rosuna Posted March 6, 2009 Share #1 Posted March 6, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) The Online Photographer: Olympus Declares 12 Megapixels is Enough Kodak has a graph in their old technical documents on the 4/3 system in which the resolution limits of the Zuiko lenses were... 12MP !!!! Olympus declares 12 megapixels is enough | Underexposed - CNET News Interesting quotes from the interview... "We don't think 20 megapixels is necessary for everybody. If a customer wants more than 12 megapixels, he should go to the full-frame models," Watanabe said. "I personally believed, before starting the E-System, that 12 was enough," Watanabe said. "We interviewed many professional photographers, people in studios, about how many they needed in the future. Before we started, the system, we had a rough idea we'd be at a plateau at 12 megapixels. We gradually increased the pixel count," with the newer Olympus SLRs now reaching that level. "In terms of speed, phase detect is faster. But imager autofocus will soon exceed phase detect," Watanabe said. "In terms of accuracy, imager-based autofocus is much more advantageous. It directly focuses on the surface itself," the exact location where the image will eventually be recorded. "Phase detect focuses not on the real surface but on a virtual surface," . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 Hi rosuna, Take a look here Olympus Declares 12 Megapixels is Enough. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
andit Posted March 6, 2009 Share #2 Posted March 6, 2009 Hi Rosuna, Interesting graph if you bear in mind that the M8 has a pixel size of 8.4 microns and a resolution of 10 megapixels. Thanks for sharing. Andreas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted March 6, 2009 Share #3 Posted March 6, 2009 Yawn, I can't afford a bike, so walking is best to me ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bernd Banken Posted March 6, 2009 Share #4 Posted March 6, 2009 Mr. Watanabe is throwing sand in the eyes of informed customers......, but the scissor begins to open for Olympus...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnastovall Posted March 6, 2009 Share #5 Posted March 6, 2009 How about, "Why 80 Megapixels Just Won't Be Enough..." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 6, 2009 Share #6 Posted March 6, 2009 Looks like the sword of Damocles is beginning to drop on Oly's head. Pity that we need Canon cams to use great Zuiko glass like 28/2 or 21/2 in FF or APS format. Shooting in one's foot is an art for some. Reminds me of the S2/R10 story. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share #7 Posted March 6, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Looks like the sword of Damocles is beginning to drop on Oly's head. Pity that we need Canon cams to use great Zuiko glass like 28/2 or 21/2 in FF or APS format. Shooting in one's foot is an art for some. Reminds me of the S2/R10 story. I agree with Mr. Watanabe. For many applications 12MP is perfect. Consider the Leica M cameras. They are reportage cameras. Huge files and resolution isn't the point. Nikon (D700, D3) and Canon (1D series) have the same idea for some kind of professional products... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 6, 2009 Share #8 Posted March 6, 2009 I agree with Mr. Watanabe. For many applications 12MP is perfect... You mean for 4/3 i guess. Tomorrow all serious cams will be FF or APS, Ruben. Smaller sensors will be for P&S and low-end cameras. Just my opinion of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share #9 Posted March 6, 2009 You mean for 4/3 i guess. Tomorrow all serious cams will be FF or APS, Ruben. Smaller sensors will be for P&S and low-end cameras. Just my opinion of course. Well, I am thinking on the future M9 camera. For me, 12-14MP is good enough. My preferences goes for small files, fast and responsive camera, dynamic range and low noise at a high ISO. M cameras are reportage cameras. The Leica S2 is a different thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnastovall Posted March 6, 2009 Share #10 Posted March 6, 2009 Looks like the sword of Damocles is beginning to drop on Oly's head. Pity that we need Canon cams to use great Zuiko glass like 28/2 or 21/2 in FF or APS format. Shooting in one's foot is an art for some. Reminds me of the S2/R10 story. My Canon 5D uses great Zuiko glass today with focus confirmation. The 21/2.0 is lovely on it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 6, 2009 Share #11 Posted March 6, 2009 Well, I am thinking on the future M9 camera. For me, 12-14MP is good enough. My preferences goes for small files, fast and responsive camera, dynamic range and low noise at a high ISO. M cameras are reportage cameras. The Leica S2 is a different thing. Same thing to me. As i see them 4/3 and S2 are attempts to create new formats that most photogs don't need really. All my wishes to Oly and Leica anyway but as far as cropped bodies all serious cams will have at least APS-C, 15MP and smaller size than Oly E1 or E3 in my cristall ball. Samsung & Pentax do it already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wls.shanghai Posted March 6, 2009 Share #12 Posted March 6, 2009 .....4/3 is on the way to the Nirwana..... Regards wls Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted March 6, 2009 Share #13 Posted March 6, 2009 Well, I am thinking on the future M9 camera. For me, 12-14MP is good enough. Ruben, even when 12-14MP is enough to you, a 4/3 sensor will immediately do a 2x cropping magic to your expensive M lenses. The 35mm full frame coverage is 8.64 cm², a 4/3 sensor (2.43 cm²) will only use 28.125% of your M lens, even when compared to the 1.33x M8 (4.86 cm²), it's only 50% frame coverage. 4/3 and/or micro 4/3 are a completely idiotic invention when Moore's law rules in semiconductor industry. The M8 or a possible M9 in its current form factor is perfectly ideal to what it is supposed to be. A smaller sensor will have nothing contributed to it. A full frame Nikon D3/D700 sensor (also 12MP) would make much better sense. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 6, 2009 Share #14 Posted March 6, 2009 My Canon 5D uses great Zuiko glass today with focus confirmation. The 21/2.0 is lovely on it. I only use Leica glass with my 5D so far but the Zuiko 21/2 is tempting indeed. Not too much vignetting on the 5D? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabelle Lenatio Posted March 7, 2009 Share #15 Posted March 7, 2009 What else would you expect him to say .... 4/3 sensor size will hardly render a higher pixel count and still be effective at 400 or more, it hardly is now.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mym6is12 Posted March 7, 2009 Share #16 Posted March 7, 2009 Olympus's optically class leading weather sealed pro lenses 7-14 f/4 ,14-35 f/2,150 f/2 and the Leica 25 f/1.4 are the reason why I went for an E-3 a year ago. Little or no vignetting full open and sharp all the way to the corners without resorting to significant stopping down : they alone justify the smaller 4/3 size. The sensor is about 2-3 stops behind FF Canon/Nikon, the lenses a stop faster and 1-2 stops optically better, IS in body, DOF 2 stops larger : not a bad compromise for what I do. Where Olympus lags is without question dynamic range, high ISO and focus speed/tracking accuracy. To concentrate on these things is the right thing for them to do. ( as well as pursuing the µ4/3 Leica CL like market segment ) Would most not say the D700/D3 12Mpixel size is adequate for most non studio work ? A FF 12Mpixel M9 would be a dream come true. A FF 8Mpixel M9 with clean ISO6400 would rock. But would a FF 16Mpixel M9 be wasted with legacy RF/lens-cam technology accuracy ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapp Posted March 8, 2009 Share #17 Posted March 8, 2009 There is too much camera discussion in this thread. Most lenses will not capture more than 12 MP information even for FF 35 mm. The real truth here is that we have reached the end of sensible megapixel counts for 4/3 and 35 mm. For medium format backs we are lacking the lenses to resolve better or to use even larger sensor sizes. We need new ideas other than pixel count. A three layer sensor would be interesting. Live view. Even better high ISO performance - and a lot of new lenses are needed by most manufacterers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 8, 2009 Share #18 Posted March 8, 2009 There is too much camera discussion in this thread. Most lenses will not capture more than 12 MP information even for FF 35 mm... With other lenses i don't know but suffice it to compare the 5D to the 5DII with any Leica lens to see that bigger is better, resolution wise i mean. Now IQ is another matter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share #19 Posted March 8, 2009 Ruben, even when 12-14MP is enough to you, a 4/3 sensor will immediately do a 2x cropping magic to your expensive M lenses. The 35mm full frame coverage is 8.64 cm², a 4/3 sensor (2.43 cm²) will only use 28.125% of your M lens, even when compared to the 1.33x M8 (4.86 cm²), it's only 50% frame coverage. 4/3 and/or micro 4/3 are a completely idiotic invention when Moore's law rules in semiconductor industry. The M8 or a possible M9 in its current form factor is perfectly ideal to what it is supposed to be. A smaller sensor will have nothing contributed to it. A full frame Nikon D3/D700 sensor (also 12MP) would make much better sense. For me, 12-14-16 Mp on a a full frame sensor is enough... My priority is dynamic range and low noise, then resolution... I don't consider 4/3 sensors for my M lenses... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan States Posted March 8, 2009 Share #20 Posted March 8, 2009 It's not about need, it's about want. NEED is 2mp for 95% of camera buyers on earth who never print above 4x6! (Yes, even Leica buyers) If I tried to sell you a car that only went 110kph and told you that was all you need where you live would you like the message? Not likely if my competitor was selling cars going 220kph for the same price! If Olympus tries to live by this argument they are toast. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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