Hi Jeff
The Nikon D800 is the highest resolution (36 MP), commercially available digital camera on the market today. In contrast the satelite that was launched to "find" planets around distant stars has a 96 MP sensor. That satellite was launched in the last 12 months so the higher resolution sensors are new technology.
There is a formula for calculating what 35 mm film would be in mega pixels and it has some variables such as ISO, film type, camera, etc. It is generally accepted that a 35 mm shot is approximately 24 mega pixels. Many of the new cameras being introduced by people like Nikon and Canon are capable of shotting up to 24 MP.
I had the opportunity to briefly congratulate Jeff, at the Washington Symposium, for getting his hands on a D800 at the time as they were in production but not generally in distribution. In fact it took me until August to get mine.
The D800 is an FX or full frame camera and is considered a professional level DSLR. Although announced 8 months ago it has no competitor yet in the marketplace. Mega Pixels are in fact not what counts for showing a photo on a display like an ipad or monitor. Even printing a 13" x 19" only requires a 15 MP photo to achieve full printing with no pixelization.
Jeff was able to rent one from a company he knows and had the right lens and flash to take the shots he did. One of the other benefits of digital over film is that the digital photo is immediately available for the photographer to review. Jeff and Ric had a limited time in a foreign country to take the shots. Not a lot of resources available except what Jeff could carry. Imagine having film and thinking you had the shots you wanted only to discover later when developed that you didn't. Yikes. Jeff knew exactly what he had during the photo session thanks to digital.
The big thing to remember is that Jeff started with an original photo that was much smaller than a 4X6 we most commonly see. Then he had to target the Bevingtom Object which is even smaller in the photo!! What we get to see are the lovely "blown up" versions of the shot.
The photo he obtained could only be as good as the original. It could never be better. The D800 provided him with the best digital image he could get of the original photo. I believe he was restricted in taking the shot by not be allowed to remove the photo from the original album. If you notice the picture that I think Ric took of Jeff working on the photo you see the album and the curvature of the pages in the album which means Jeff had no nice clean flat phot surface to work from.
I personally think Jeff did one heck of a job getting his shots. His understanding of the technology is best shown in Ric's post about photo over scanned image. TIGHAR is very lucky to have Jeff available.
Sorry for rambling but I think Jeff's skills, while not undervalued and clearly respected on this forum, still need a good plug.