50mp cameras coming soon

[wdwmagic]

Looks like Canon and Sony are about to go to 50mp.

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/first-move-from-canon-506-megapixel-full-frame-camera-real-images/

Not sure what the vast majority of people are going to do with so much resolution, other than pixel peep can complain about issues LOL.

I can see it working great for speciality applications, but they seem quite thin on the ground. What do you think?

 

[Jahona]

Well This is going to put a dent in to medium format in terms of resolution. I wonder what the noise is going to be like with how tiny those pixels are will be.

 

[fractal]

A few things - to really take advantage of a 50mp sensor, one would have to have "pro-level" glass. Which means bigger investment and perhaps waiting for new lenses with higher resolution capabilities.
You also have to deal with huge files. My RAW files on my NEX-7 can hit 25-30mbs, I've sure files from a 50mp full frame could easily approach 75mbs.
Where would you see the difference? I think vs. the existing Canon line with older sensors you would see a big jump in IQ. Vs. a Nikon D800 or even D750/D600 series I'm not sure you would be able to see much difference with the
naked eye. Maybe if you are printing over 16 X 24. Same with the Sony A7 series or A99.

It's cool to see how the "state of the art" is advancing in the full-frame camera world, but for the average enthusiast I don't think this would be practical. Maybe in a few years when the cost comes down.

 

[Jahona]

A few things - to really take advantage of a 50mp sensor, one would have to have "pro-level" glass.

As someone who works with medium format images, glass makes a world of difference. Two photo shoots, both using phase 1 digital backs, There is a definite difference in sharpness of the image between photographers depending on their choice of glass. I'm trying to remember just how big our raw files actually are. I want to say they are around 60mb.

 

[donsullivan]

A lot of people aren't clear on all of the constraints of something with this many pixels. This will not be a handheld run-n-gun camera. You really have to think of something like this as a tripod only (and a very sturdy tripod) camera.

- I got a D810 last fall and the RAW files from that are ~77MB. Assuming something similar from the Canon, you're likely looking at something over 100MB for each RAW file. You're going to need bigger storage cards and a bigger hard drive.
- As was stated above, you better be prepared (unless you already have it) for some serious investments in very high quality glass capable of supporting that sensor. Most every lens that's truly able to support that camera is going to have a comma in the price tag and many will have a 2 or higher to the left of that comma.
- The other thing that gets lost in this sort of battle is that as you get up to that number of megapixels, shooting handheld at anything but the highest shutter speeds is messy. As the sensor resolution increases even the slightest bits of motion are more visible on the final image.

That having been said this is going to be a very intriguing entry into the marketplace if it is actually delivered as the rumors suggest. If I've learned anything in recent years with the camera industry it's that the spec list doesn't not tell the whole story of the device. When all of the details emerge and the actual reviews hit we'll have a much better sense of where this one fits into the overall market space.

 

[thomas998]

A lot of people aren't clear on all of the constraints of something with this many pixels. This will not be a handheld run-n-gun camera. You really have to think of something like this as a tripod only (and a very sturdy tripod) camera.

- I got a D810 last fall and the RAW files from that are ~77MB. Assuming something similar from the Canon, you're likely looking at something over 100MB for each RAW file. You're going to need bigger storage cards and a bigger hard drive.
- As was stated above, you better be prepared (unless you already have it) for some serious investments in very high quality glass capable of supporting that sensor. Most every lens that's truly able to support that camera is going to have a comma in the price tag and many will have a 2 or higher to the left of that comma.
- The other thing that gets lost in this sort of battle is that as you get up to that number of megapixels, shooting handheld at anything but the highest shutter speeds is messy. As the sensor resolution increases even the slightest bits of motion are more visible on the final image.

That having been said this is going to be a very intriguing entry into the marketplace if it is actually delivered as the rumors suggest. If I've learned anything in recent years with the camera industry it's that the spec list doesn't not tell the whole story of the device. When all of the details emerge and the actual reviews hit we'll have a much better sense of where this one fits into the overall market space.

I would also worry about the noise. When they bump up the number of pixels they lose the ISO that provides a clean image tends to drop. Look at the A7s, it is able to pretty much see in the dark because Sony went backwards and lowered the number of pixels so that they could be larger and capture more light... This is going to have over 4 times as many pixels as an A7s so I would expect them to be less than 1/4 the size and probably having significantly limited ISO.... So maybe it will be useful for someone in a studio or in bright sun... but otherwise I would see it being a finicky beast to deal with.

 

[wdwmagic]

I would also worry about the noise. When they bump up the number of pixels they lose the ISO that provides a clean image tends to drop. Look at the A7s, it is able to pretty much see in the dark because Sony went backwards and lowered the number of pixels so that they could be larger and capture more light... This is going to have over 4 times as many pixels as an A7s so I would expect them to be less than 1/4 the size and probably having significantly limited ISO.... So maybe it will be useful for someone in a studio or in bright sun... but otherwise I would see it being a finicky beast to deal with.

They are talking about ISO 6400 max on the Canon version.

 

[donsullivan]

They are talking about ISO 6400 max on the Canon version.

I don't think anyone should be looking at this camera if high ISO performance is your goal. Typically a high resolution body like this would be more focused on low ISO performance and low noise in the shadows for landscape shooting, or studio work with fully controlled lighting. Unless Canon is doing something new with sensor technology we haven't seen in the past, I would expect this one to start getting messy around 1600 and be all but unusable above 3200. However, if the rumors that the sensor is based on the same Sony tech used by Sony and Nikon, that could be a little different.

 

[wdwmagic]

I don't think anyone should be looking at this camera if high ISO performance is your goal. Typically a high resolution body like this would be more focused on low ISO performance and low noise in the shadows for landscape shooting, or studio work with fully controlled lighting. Unless Canon is doing something new with sensor technology we haven't seen in the past, I would expect this one to start getting messy around 1600 and be all but unusable above 3200. However, if the rumors that the sensor is based on the same Sony tech used by Sony and Nikon, that could be a little different.

It is going to be a very strange situation if Sony end up making the sensors for both Nikon and Canon. You have to wonder how that will pan out with Sony being very aggressive with their own camera models. If I were Canon and Nikon I would be very uneasy with that situation.

 

[donsullivan]

It is going to be a very strange situation if Sony end up making the sensors for both Nikon and Canon. You have to wonder how that will pan out with Sony being very aggressive with their own camera models. If I were Canon and Nikon I would be very uneasy with that situation.

Don't disagree here at all. So far, Canon has not shown they have the technology (or desire) to deliver a sensor with very low shadow noise no matter the resolution. If a 50Megapixel camera delivers the same quality of shadow noise all their current sensors do (lousy), this one may only work for the studio shooters and leave the landscape shooters wanting. While I'm no longer a Canon shooter, this one will be interesting to watch as it gets announced in a few days.

 

[fractal]

Latest I heard is the sensor was designed and developed by Canon with Sony doing the manufacturing.

 

[donsullivan]

Now that all the details are out there, it look like this one is targeted as a studio shooting camera. All of the previews I've seen so far describe it as having similar sensor performance characteristics to the 3 year old 5D3, just a lot more pixels. The pricing is about what I was expecting as well. I am surprised that it's not going to ship until June. It seems Canon may have been feeling some market pressure to get out there with an announcement even though the camera itself isn't ready for market.

 

[fractal]

Now that all the details are out there, it look like this one is targeted as a studio shooting camera. All of the previews I've seen so far describe it as having similar sensor performance characteristics to the 3 year old 5D3, just a lot more pixels. The pricing is about what I was expecting as well. I am surprised that it's not going to ship until June. It seems Canon may have been feeling some market pressure to get out there with an announcement even though the camera itself isn't ready for market.

Seems like the sensor is just a scaled up version of the old sensor. According to DP review, not much improvement in Dynamic Range just resolution.

 

[afb28]

It is going to be a very strange situation if Sony end up making the sensors for both Nikon and Canon. You have to wonder how that will pan out with Sony being very aggressive with their own camera models. If I were Canon and Nikon I would be very uneasy with that situation.

I don't see a big deal with that, Samsung makes tons of displays for apple yet they tend to sue each other every other week.

Sometimes you just have to give credit for another company doing a better job at something and contract them for parts.

 

[unkadug]

I don't see a big deal with that, Samsung makes tons of displays for apple yet they tend to sue each other every other week.

Sometimes you just have to give credit for another company doing a better job at something and contract them for parts.

That happens quite a bit in the electronics industry.

 

[wdwmagic]

I don't see a big deal with that, Samsung makes tons of displays for apple yet they tend to sue each other every other week.

Sometimes you just have to give credit for another company doing a better job at something and contract them for parts.

I think the difference with apple is that they also use lg, sharp and others. With the cameras, it would leave just Sony making sensors for the top 3.

 

[Clamman73]

Speaking of high megapixel cameras...I'm interested in getting the new EM5 mk2 since I'm in the 4/3's world...More interested in the stabilization since my G6 has none, but would definetly take some high megapixel sensor shifting castle shots!

 

[ddbowdoin]

Just buy a Hasselblad (perhaps a 503CW)... cheaper.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

The tech side of me is loving the thought of 50MP. But... Whatever for, practically?

I find the 16-18MP of my current cameras to be the sweet spot. Plenty of resolution for cropping and rather large prints - without the storage burden. As it is, I shoot about 1,500 shots per WDW trip.

Funny, I have a Hasselblad 503CW with the CFV16 digital back. It produces glorious, rich CCD colors with those fat pixels.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Looks like Canon and Sony are about to go to 50mp.

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/first-move-from-canon-506-megapixel-full-frame-camera-real-images/

Not sure what the vast majority of people are going to do with so much resolution, other than pixel peep can complain about issues LOL.

I can see it working great for speciality applications, but they seem quite thin on the ground. What do you think?

50mp? I cant see where its going to be worth it unless you're shooting for billboards, etc.

Noise, High ISO performance is far more important.