Has the 4/3 sensor chip stalled at 8 MP?

[glyn r]

If all this discussion about noise etc. is so important why are we not all using Hasselblad with a scanner. The results are amazing secondhand prices are reasonable!

[imagesbycindy]

I use the Olympus E-1 and do "second shooter" work for a local wedding photographer that uses Canon. No one here has mentioned the infamous and quite common Canon Error 99. My associate's camera has had meltdowns on more than one occasion during critical parts of a wedding ceremony, so while he is fumbling madly to remove battery, lens, and then reassemble to clear the error, I'm still shooting away with my trusty E-1. Even so, my associate would like me to switch to Canon and takes every opportunity to make disparaging remarks about my camera, forgetting that it has saved his a** on more than one occasion! My E-1 has never failed me!

 

I've also heard many other Canon photographers in my market area talk about having this same error occur during critical moments and were saved by their second shooters. So I'll take reliability over megapixels and sensor size any day!

[mark_chappell]

<I>No one here has mentioned the infamous and quite common Canon Error 99</i><P>

 

I dispute the "quite common" description. I've been shooting Canon DSLRs for three years,

tens of thousands of exposures, and ERR99 has happened twice: once with an old Sigma lens

that didn't have an up-to-date chip (so surprise there), and once with a big stack of off-

brand extension tubes, and I suspect a poor electrical contact was the culprit in that case.

[imagesbycindy]

I dispute your dispute, and suggest you attend a gathering of wedding professionals and listen to what those that use Canon have to say about "Error 99." Since you seem to shoot only as a nature hobbiest, you really don't have the first hand knowledge that I do. So check your facts. You can Google it and find out a lot more too. Like I said, reliability trumps megapixels any day of the week, and if you've only run into that error only twice in 3 years, then just count yourself lucky.

[martin stokic1]

Even though this topic has strayed a bit form its original and intended course(at least i presume), i would like to add that (if anyone is still attending to this forum) i am statisfied with my E-500. I hold the kit lens 40-150mm@3.5 and 14-45@3.5. If u do not tend to be a perfectionist those two lens do actually prove to be enough in most situations. In reality i would like to get my hands on 50-200mm F2.8-3.5 ED and 11-22mm F2.8-3.5 ED, which would make me more than happy. For the important part of this story i am telling, is that i feel good with it in my hands. The camera is responsive, takes shots as u order it to, and produces quality images. Now for the sensor side, all images are great up to ISO400. All above becomes noise filled, what is true, and is a setback for sure.

 

But i like it, i like using it, and i will invest in it some more. Not too much, depending on my pocket size and maybe selling options for the photograpy im doing.

 

As i am not to be considered a professional, maybe my opinion does not dwell with any of yours here, but i felt a need to contribute.(if i did any...)

 

Martin

[mark_chappell]

<I>Since you seem to shoot only as a nature hobbiest, you really don't have the first hand

knowledge that I do.</i><P>

 

Hmm. I'm curious about the sophisticated sensor technology that lets Canon cameras detect

when they are being used for weddings instead of wildlife (or by pros instead of semi-pros),

and then fail often in weddings and rarely otherwise. I know <B>a lot</b> of nature

shooters, including some professionals. Like me, they shoot tens of thousands of frames a

year, constantly change lenses, etc., and ERR99 is simply not a concern.