Substantive debate over the subject of film resolution vs.
digital image resolution is clouded by the fact that it is
difficult to meaningfully and objectively determine the
resolution of either. Unlike a digital sensor, a film frame does
not have a regular grid of discrete pixels. Rather, it has an
irregular pattern of differently sized grains. As a film frame
is scanned at higher and higher resolutions, image detail is
increasingly masked by grain, but it is difficult to determine
at what point there is no more useful detail to extract.
Moreover, different film stocks have widely varying ability to
resolve detail. Determining resolution in digital acquisition
seems straightforward, but is significantly complicated by the
way digital camera sensors work in the real world. This is
particularly true in the case of high-end digital cinematography
cameras that use a single large bayer pattern CMOS sensor. A
bayer pattern sensor does not sample full RGB data at every
point; each pixel is biased toward red, green