Toralf Lund wrote on 01.06.05 11:57:
Hmmm... I've been thinking that camera producers are bound to increase
the sensor size soon because the megapixel race won't stop, and sensor
elements much smaller than the ones used today are quite pointless (as
far as I understand - not due to the component size or anything, but
pretty "hard" optical limitations.) Or do you think they'll keep
squeezing more pixels into the current size, not caring about the fact
that the quality/dynamics of each pixel will deteriorate?
Theoritecally yes. But in practice there is sensible limit of used
megapixels.
Definitely. But when I call it a race, what I mean to say is that what's
sensible isn't necessarily a consideration.
Megapixel race is mostly visible in compact digicams.
Maybe you are right... But surely a continued race on the compact
market, will also have an effect on DSLR design? I'm not sure if people
will want to buy a 6MP pixel DSLR if and when, say, 20MP P&S cameras
become available, even though the DSLR will probably have a much better
overall picture quality, really. And even if some might, will the camera
manufacturers trust their potential customers to be that sensible?
Somehow
manufacturers don't want to screw-up quality delivered by much bigger
sensors in DSLRs even though they could make now 24 MPix APS-C sensor with
photodiodes as small as in current 2/3" 8MPix sensors.
Yup. As I was trying to say, it's probably not about how small you can
make the photodiode from a purely technological perspective, but how
small it can be when you consider the fact that it has to "collect" a
certain amount of light in order to be effective at all. The amount of
light needed depends on the sensor design, of course, but there also
some definitive limits imposed by quantum mechanics, and I've been lead
to believe that you start reaching those with elements not that much
smaller than the ones used today.
6 MPix is good enough
to make 30x45 cm prints comparable to output from good slide film. So bigger
sensors would be neccessary only in case you do a lot of cropping or bigger
size prints. Even then - 12 MPix as used in Nikon D2X - would be more than
enough for 99,99% of us and would compete output from at least 6x4.5 cm MF
film. Even Michael Reichmann who uses 1Ds was impressed by quality of
20"x24" (50x60 cm) prints from D2X. Yes, it has more noise than 1Ds mk II
but lower than original 1Ds. In direct comparison these two cameras perform
very close - each has its strong and weak points. Here is small comparison
of these both cameras:
http://www.naturfotograf.com/D2X_rev06.html#top_page
OK...
- T
