35mm VS HD VS 2k etc

Craig Ryan

Craig Ryan

Active member
I had no idea where to post this so I apologize in advance if there would be a more proper venue.

I saw "The Illusionist" last night (good film btw), and alot of the time I kept thinking "So technically, one fourth of this 35mm image (4k right?) would be 2k....or 1080p (close enough)" And I made sure to pay attention to this when the entire frame was in focus (close ups, or deep focus shots). I just can't seem to believe that a film shot in 1080p like Miami Vice, is really only 1/4 the resolution of a 35mm film.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but after reading on these forums for so long, this is what I have come to understand. To me, it looks like it might be closer to Half the resolution at best...but 1/4th?? Could it be that most films shot in 35mm are reprinted to film in only 2k resolution and we aren't really seeing film reprinted in all of its 4k possible glory? What's going on here?

And another mind boggler..why is Superman Returns being show on IMAX? Isn't it onl 1080p Genesis? I thought Imax was 70mm which is technically close to 10k? I understand it could be uprezed with some expensive software...but how much can you really get from that? Help!
 
Well, actually 35mm is said to have approx 4K (some say even 6K)resolution in the ORGINAL negative, BUT by the time it hits the cinema screen its been said that it only has about 2K at most, which is what 1080P is like, however with a digital workflow you don't really lose the resolution as you would with an anologue media, so you capture natviely at 2K, then edit in 2K and print out 35mm at 2K (I think).


No, Superman returns was shot on Sony/Panasonic uses full 35mm CMOS sensor basically what we can expet RED to look like. And it has about 12 Megapixel Res (just a guess)

Anyway there are about a million other factors involved... and I'm tired
 
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Well this definitely clears things up about 10 fold. Thanks guys, really appreciate the info and the link Petrus!

Too bad we don't actually see film in its true capacity.
 
crazy to think a nice 1080P Sony HD Tv can show basically what it in the theatre just smaller so its even
(percieved) sharper......
 
WEll at the rate iom going i'll never shoot film..... so im happy with what i got.
 
well it certianly will be easier to keep the quality up. Imagine, Shoot 35mm(4k equivalent) > answer print, etc (res loss)> 2k > CC > Back to film > Distribution.


RED 4K > cc> Film 4k > Distibution. The 35mm prints that get into theatres will look great.
 
Another factor I read that attributes to loss of image quality in the local theater is that alot of the time the projectionist doesn't focus the projector correctly. When I think of it that way, I remember when I saw X-3 it was EXTREMELY lacking in sharpness...almost blurry. That had me humbled for a few days.

All this has got me thinking...

The great thing about digital technology and digital projection is the fact that we will see no degredation through distribution...its just 1s and 0s afterall. Hopefully in the next few years we will see 4k projectors implemented in chain theaters. Not only is this exciting for digital cinema, but imagine 35mm films being scanned to 4k DC, and NOT have to be rescanned to film for distribution. We'd see some of the best looking film in the local theater. We'd be getting film in its best resolution (well of crouse you can argue 6k is but lets not start splitting hairs) and we wouldn't have to worry too much about seeing a film thats been ran over a dozen times.

Thats my take on DC.
 
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