In reality I suspect a lot of the misconceptions arise because of the advent of digital brought in initially a lot of people with no background in photography. The "equivalence" concept is somewhat useful but there are so many misconceptions that it can cause more problems than it solves. The add the Internet to spread misconceptions like a brush fire in August and there is no wonder we are where we are. Back when I was active, I used 35 mm (Leica M4) for "street" work, a Mamiya 645 and RB 67 medium formats for general fine arts work and a 4x5 for landscape. Back in those days I never heard of the term "equivalence" applied to camera formats. What one did was to gain the muscle memory associated with each camera by not only understanding the fundamental physics behind the equations but through using the cameras. The first time I encountered the term "equivalence" was when I was considering transitioning from film.
The concept is good for a few things, like when deciding what format to buy for your requirements. But that is about it. At the end of the day I expect it causes more confusion than it solves.
Whatever is being discussed in PMs, I believe DPReview moderators are able to read those under at least some conditions. And, obviously, if someone in a private message discussion feels that the messaging is abusive or violates the forum guidelines, that person can lodge a complaint that could also result in sandboxing or banning. Just something to think about.
I think a lot of us who came from film, never really thought about comparing 135 120 and 5x4, as they all did different things well, 135 for action, 120 for more static subjects and cost and the 5x4 for static subjects like architecture, where I needed movements.
Digital is a little different we use one system for everything from fast action sport to architecture and still life with camera movements. So I guess some sort of codification of sensor size and lens aperture might be useful.
Looking at the quoted text from the other person, I was thinking you could be in a position to lodge a complaint! However, seeing that the moderator is - shall we say, something less than impartial - it might be a pointless or unwise course to take.
There is no problem with the math -- it's a matter of understanding what DR is and how it relates to noise, keeping in mind that the noisiness of a photo varies across the frame as a function of how much light made up various parts of the photo. In the portions of the photo made with very little light, the electronic noise of the sensor makes a much larger difference, so a sensor with very low electronic noise will have much cleaner deep shadows than a more noisy sensor, even though the noisiness of the rest of the photo might otherwise be very similar.
Think of lower electronic noise of a sensor being like having lower gears in a transmission. For pulling heavy weight or going up steep hills, the lower gears help a lot. But for normal driving, they make little to no difference.
it just falls on deaf ears. i posted a table of rankings of best bird in flight cameras. after i was heavily critersized by other members that the a7r5 was a better camera than the a7iv. the a7r5 was at 17th and the a74 was at 5th position. the mod deleted my post. as ive said in the past Dpr is sales related forum, not fact and its getting worst.
I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness...
The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Yes, that is what I effectively said below the extract of my post you quoted.
Although they are referred to as "Private Messages" at DPR Forums, DPR Admin are able to access/view them for obvious legal purposes.
As a side note, somewhere in the DPR Forums T&C's or FAQ's it states that it is also against the rules for members to post copy/pastes or screenshots of PMs in the public forums or to other members.
Of course politicians will typically use anything to their advantage.
But in regard to those with "an authoritarian tendency" it's kinda weird. They always talk about progress, but the progress is ultimately toward their own advantage, not to the greater community. Something the MAGA respondents never quite see.
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Classic example is: They want productivity and fair enough. But they feed us junk food and junk marketing, dumbing the body and mind. Then we are incapable of productivity. Reality is the managers themselves are victims of that dumbing down. They don't adhere to simple optimisation anymore. Run the machine hard, don't worry about breakages / downtime - quite irresponsible from any serious / logical management viewpoint.
