that most dealers still do not have the camera in stock, but the length of wait lists has begun to ease. You can read reviews of the Leica Q3 from Macfilos authors, below.
Claus Sassenberg – Leica Q3 first impressions
Jonathan Slack – Leica Q3, the perfect travel camera
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The first camera that I owned was a Sigma Mk1 with a 39-80mm zoom lens, given to me as a birthday present. I’d used my parents’ 120 roll film cameras for a year or so before that – an Agifold and a Voigtlander Bessa II. The Sigma seemed light years ahead!
My first camera: an Argus C3
First camera? I will leave out the Kodak Holiday Flash Brownie (127) I received at 8th birthday, the Minolta 16II (special film cartridges) my cousin gave me when I was about 15, and the the Kodak Retina 1a I borrowed from my aunt when I was about 18. That takes me to the first camera I bought with my own money, a Miranda Fv with 50mm f1.9 Auto-Miranda.
P.S. I was 19. At the same time I bought the Miranda, I bought a cheap, but complete, darkroom kit with everything from film developing tank, to enlarger, trays, tongs, etc. I think I did have to buy a safelight separately.
I for one am interested in when we get diffraction limitation with our super APO Aspheric lenses at f/2.0 or f/2.8. I think that 60MP may be the sweet spot for that, at least with the Bayer Array. Can’t keep those circles of confusion apart forever folks. 😊
Ed
My first camera(s)? ..here, in this Macfilos article: https://tinyurl.com/F1rstCam
By the way, I’ve since bought a Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic of my own ..and shot and developed photos with it ..now that I’ve patched up the light leaks from the hundred-year-old bellows!
Thanks for this fascinating article. Regarding comparing the human eye to camera sensors, I think a question more to the point is, when does sensor resolution exceed the resolution of available lenses, or perhaps rather the photographer’s preferred lenses? IOW, cropping that huge image file only works well if the lens resolution was good enough.
Having used 12, 16, 24, and 36 MP cameras, I tend to agree, 24 MP is the sweet spot. Nikon seems to agree, since they gave the new Zf a 24 MP sensor, when they could have put in the 46 MP ones they already use in other cameras.
In the eye of the beholder: This is a great topic as it may influence anyone who owns a digital camera or even a screen of any size. I feel as though we are constantly pigeonholed into an argument that the majority of us know is pointless. It’s like we’re a bunch of sports hooligans arguing in a bar over who is the best team of all time in our favorite sport. The difference in the latter being entirely based on opinion since we have no Time Machine or control over matchups. We can do side-by-side comparisons of images from virtually any digital camera comparing the the sharpness, colors or “filmic” qualities of each sensor, yet I cannot remember the last time I heard a photographer comment on resolution factoring in as an absolute necessity. What can the human eye resolve? I don’t know, but I once quizzed my friend Charlie on a license plate that was a hundred yards plus ahead of us and I, whilst wearing prescription glasses, had to wait until we caught up quite a bit to confirm that he was indeed correct. Everyone’s eyes are different and the ways we enjoy photographs typically allows for different kinds of viewing perspectives -whether it be a tiny image on a smartphone or standing several feet from a hanging print.
First camera? Hmmm … I’m going to say … the Kodak 110 from the DPR article though it may have been a different brand.