Anything greater than 12.3 Mp DSLR?

<p>Gee, I must have touched a few nerves in bringing up this subject.<br>

Some folks think that the extra megapixels or beyond 12 Mp is a marketing strategy.<br /> <br /> Some people contend that the increase in megapixel count is mostly a technical feature that leads to the ability to crop and obtain larger print sizes without losing resolution or gaining any form of aberrations.<br /> <br /> Sure, marketing is part of the game plan. But Olympus seems to have this understanding that may, excuse the pun, take them out of the picture. Having small camera system is aimed at those who don't want to be bothered with the weight of frame-size DSLRs.<br>

Yesterday, I attended a photo meetup in Atlanta and some of the amateur photographers were shooting with Olympus E-series cameras. I asked, why Olympus? Everyone stated that Olympus has great glass AND they all admitted to the convenience of the cameras being small and light weight. <br>

I was lugging the E-3 and E30, both with the additional power pack. It looked like Olympus on steroids. LOL!!!<br /> <br /> Yes, I'm going to stay away from the film v. digital argument.<br /> <br /> As I've stated before, for the larger print size, beyond the 11x14, I'll break out the Bronica or Hassey and shoot film. Sure it's a bit more costly, but what the heck; the customer's paying for it.</p>

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<p>just responding to Patrick Dempsey's comment:<br /> <em>"... then by the mid 2010's digital cameras will be able to push the limits of photography instead of just playing catch-up with film. ... "</em><br /> <br /> I tossed my 35mm film cameras for 'serious' work in 2003, my medium format film cameras in 2004. Doing so has enabled me to do 10-100x the amount of work which is better quality, and at lower cost. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://godfreydigiorgi.posterous.com/144-watching-a-robert-frank-film" target="new1"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3422/3844190734_2da6a80f8c_o.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /> <em>Rollei 35S - click for more thoughts etc</em><br /> <br /> I am running a 'one roll a week' project with some of my favorite old compact film cameras this year. As expected, I am getting lovely results, but the exercise reminds me, every roll, of the difference in capability and productivity digital cameras afford. <br /> <br /> Numbers, theoretics ... blah blah blah. It's all so much folderal. Waste of time and energy.<br>

Do Photography, forget the stupid debate about film vs digital. Make photographs, love what you're doing, and forget this bs.</p>

<p>Godfrey, I realize the subject changed couse within this forum and I tried to steer it back to my original question pertaining to Olympus' future in developing more Mps for the sake of larger print sizes and/or greater cropping abilities.<br /> <br /> I don't think there are any theories or number involved in that question... right?<br>

And like yourself, I like to shoot film. Every once in a while, I'll bring the old Bronica with me and shoot a roll or two. At the same time I have one of the E-series cameras with me and duplicate the effort. Ultimately, I have the chosen film shots converted to digital for several obvious reasons.<br /> <br /> I see advantages and disadvantages in shooting film, but I don't see any reason to beat a dead horse (over coverage of the film v. digital debate). So, I agree with you in that respect.<br /> <br /> Btw, nice shot!</p>

 

<p>Well, there are certainly numbers and theories associated with Olympus increasing pixel resolution. ;-) However ... the film vs digital nonsense that Patrick Dempsey brought up is utterly irrelevant to it. </p>

<p>I think my stance on the Olympus Goes FF or > 12Mpixel is pretty clear. </p>

<p>Thanks for the compliment!</p>

<p>Hasselblad and Leaf/Mamiya make medium format cameras that have now converted to digital. They are all more than 20 Mp and their top of the line models are around 60Mp with basic models at 39. They do not make any 10Mp consumer cameras. They focus on the high end only. Why should Olympus compete with them when their basic technology does not fit that purpose? Wouldn't it be better for Olympus to focus on the 99% market of normal photographers who do not need more than 20Mp. The tip is very small and sharp, and usually not easy to profit in. That is true in all industries, not only digital cameras.</p>

<p>I've always been a fan of the print size versus viewing distance aspect of the question. One of my most treasured captures is this one:<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/4951791-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="510" /><br>

It was done with a 3.9mp Canon Powershot G3. If you look at the file, you'll see soft pixels at 150%. The thing is, this print hangs over my couch. It's 36"x24". It looks razor sharp. When I used to do fleet graphics and billboards, with image resolutions of 36 or 18dpi, I was horrified at first, but then an experienced designer showed me the difference by doing two prints side by side, one at 36dpi and one as 300dpi. After we walked across the plant floor to the intended viewing distance of 50' or so, the 36dpi print actually looked clearer, due to the lack of now-tiny details that were in the 300dpi version. I've found that in my own prints at least, I can get away with lower res or upsizing in larger prints, simply because I'm not going to be looking at them from the same distance that I would an 8x10 or 11x14. That's simply my $.02. Also, I'm poor, and the Oly system offers me the best cost/quality balance in their excellent ZD glass.</p>

<p>Ikka, I'm not saying that Olympus should compete with Hasselblad, Leaf, and/or Mamiya. I mentioned the Big Boys, Nikon and Canon who are in the +21Mp models.<br /> <br /> The systems you mentioned are out of financial reach for most of us. While one can easily get a loan or save up for a $2,500 DSLR body. The systems you mentioned are in the $25,000 range on up. Realistically, that is beyond the scope of many.<br /> <br /> Again, If I have to go with the larger image sizes beyond 11x14, the Hassey or Bronica should be able to get me there. But for the most part, Olympus E-3 and E-30 are great DSLRs, and I do 99.9% shoots with these cameras.</p>

<p>Troy... wonderful flower shot!</p>

<p>Thanks, Ken!</p>