[stoppingdown]

I think the topic has multiple dimensions (the sensor/AA filter also plays a massive role for instance). However, at the end of the day - if micro-contrast isn't there, it just isn't there. You cannot recover lost information. 

 

 

 

Agreed. But:


 

Having micro-contrast or not means the difference between a "plastic bird" or the real thing. 

 

 

 

This looks like it's related to my "6 vs 9" scenario. But what about "9 vs 9.5"? It's true that the missing 0.5 isn't there and can't be recovered. But it's like the unsharp mask: it can't recover lost sharpness information, but can give some impression that there's a tad more sharpness. One can tell the difference by pixel peeping, but what about the overall image appearance?

 

Clearly, if I can reason with an infinite budget I don't put myself the problem: I'd always buy the best lens, whichever the price. In the real world that "9 vs 9.5" difference might imply several thousand euros.