Much ado about image grain.

[Anbesol]

Absolutely I heard of the S5, I remember the S2 when it just came out, I really wish that octagonal pixel placement took on with other manufacturers and I dont know why it hasn't (perhaps a Fuji patent or something), I have used an S2 way back when, great camera.

Yeah, you do sound very frustrated. Nothing wrong with those guys if good high ISO performance is what they after, right?

I never said that looking for good high ISO performance was bad, it is an important aspect of imaging. I think its important as well, I just think that too many consumers squarely concentrate their focus on high iso image grain alone, and even to the point that the benchmark becomes pixel peeping 3200 ISO images alone. Cameras are complex dynamic machines and they aren't so simply as to base hte value on its image grain at iso 3200.

Seems like a lot of words are being put into my mouth - I never said that high iso performance is insignificant, I am just downplaying what I see as waaaay too much hype.

[AgingEyes]

I never said that high iso performance is insignificant, I am just downplaying what I see as waaaay too much hype.

Certainly, I haven't seen the discussion you talked about re the high ISO. I'm just saying if that is what those guys were after, of course they would compare the ISO performance of one camera against the other. And you being an "outsider/onlooker" got frustrated by their discussions, it seems to me. I don't see why you should be so frustrated is what I'm saying.

And I don't think it's just hype these days. Good high ISO performance is just another development these days in the advancement of camera technologies, should I say. And it's been pretty good so far. Later on, it'd be something else, and some new discussion.

Personally, before I even bought my first dslr (that's my S5), the way I see it is buying a digital camera is basically buying a computer. It seems to be a never ending process as long as technologies keep on developing. Just like PC and Mac. I think one day, image quality would no longer be an issue for the photogs. What's left is the vision of one photog against the other.